Passing of Bob Trainor
A sad day today as the great radio reporting icon Bob Trainor passed away. I met Bob in my first year covering Mets back in 1984 and he was also so helpful in imparting his knowledge on the many things radio reporter needs to know. He had great relationships with so many players and was always willing to go the extra yard for me with getting to know the players. I had a great relationship with Patrick Ewing while he was a Knick and I firmly believe Bob's kind words about me to Ewing got that going. As many of you know I grew up rooting for the Hoyas even in the pre-Ewing years and attended a John Thompson led basketball camp as a teenager. And because of Bob, Patrick and I shared some time recalling great Hoya moments of which there are many.
Bob also cared deeply about people and showed that every waking moment plus his historical knowledge of the teams he covered was unparalleled. Bob also had an ethical way he did his job we could all emulate. Pre-game press room dinners were always great as his stories could amuse you and even at times bring a tear to your eye.
Bob understood the great teamwork we had as reporters even though we competed against each other was very special and did not always exist back in the Howie Spira times and Bob played a HUGE role in developing that teamwork.
I remember being at Fordham Rose Hill Campus one day in the late 90's for a Hoop game and it was around the Holidays. I told Bob I was going to Arthur Avenue to buy Xmas Eve seafood and told him that he was welcome to come along, and we would grab dinner at Rigolettos on me.
We had a great time talking about his early years in the biz and 2 days later, while covering a Knick game I brought him a care package of the seafood I cooked which he told me he enjoyed. It was a moment I will never forget.
As we all get older, we lose friends, and I can readily tell you after my triple bypass this past year I know I am definitely well on the back 9 of my life. But I learned from Bob where we are right now in life matters much more than where we were years ago. He also taught me we measure our life on the dealings we have with others and helping others is something we do because it is the right thing to do. It should never be done for the credit you get for doing it because that really does not matter.
Bob taught us all so much but those ethics I spoke about will stand the test of time especially if we try to do for others what Bob did for us.
It will help keep his spirit alive forever.