Sports legend Laskowski moves on

By Jim Holland, Journal Sports Writer | Friday, November 03, 2006

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RAPID CITY - Sportscaster Bob Laskowski and wife Sandy have wanted to move closer to their children and grandchildren.

Problem was they'd have to leave their Rapid City radio and television "family" and friends to do that.

Such was the enormity of Bob's decision to end his 35-year career in Rapid City and start anew at KWSN Radio in Sioux Falls, joining Craig Mattick's afternoon sports talk show.

"I feel now like a kid with a new toy," said Laskowski, 63, of his new job. "But the emotionalism is starting to kick in."

Laskowski's last play-by-play broadcast for KOTA will be Saturday's Rapid City Central-Sioux Falls O'Gorman clash in the state high school football playoffs.

He joins Mattick as co-host of "Sports Talk with Craig and Bob" on Nov. 20.

"This is one of the prime sports jobs in the whole state," Laskowski said. "They've got sports at all levels - high school, college and professional - and we like Sioux Falls.

"But that doesn't make it any easier to leave. We love Rapid City," he said.

And Rapid City seemed to be part of Laskowski's destiny.

He grew up in Turtle Lake, Wis., following the University of Wisconsin teams, the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Braves and the NBA's Minneapolis Lakers.

"I kept score of every game," he said.

His career path was set after hearing a broadcast of the 1953 Rose Bowl game between Wisconsin and Southern Cal, and after finding an advertisement for the Brown Institute of Broadcasting in Minneapolis in an old Lakers program.

"I knew from the time I was 10 or 11 years old, that I wanted to be a sportscaster," he said.

Randy Norris, a former Rapid City broadcaster working for Brown, visited Laskowski at a high school career day.

Laskowski also recalls reading Sporting News reports on Basin League baseball penned by then-Rapid City Journal sports editor Don Lindner.

"I knew who Don Lindner was before I ever heard of Rapid City," he said. "It's interesting how Rapid City was tied into my future, even at 10-11 years old."

Laskowski's first job was at Rapid City's KRSD radio in 1961.

After short stints elsewhere he returned to Rapid City in 1971, covering sports first for KOTA radio and television, then KEVN TV, KTOQ radio, and back finally to KOTA after working briefly with the Rapid City Thrillers CBA basketball team.

That was in 1998, the same year a son got married in Minnesota. Another son lives in Ohio.

"More and more, we got to thinking that we'd like to be closer to them," said Bob. "I'm getting closer to retirement age and would like to slow down a little."

The dominos began to fall when KWSN co-host Mike Henriksen left to take over the Sportsmax sports program from Deb Maxwell, widow of the show's founder Tom Maxwell.

Laskowski interviewed for the job after calling the Oct. 13 game between Rapid City Central and Sioux Falls Roosevelt.

He was offered the job a few days later and gave his notice at KOTA.

"That was very emotional," he said.

The first local announcement of his leaving came during halftime of the annual Central-Stevens cross-town clash on Oct. 19.

"I got to feeling sentimental. What got me going was the darned Tuba Race. I love that Tuba Race, and I got to thinking this would be the last one I would get to see. We had an extra few minutes during halftime because of the longer band shows, and that's when I announced that I was leaving," he said.

His fondest memory was covering the Rapid City Macy Diesels amateur baseball team attending two games of the 1973 World Series in Oakland.

Owner Ralph Macy had lined up the trip through South Dakota native and Oakland second-baseman Dick Green as a reward for the Diesels' winning the state championship that year.

Through station owner Bill Duhamel, Laskowski was a last-minute addition to the group.

"So here I was on the field at the Oakland Coliseum for the World Series the night after doing a high school football game," he said. "That was a great thrill."

Laskowski treasures Macy's red team jacket given to him after he coordinated a 2004 exhibit of sports memorabilia at The Journey Museum.

He has film footage of Macy wearing the jacket during the Oakland trip.

"That jacket's probably the most valuable thing I have," he said.

Laskowski said he'll miss his broadcast partners, including former KTOQ sportscaster Mike Johnson, KEVN's Jack Caudill, and KOTA's Larry Dirksen and Don Grant, and Verne Sheppard, who teamed with Laskowski at both KTOQ and KOTA.

"Those were great relationships. Sometimes it's hard to have those because egos get in the way, but those guys are like brothers," he said, and then added with a chuckle. "Of course, Verne is more like a father."

"I never got a reaction to anything until I started working with Verne. Without Verne Sheppard, there'd be no Bob Laskowski," he said. "Verne is the most trusted voice of anyone I've ever heard in broadcasting."

He also paid tribute to what he called the "holy trinity" of Rapid City Journal sports writers, Lindner, Roger Toland and the late Ron Wood.

"Everywhere I went, the sportswriters were always my friends," he said. "They always seem to have the pulse of the sports community."

The Laskowski's quickly sold their Rapid City home and are packing up, including Bob's collection of 300 sports jerseys and four large cartons of baseball caps.

"Everything is coming into place faster than I expected, so I guess this was meant to be," he said.

A new opportunity is exciting, but bittersweet, he said.

"It was an easy decision in that respect, but a hard one in having to leave Rapid City and KOTA," he said.

"Sandy and I will always consider ourselves Rapid Citians."