HE WAS A LEGEND: Pro football player, TV Sports anchor, 49ers play-by-play broadcaster...but there were things off the camera, off the mic you didn't know about Wayne Walker you will know now (as I share admiring)
1. Wayne was a happily married man with family and friends--lady friends, some who very much loved to show him how much they adored him.
2. Wayne Walker could read his copy after a few or (more than a few) after a night of adult beverages, and you'd never know it. Period. End. of. story.
3. Wayne Walker was THEE nicest man in the Bay Area sports TV biz; I know, firsthand.
4. Behind the scenes, Walker used to bring lower-level staff at PIX unbelievable lavish Christmas gifts, he didn't have to, he just did.
5. Wayne thought much of the little guy and didn't hide behind phony "family" values like the clown at KRON in those days.
There are literally 4 Million things I don't know about Wayne Walker, and the first one is: WHO THE FUCK IS WAYNE WALKER?
ReplyDeleteI see you're continuing to do this blog at a time of coronageddon. Good on you, Rich. Keep the spirit alive. God knows KGO has never been more important, since like 90+ of their listeners could actually die if they get the virus.
Here's praying for you.
Wayne Walker was a former Detroit Lions linebacker and a longtime sports anchor for Kpix and also analyst on 49ers radio for many decades.
DeleteAs a Lions fan, I always admired Wayne. Why you feel the need to bring up his "lady friends" is beyond me. Kind of ass hole like, no?
ReplyDelete> 5. Wayne thought much of the little guy and
ReplyDelete> didn't hide behind phony "family" values
> like the clown at KRON in those days.
KRON? What about KTVU? The phony concerned looks and "Umms" of Julie Haener (you know, the one who continued to water her lawn to perfect during the drought two years ago), the family values of the hairplugged family man anchor who cheated, the family values of the ego-inflated "read my lame self-published pamphlet...I mean BOOK!" sports anchor who thinks he's God's gift to television, or the hotsie-totsie clubber who has in her closet every animal print blouse in the state of California probably. You know, the station that keeps reminding you ever five minutes that "We're all in this together. Only our lawns are greener than yours."
6. Wayne likes black women.
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So did I. Wayne was a colorful character, a brilliant Linebacker, and the best sports anchor/reporter/football color commentator that I've seen in this market.
DeleteI always respected Wayne Walker, but I have seen & heard opposite opinions from outside of the pros and major colleges.
ReplyDeleteUnfortunately, despite respect from peers, Walker was not as well liked by the local schools, high school and community college, though he was good with the universities, which partly explains why The Bentley always beat out Walker in the ratings, not to mention Ibanez, because the most successful KRON sports anchor always gave a shout out to the prep and JC champions.
Still, be it Lon Simmons or Joe Starkey, Walker fit in the 49ers' radio booth like a glove. And when KPIX's greatest anchor ever, Dave McElhatton passed in the early 2010s, Walker was among the leading eulogists. Walker did build a big enough base to earn respect from both peers and viewers alike, despite rarely surpassing the fake "values" sportscaster.
I have no idea if there were enough Van Amburg fans at Circle 7 fed up with the sportscaster carousel there to switch to Walker at PIX. Maybe Rich has a better idea if Walker, between 1973 & 84, beat out the Martin Wyatt-led carousel at KGO-TV and Gary Park at KTVU on a consistent basis, before the Bentley scared off Tom Nettles & made him cry, never mind turning off Pete Liebengood & Ron Barr as he took off in the ratings between 1984 & 95, when Walker retired.
Either way, with his linebacker career in Detroit, his 22-year tenure at KPIX, and large community both in the Bay Area and in his native Idaho, Wayne Walker was one of a kind.
Compared with Walker's predecessor, Milt Kahn, Walker's arrival at KPIX was a much needed shot for Bay Area sports fans. The sports anchor situation on the 6:00 News in those days was pretty bleak. It's not like John O'Reilly on channel 7 provided much either. Walker was one of the first authentic sports guys who was able to make the transition to TV and had the been there, done that chops to offer credibility to real sports fans.
ReplyDeleteMilt Khan was hire I believe to be the anti sports anchor. He wasn't supposed to be an expert,he was supposed to offer a fresh new take on local sports. A sports fan made an anchor he was sort of sold as by KPIX.
ReplyDeleteHe came across as a smug Woody Allen,kind of the stutter thing going,very nervous voice. You just knew the super conservative world of sports,especially baseball hated him. The almost fist fight between him and Giants manager Charlie Fox made history. Can't remember what it was over...but Fox went nuts.
He adapted poison pen to on air sports.
Can't say I missed him back then. I was pretty conservative myself being very young teen and trying to fit in. Now? Fit THIS...