OCR Text |
Show In one season of high school liasket-lial- l, he sees approximately 100 games. Multiply that !y 31 years, and you get a slim idea of how sportswnter Andy spends his time. And that b just the liasketliall season. In aikhtion, Andy coven and reports on Ro-liei- ts dian. He worked for wages like 12 an hour, f 1 a day, and once worked an entire summer on a farm for $5. He still found time to hustle hb studies and liecame the top typist In the state during hb business college days. The coiuitry had need for men with Andy Roliert's grit. America was gearing up for the liig one and the war effort was in full swing when he went to California in the late 30s to work for Douglas Air Craft, initially as a typist. A Contraption Tired of hitting the shift key as he typed out tool orders, Andy attracted a great deal of attention when he rigged up a contraption so he could work the shift key with hb foot. People came from all over to watch. He ended up at Douglas as a tool planner. But Cupid and Uncle Sam had other plans for Andy. It was liack during hb berry picking days at Orem that he met a pretty little Irish Colleen named Ruby McCarthy. In fact, he spent so much time hitchhiking to Provo to see Irish and her sbter that a teacher wrote in the school's year book how much she enjoyed having him as a student. Now Ruby and the draft both opted 15 other teams for Tooele High and several for each of the other three high schools in the county. All in all, he tries to keep lalis on 40 teams for the district's schools. And that's not all. In addition, Andy follows the colleges and professional teams in person, or on television. Type, Type, Type A typical Monday morning may find him at his desk grinding out Andy-ey- e views of four hoys' basketball games, plus girls' basketball, wrestling and swimming including Ikix scores and statistics for all meets in the county. Andy also edits the howling leagues, summer liaseluill, little leagues, church tad!, etc., and everything else that comes under the heading of sports from wild life to chariot races. What's more, the sports fan can also find an accoimt of Salt lathe's professional basketball team, the Ja zz, on the pages of the Tooele Transcript. for Andy. All this for a man who has had three heart attacks and has lieen ordered by Although Douglas Air Craft was a his doctor to cut down drastically on hb Defense, a vital war pit of thetheNations board did not Utah draft activities. industry, honor Californias deferrment. Hot Seat Air Corps In this district, the sportswriters He came out of sheet metal school chair b the proverbial hot seat. To his with a superior rating and was told he desk come anonymous and ambiguous would remain there as an instructor. from mammas, castigating angry epbtles Two days later he was shipped to him for leaving out the name of their Hill Air Force Base as a key punch oper"favorite player, or from rabid fans of n ator, and from there to elementary teams from first to sixth Field, Ohio to await overseas assigngrades liemoaning the fact that no ment. account appears of the game lietween the third and fourth grades, or By now the stork had entered the from those who forget that a newspaper picture, and during his long wait for overseas orders, he applied for a furdoes not receive notification of uplough so he could be with hb wife at the coming events through revelation: it has birth of their first child. He mbsed that to come from the people concerned. Thick Skinned great event by three days and conseAfter 31 years, a sportswriters skin quently did not see hb new son for 15 months. gets pretty tough - almost. He spent most of hb overseas career Known throughout the state as the on Cuam, an island in the Marianas. dean of Utahs sportswriters, Andy b sometimes like the proverbial prophet Andy doesnt like to talk about hb days on Guam, but a letter written in rebuttal without honor. A newspaper writer to an article published by the great Ersoon learns that you can't please them few. nie Pyle says a lot. Pyle wrote from a and a all, sportswnter pleases very To be true to his craft, he learns to Navy vessel how comfortable and convenient the boys had it in the Pacific. please himself. If a kid performs some sensational Lonely Letters In his rebuttal Andy wrote of places feat that wins a game, I don't think hes like Kwajalein, Taiwan, and Rota a national hero. And, by the same token, if a kid b the victim of some act that battlegrounds in the Pacific. He wrote of the great loss of life, the sniping and causes his team to lose, I dont think he should be crucified. Such b the philobooby traps laid by the Japs, jungle rot, the eternal dampness that never left, the sophy of A. T. Roberts, sports editor for mildew and mold that grew on food and the Transcript Bulletin. It b this philosophy that sometimes clothes, the meals of fried baloney, wax butter, powdered eggs cooked purple, gets Andy in trouble with the local fans. and dehydrated food. Hb weight of only Stats Dont Lie 99 pounds on hb return to the states was But Andy calls them like he sees mute testimony to the truth of hb letter. them - stats dont lie, and he is fiesty Prestigious Career enough to stand firmly back of his reHome from the war, he began what porting. turned out to be a long and prestigious A. T- - Roberts always has been fiesty - a scrapper. Back during the depression career at Tooele Army Depot. He his of hustled he the 30s, up his last six years there as public way days relations and public information officer. through high school and business college, He retired in 1973 after 31 years. working at anything and everything And he and Irish settled down to carhop, fry cook, button maker, chauffeur, hospital orderly, handy man, custo raising their family, Andys greatest joy. Wright-Patterso- play-by-pl- -- fin-bh- -- Andy and hb wife Irish look over pictures and mementos from the past. Their children are Mel, math teacher and swim coach at Tooele High School; Charlie, editor of the Transcript Bulletin; Andrea, computer operator; and Kathy, who was procurement clerk at the depot Killed in a 1968 automobile accident. A graduate of the New York Institute of Newspaper Writing, Andy found he could make more money not writing, but he combined hb love of sports as a spectator and his writing talent and began stringing for the Transcript Bulletin 30 years ago. He was also stringing for the Salt Lake Tribune during the state touraa-- . ments and the tourneys held at the old Deseret Cymnasium. Both the are gone gymnasium and the now, and the high school tournaments have burgeoned into several classes. After 30 years of writing about sports, Andy is still as enthusiastic as ever. I still like the high school sports the best, he said. Many of the athletes I wrote about then, now have kids on the teams. Great Moments Although many of them have faded from the sports scene, he can still tell a, listener about players, and coaches and great moments from hundreds of games. He can still connect names, places and dates. Andy b recognized as one of the best sports announcers in Utah and has traveled all over narrating such events as the National Synchronized meet, the NCAA, University of Utah, and Western Athletic Conference swimming championship meets. He has announced the state high school swimming meet for 25 years. Along with hb busy schedule, Andy has found time to fill various positions for his church. He has been a clerical and financial clerk for 18 years. He uses hb skills in pictorial and gra- phic presentations in hb work with the Tooele Federal Employees Credit Union. And the charts which he drafted in hb church work are still in use. The charts and graphs he designed as Chief of the Statistical Branch at TAD were still being used in the late 60s. Andy b also a skilled craftsman with wood, and many friends have been recipients of choice examples of hb talents. First Armed Forces Day As the public relations director of the depot, he coordinated and directed the first big Armed Forces Day back in 1956 under the direction of Colonel John A. Supenski. It was the biggest event Tooele County had seen, Andy said. There were trains, caravans, queens, tours and prizes galore. Fifteen thousand people rode the train from Tooele to the depot. He also remembers the fun he had promoting the Harlem Clobe Trotters for three years right after the Tooele High School gymnasium was built, and a benefit sponsored by the American Legion featuring many star athletes which netted enough money in one night to furnish an iron lung for polio victim Diane Thomas of Stockton. It was the largest indoor crowd in Tooele County history at the time - over 1,000 people. One of Andys proudest moments was the year Tooele hosted the Western Boys Baseball Association world series. It was the first time the series had been held in a small town. Andy credits Sid Hullinger and Fet McFarland with the success of the venture. It was their idea, he said. Publicity Campaign With their backing, Andy, one of the original directors in the WBBA, launched a strong publicity campaign and got the nod to hold the series in Tooele. Ive never seen cooperation like I saw then in Tooele, he said. It was the best tournament ever held for kids. According to Andy, it was the largest outdoor crowd in the citys history -3,000 people had gathered by 9 a.m. for the 3 p.m. game. Bill Colt tin of the Salt Lake Tribune came out. He called the Air National Cuard and the Salt Lake Bees and said, 'If you want to see how to get people out, come to Tooele. To top it all off, the Tooele team took the championship. Heart Attack In 1977 while driving home from Phoenix, Andy had hb third heart attack. It has slowed me down, he says. Hb wife does most of the driving, and Andy complains that he tires easily and that hb diet b shot. I dont work like I used to, hes ays. Not working like he used to doesnt quite fit with Andys hectic schedule of 26 tournament games in four days. The only thing that has changed in From Andys Scrap Book The greatest thing in Andys life today is hb children and hb grandchildren. We tend our grandchildren and spoil them," Andy said of Marcie, A.T, Mick, J. T., and Don Leigh. Top Notch Reporter 30 years b me, he said and described His reputation as a top notch rehow he used to suffer with whichever netted him the distincrecently porter team he preferred. of being guest speaker for a Utah tion Admires Skills Press Association symposium on newsBut now I can sit back and admire at the University of Utah paper the skills and maneuvers of the other wherewriting addressed reporters from he Of them. teams players and appreciate the state on the ins and outs, course I still prefer to see my team win, throughout the ups and downs of sports writing. but I can admire what the others are tryAndy has seen many changes over ing to do. the years. Its neat to have friends like the Everything is gone, he moaned. I about. coaches and players Ive written All the places I used to know. Places remember most of them, he said. like the old South Jr. High School, or the And they remember him. Recently school at Provo where he courted Irbh, he was announcing a swimming meet in the Deseret Cymnasium where he rewhich Cyprus was involved, five former ported the All Church, (also gone), and shook hb and swimmers came up Cyprus the Strand Theatre. hand. Places and people may disappear Wherever he goes, he b greeted with from the scene, but their stories live on affection and respect as he lives up to as seen and recorded through the eyes of hb reputation of treating sports particiAndy Roberts, writer par excellence. fairness and honesty. pants with says with a deadpan expression, I was bom in Roosevelt in a log cabin I helped my father build, you are half inclined to believe him. As a friend described him, Hes like an Irish leprechaun, full of fun and teasing. If you know Andy, Its hard to do an article on is a great writer. who somebody Its hard because whatever you say, you know your subject could have said it much better. Thats part of the problem. Andy wont talk about himself, unless he happens to be telling you one of his delightful stories. DELIGHTFUL and unbeliev- Some of the contestants for Tooeles biggest talent show line up, as master of ceremonies Andy Roberts calls for applause. A shot from the air shows huge crowds which gathered for the 1959 world of WBBA. More than 3,000 had gathered by 9 a.m. able - thats what they are, the way he tells them. And the way he tells them convinces a listener that he is in the presence of not only a great story teller, but a colorful character. For Andy is just that - a character. Most of us spend our days concerned with meeting obligations, our standard of living, or the future. But Andy has spent his days living life to the hilt, and life has obliged him with opportunities galore. He seems to attract adventure like a magnet. Its hard to write about a guy who has seen life (and death) from every possible angle. What do you ' say? YOU CAN say that Andy is a great writer. Hes never at a loss for words. Give him a story or a subject, and he can sit down and start writing without a moments hesitation, and the result will be a vivid combination of the language that can arouse, entertain, pique, inform, recount or describe. He is a master craftsman. You can also say Andy is a wit. funny guy with a rapier-shar- p You never know quite what to expect from him either. When he Andy and hb bride during the war years. no- centennial celebration involving thousands or even a war, and like a general, he can whip it into shape. During his 31 year tenure at TAD his talents were used extensively in top echelon jobs. , Hb years at Tooele Army This tent was Andys home during Depot brought him many. promotions to top positions hb stay on the bland of Guam during the World War II. for the Army. youve ticed that special light in his eyes, a light that says, Dare mel I can do it. I can do anything. YOU CAN SAY that Andy has never been afraid of anything, be it people or situations. He will tackle anything. He can be gentle and easy going - or crusty. Try to take advantage of him, and youll meet a buzz saw. You can say that Andy has used his energy in community and church affairs. It would be hard to count the number of doings that have had his stamp on them, or the number of visiting kids who have slept at his house under his and Irishs care. And he has probably emceed more gatherings than anyone else in the county. Wherever he goes he attracts kids. He gives them a bad time, and they love it. It doesnt matter whether its a little Chanmoro native on Guam or a newsboy in L.A., or one of his beloved grandchildren. They all know, Heres a guy we can trust. YOU COULD say Andy is a great organizer. Give him a meeting of a ten member board, or a . . Yes, Andy is quite a guy, and you are missing something if you dont know him. Said Andy, Ive always wanted to be known as Mr. Roberts, or A.T. or Roberts or anything else, but all my life Ive been called just Andy. If Im with a group, the rest will be introduced as Mr. So and So, or Brother or Coach but Im always just introduced as Andy. PERSONALLY, I think that says a lot. Its rather like televisions Heres Johnny! Heres Andy! What a great introduction! What a great |