Dave Reynolds works at his desk at the Journal Star office in Peoria. (Journal Star file photo)

 

By DAVE REYNOLDS
Journal Star, Peoria

Editor’s Note: This column from retiring Journal Star sports reporter Dave Reynolds was published by the newspaper on Nov. 28.

PEORIA – After 38 years of covering sports at the Journal Star, the time has come to say farewell. As is occurring throughout many companies these days, mine recently offered employee buyouts, of which I have accepted.

Thus ends my long career at One News Plaza. It's been a great ride.

When I arrived in Peoria from the Des Moines Register in November 1982, the Peoria Civic Center had just opened its doors.
Bradley men's basketball and the Peoria Prancers – the forerunners to the Rivermen – were the dual tenants.

The predecessors to the Peoria Chiefs – the Suns – would launch a professional baseball franchise the next spring.

The St. Louis Cardinals had just won the World Series.

It was a great time and place for a young sports writer to put down roots. I've been fortunate through the years to witness great moments – the Sweet 16 run by Bradley basketball, the Braves' two Valley tournament titles, World Series games with the Cubs, Cardinals and White Sox, three MLB All-Star games, the Peoria Chiefs' epic ninth-inning comeback to win the '02 league championship, the Chicago Bears' playoff victory in the dense Chicago fog, the Manual boys basketball four-peat. The list goes on and on.

Of course, the people around the events – the athletes and coaches, of course, but also my readers and newspaper colleagues – provide the most personal and long-lasting memories.

These eyes witnessed so many college basketball games over the years. I've covered all 950 BU men's contests played since my first one at Georgia Southern in 1990 when I became the Bradley beat writer.

I've seen Bradley play in 37 states, Canada, the District of Columbia and a few from my computer screen due to travel restrictions.

Old-timers might remember that I staffed many Illinois State and Western Illinois games for six years before taking over the Bradley beat.

Who can forget the memorable 2006 NCAA tournament when loyal Bradley fans never sat down during the entirety of the Braves' upset victories over Kansas and Pitt?

After the Pitt victory put them into the Sweet 16, Bradley players thanked their supporters by leaping into the stands with hugs and high-fives.

Years later came a more personal memory. Seemingly countless readers, Twitter followers and colleagues, locally and beyond, supported me over an access incident with the Bradley athletic department as the men's basketball team prepared for the 2019 NCAA tournament.

Fans of the Braves and the First Amendment alike stood by me in a most astounding weekend I'll long appreciate.

And yes, for those who continue to ask, we moved on and the working relationship improved.

There were three decades' worth of wintry drives to Des Moines, Terre Haute, Carbondale and all Valley points in between covering Bradley games.

On other courts, spirited racquetball games with former BU coach Joe Stowell (who usually won), play-by-play announcer Dave Snell and then-Sports Information Director Joe Dalfonso were an integral part of the '90s road trips.

The old coach's many hijinks – from finagling first-class airplane seats to circumventing long restaurant waits – always provided plenty of colorful moments along the way.

Nonconference highlights were the Braves' upset of an ACC champion Georgia Tech team in 1995, the 2006 near upset and bloody brawl at fourth-ranked Villanova and the Las Vegas triumph over Illinois in 2009.

The great memories of being on press row for all 30 MVC tournaments in St. Louis culminated in the Braves cutting down the nets for the last two as Bradley returned to Valley respectability after a long drought.

And who can forget Deon Jackson's ESPY-winning game-winning heave in '96?

Every one of those Arch Madness spectacles was a first-rate event presented by Doug Elgin and his Valley staff.

One baseball moment I won't forget is the 1989 Cubs' division-winning celebration in Montreal, still the wildest and most sustained locker room bash I've ever seen. I can still see a wild-eyed Dwight Smith dashing over to us previously dry scribes and spraying us liberally from his bottle of Korbel.

This job afforded me the opportunity to meet and interview legends such as Mickey Mantle, Joe DiMaggio, Stan Musial and Michael Jordan. In Jordan's case, I covered his first professional game when the Bulls played a 1984 exhibition in Peoria and again 11 years later when the world champions returned to Carver Arena.

And who wouldn't enjoy breaking bread and sharing drinks with the likes of Harry Caray, Don Zimmer and Jerry Reinsdorf in spring training? In Harry's case, many drinks.

Of course, Harry's buddy, Pete Vonachen, was one of my favorites. Nobody could spin a yarn like Pete, whose vast legacy was topped by his resurrection of pro baseball in Peoria.

How fortunate I was to watch a kid named Shaun Livingston – who I coached in baseball when Shaun was 7 years old – grow up to become a veteran of 15 NBA seasons and win three world championship rings with Golden State?

That pride in Peoria also included witnessing firsthand the successful journey of a young baseball player from Limestone High School develop into a big league star whose 612 home runs rank eighth on the all-time list.

Five years later after he retired, I was proud to cast my Hall of Fame ballot for Jim Thome.

Nearly 90 percent of my Baseball Writers Association of America peers concurred and Thome earned the prestigious honor of becoming a first-ballot Hall of Famer.

So many talented co-workers at the Journal Star have come and gone. Men no longer with us such as Paul King, Dick Lien, and Gary Childs helped shape my career.

And of course, Kirk Wessler, my former editor and longtime press row companion who gave me the license to tell stories in my own way.

The talents and hard work of every other writer and editor, who reported the games of central Illinois and beyond, made our sports section the most comprehensive in the state.

It was an honor to work with you all, but especially with hockey writer extraordinaire Dave "Cleve" Eminian, who has always had my back.

And then there's my wife and best friend, Linda. She's been a pillar of encouragement and organization for nearly 40 years while supporting the crazy night and weekend hours and wacky travel schedule of a sportswriter as we raised our family. Now that she, too, has wrapped up her work career this month, we are looking forward to discovering a new normal together.

Ironically, my last day at the paper is Dec. 8, prior to tipoff of Bradley's home opener at Carver Arena.

COVID restrictions allow for just one PJS reporter in the building. So it's time for me to deliver a bounce pass to my Journal Star sports colleagues who will take it from here.

Thanks to everyone for reading my stories during the past 38 years. It's been a pleasure to have you turn those pages with me.