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The Big O Podcast - Episode #8: Bob Lobel · The Big O Podcast

• Glenn Ordway: Well, there was no bigger media star in Boston in the bob lobel: Well calm down. Already just calm down. J you just have to calm down. Glenn Ordway: Whoa well wait a minute. I can't do a nice introduction for you. You don't I mean bob lobel: Okay, you can, but you know what? I Glenn Ordway: Bobby, you were you were a big hit in the eighties and and the nineties. A big huge hit. I mean you were part bob lobel: Well, why'd they call you the you were the big O, I wasn't the big L. Glenn Ordway: Well, you you you were pretty big, you know. You were they had the bob lobel: Okay, okay, okay. Glenn Ordway: T the T V guys were making all the money at one point, you know, and then the radio bob lobel: Okay, yeah. Glenn Ordway: guys started getting a little, you know, a little scraps here and there, and then we bob lobel: I can please. please. Glenn Ordway: we then we started to do pretty well. I will I will say that. But bob lobel: I agree. Please, obviously, right. Glenn Ordway: I I didn't make the I column or the inside track as often as you did. Okay. So you were bob lobel: Yeah, no kidding. You're lucky you you're lucky. You know what? Glenn Ordway: You were regular. bob lobel: Alan Miller, my producer and I would go down to the Rexall drugstore in the corner of wherever it was, the Indostoro Drive and Lever Leverett Circle. It was a drugstore right there at one o'clock Glenn Ordway: yeah, I know what that is. Yeah. bob lobel: in the morning to wait for the herald to come out so we could look at the eye column to see if we were in it. Glenn Ordway: The remarkable thing about you and I is we are connected. We came into the market, into the Boston market, the exact same Monday. It was, I believe, in October bob lobel: And this yeah. Glenn Ordway: 1976. Am I right about that? The time? I think so. bob lobel: You're absolutely right about that. Glenn Ordway: You came from Manchester, New Hampshire, W G-I-R, and I came from W L O 1570. You had to go above the police calls. bob lobel: Yeah. Glenn Ordway: And you got fifteen seventy, but we were both doing sports talk shows. bob lobel: And I'd say we And I'd say the tower would fall further than the signal. Glenn Ordway: Right, exactly. And we were both doing radio talk shows and we got the call to come in to to Boston. So let's start there. What was that like for you? Cause you weren't a Massachusetts guy, right? You you went to Kent State, so you were you didn't really Yeah. bob lobel: I grew up in Ohio, right. No question about it. But being in Manchester, New Hampshire being in Burlington, Vermont, first of all, I went to University of Vermont graduate school. They got a master's degree in education to be a guidance counselor and a college administrator. So it was all really about coming into f I know, Yogi Berris said, you come to a fork on a road, take it. But this was all about taking the right fork on the road at the right time. was actually went to Burlington, Vermont. UV first thing I ever did, Glenn, was a PA announcer at the UV football games, 'cause they don't do football anymore up there. But it was like the first thing and I was director of student activities, so I had an inside track to the job. I kinda hired myself. So Glenn Ordway: Smart. bob lobel: Smart so there were just a lot of little th things that changed my whole career path and just one accident after another. And actually and it may feel like this to you, it seems like it just all happened to somebody else. Like it never really happened to me. I was just an outside observer and it just kinda happened to somebody else. I can't explain it, but it was just, you know, a couple of good decisions. One of my best friends offered me the sales manager j job at his auto dealership the same week I was offered a job at WBZ Radio. The same week and talk about Glenn Ordway: No l let me let me guess the car dealership was gonna pay more than the job at BC. Right, exactly. bob lobel: There's no question about it. You know, it's country club, car, country club, you know, Manchester country club, blah, blah, blah. The whole thing. Yeah, sure. The absolutely. Glenn Ordway: What did you do first at at B Z with the radio? When w Okay. That was the first thing you did. bob lobel: Afternoon sports. Afternoon sports. Glenn Ordway: How long did you do that for? A couple of years? bob lobel: Yeah, twenty th twenty three thousand, twenty four thousand, twenty five thousand a year. Yeah, that was Glenn Ordway: really? I was actually making more money than you at that time, and you were at big time B Z. bob lobel: Well everybody would. Glenn Ordway: I was at 1510. bob lobel: Everybody was, okay? I'm just saying, right? Glenn Ordway: So they didn't pay you much money. bob lobel: No, but I'm just saying that's what I went you know, I went down there for hey, it was WBZ, it was Guy Manella, it was Dave Maynard, it was L Glenn Ordway: Big Like bob lobel: Larry Glick, it was Jerry Williams, you know, it was all you can name the names and and well people obviously a lot of people that are listening to the podcast have no clue who those names are. Guy Manella Glenn Ordway: No, no. A lot of bob lobel: was the guy. Guy was the why guy was so great. Glenn Ordway: He was he you may not remember this. I did a show with Guy Manella on W R K O for over a year. bob lobel: I do remember that. No, I I I I do also What's his name? Dale. Dale Arnold did a did a show with him too, or at least for a while. But I do remember you worked with Guy and and then well only you can Glenn Ordway: Yeah, I did. We did bob lobel: attestify how how great a guy he was. Glenn Ordway: He was a great he was a terrific guy. And it I I really enjoyed him. The problem with him was I think there was a change that was going on. What he did at B Z really worked. He was esoterical and he tried to get off on other tangents and it worked at that time. But sports was and sports information was starting to come out a little bit more rapidly. And he really wasn't a great sports fan. You know, he wasn't bob lobel: No, I Glenn Ordway: really deep into sports. bob lobel: I no, I totally agree. I think Guy was a s an intellectual. Not that it's any departure from sports, not that sports guys aren't intellectuals as you and I can attest. Glenn Ordway: absolutely. Both of us. Yeah. The funny thing about it is when he got out of the business, do you remember what Guy Manila was doing? bob lobel: Yeah, he was selling well vending machines. Glenn Ordway: Vending machines. Vending machines that had beta and VHS tapes in them, which was r you know, really the start of of all of that video tape rental business, which is blockbuster. Yeah. Yeah. So you bob lobel: You know, Glenn, he was always he was always a cutting edge guy, as you know. And anyway Glenn Ordway: so but you did a radio show and so you would when did you When did you switch over and do T V? bob lobel: Well, you know, Upton and I did a show together for a couple of years on B Z Radio and as a talk show at you know and after after Guy's show, after Guy left and went his own way with ITS and then on to New Hampshire. I was at a Jimmy Myers walked off the set on Channel Four in the weekends. Jimmy Myers Jimmy Myers threw down Glenn Ordway: Jimmy Myers walked off the set. Why? bob lobel: his Jim why he was mad at something, you know, you know we didn't get the 40k or whatever he was mad at something. Jimmy th put down his microphone and said, I'm done. Walked off the set. So there was an opening. Glenn Ordway: I guess it was. bob lobel: They they auditioned Jimmy Brian Leary and Judy Carlo, who was on WBCN Glenn Ordway: Member bob lobel: and myself. And of course I was in the building, so I was an easy hire. It was a lot easier to hire somebody that was in the building. And that Mike Barnacle's future wife, Ann Fanukin, who went on to make the Bank of America the Bank of America, she was she worked for Cyanov and she says, Well, you gotta hire Lobel, he's in the house and whatever. So we were at a Celtics party. It was like one of those pre-season parties with the sponsors and everything else and Cy walks up to me and s and the job is open and he s he says, Do you want the effing job or don't you? That's what happened. I swear to God, I can't make this up, Glenn. And Glenn Ordway: No. bob lobel: I yeah, I said, I guess I do, Cy. But it was like going over it was T to TV. It was a different language, different everything. It wasn't radio, it was TV. It was totally different, as you know. It's just it was so anyway, that's when I first started in TV. And I first started on the weekends, and you know, blah blah blah, and you know, get used to the Glenn Ordway: Yeah, you were the weekend anchor and but you had, I mean, you had the face for t television, you know. I had the face for radio, and so it, you know, it worked out great for me. But bob lobel: You know what? That's what Glenn Ordway: but how so then you got the weekday job, the Monday through Friday. bob lobel: Right. Glenn Ordway: Who had left before you? bob lobel: Why bell? Glenn Ordway: Twy Bell left, okay. And so you bob lobel: Right. Glenn Ordway: got the Monday through Friday gig, and that was a big deal because in those days Everything was about TV news at six and eleven. Now they do it at four thirty, five thirty, six forty-five, seven fifteen. They do like nine casts, but those days Yeah. bob lobel: You know what I mean? I know, I know, there's ten thousand newscasts a day. Glenn Ordway: Those days it was six and eleven, and you were the guy. How much t did they give you in that half hour block? bob lobel: Well, usually, you know, in the evening, early evening it was about four about eight minutes. And Glenn Ordway: Really? bob lobel: in the early evening it was, you know, anywhere from eight to ten minutes, depending on what we had. And we had a lot. You know, we did packages, we did musical stuff, we did we filled that eight and ten minutes pretty well. At eleven o'clock it was about four minutes, which you know is an eternity today. At eleven o'clock you say hi and goodbye. And you know what? Because you know what, everybody already knows everybody has phones, everybody all knows the scores, everybody's seen all the highlights. You don't have to tune in at eleven o'clock anymore. It's a different you know, here we go again. Old people talking about what it used to be like. It's a different world. Totally different. Glenn Ordway: Yeah. Yeah. Yeah, it is a it it is a different world, but you have to admit that was your career was during the golden age of TV sports, bob lobel: No question. And then Glenn Ordway: local TV sports on local TV stations. But you're right, Bob. What happened was ESPN came on, and so I can get all of the highlights on ESPN. And then bob lobel: Absolutely. Glenn Ordway: social media and the internet, and now I can go and get Highlights. I don't need to go and watch at six o'clock or eleven o'clock anymore. But I will give give bob lobel: Absolutely. Glenn Ordway: you this, and we'll get into a lot of it here in the conversation. You took that time and you did some really creative stuff. And I mean, when I say creative stuff, we'll get into the sport the sports spotlight and others, but you were doing this sports update thing in which you were having yourself and your twin. I do remember that. That was hilarious because the Minnesota twins were in town and you had you and your twin. bob lobel: God bless you. You know what? you you remember more than I do. And I right. Glenn Ordway: Well, I I I guess so, but I do remember that because at that time I sat there and said, Shit, how the hell is he pulling this off? Now, this was well before AI and well before, you know, we had deep technology. And it looked pretty good. It wasn't like it was fake. It was like it was like it was a Hollywood movie. Even those Hollywood movies where they had one bob lobel: Yes. Glenn Ordway: Patty Duke Austin and she would play, her sister. You were able to Pull it off. So I'm bob lobel: We had d Glenn, we had trust me when I tell you this. We had talented people that or were around me, the behind the scenes. It's r as you know, it's really all about the behind the scenes people. It's how good they are. Makes you Glenn Ordway: Yeah, you had Alan Miller. He was terrific. bob lobel: Alan Milley was terrific, but we had when it came to th those updates, it was whoever can think of the most creative thing to do. Now I gotta admit, that was my idea, the Minnesota Twins. We're playing the Minnesota Twins. Why not be twins? It's just a little stupid five two minute update. You might as well do something crazy, 'cause who's watching at midnight? Glenn Ordway: Well the but but what you did when you talk about you took the set of circumstances and you had creative people around you. So there was a period of time I remember when they were rebuilding the WBZ TV for studio. And so what bob lobel: Yeah, right. Glenn Ordway: you did was you continued to do your cast in the demolished old Channel Four studio and then went to the new one as construction bob lobel: True. True. Glenn Ordway: was going on around you. And bob lobel: True. Glenn Ordway: I that was so clever. Instead of going to another studio or just, you know, another backdrop or whatever. Nope. You sat right in the exact same spot, even though your desk was gone, your jail was gone, and you continued to do the the broadcast. And I think that's what set you aside from from others. That was that was really unique, Bob. bob lobel: Well it's kind of you to say that. You say clever, I'm not sure it was so clever, but it was you know, like I said, we I I know, but I know, but you gotta Glenn Ordway: Well at the time it was. People weren't doing that. There weren't a lot. There were some guys in the country that were doing it. bob lobel: understand we had the mentality of of trying to create stuff. It wasn't just me, it was the whole like two or three other guys that were behind the scenes that knew how to do that stuff that allowed me to do it. And then we were all willing to try anything except do the F bomb on the air. I don't think we've ever come close to doing that. Glenn Ordway: I've heard you and your podcast drop it though. it's and yeah. Seems like you're enjoying it. bob lobel: Well that's a little different, as you know. These these are these are th yeah, it seems that's most people I know that are on television swear more off television than anybody I know. Most of all the most of all the female Glenn Ordway: Question about it. bob lobel: anchors, you'd be surprised. It's all it's all about how many of the female anchors swear off television. Glenn Ordway: Boy, that would be great T V. bob lobel: One of the one of the wor one of the greatest female anchors I know for swearing, her name was Catherine Kiefer. She went on to Glenn Ordway: I remember her. bob lobel: Saint St. Louis. She had a parrot at home that tal I don't know, I've been told that she did, okay? But anyway, she Glenn Ordway: She had a parrot at home, so when she when she would drop the F bomb, bob lobel: I don't know, Glenn. I don't know anything about it. I just Glenn Ordway: the parrot would repeat, fuck on d on TV bob lobel: I don't that's I d I don't know. No, no. Sh she was just really great at swearing. Anyway, I digress. Glenn Ordway: All right, so your career is is taking off right now. You're a big huge star in town. And I believe, I can't remember the year. It might have been 85 or 86. CBS approaches you about a big time national job. It was going to be the host of the college game, basically college game day, what it is today in ESPN. They would CBS was going to do that for football and for basketball. Were you offered that job? bob lobel: I was. It was to replace Brent Musberger. Glenn Ordway: And you turned it down. Why? bob lobel: it's a good question. It ended up becoming Jim Nance. Glenn Ordway: I know. bob lobel: And I think about it during the Masters Glenn Ordway: Bot by the way, Bob, that guy Jim Nance, he's done pretty well in his career. It's worked bob lobel: No killing. Glenn Ordway: out pretty well. That gig that he got that you should have got, it's worked out pretty well for him. bob lobel: I didn't say, wait a minute, hang on a second. You asked me why did I turn it down? Glenn Ordway: Mm-hmm. bob lobel: because my kids lived in New Hampshire. I wasn't prepared to go back to New York or go to New York. my wife at the time, Susan Warnick, God bless her, she and I obviously remain close friends. I can tell this story and shobby, if you go to New York we'll be divorced in within nine months. And I said, Okay. And I stayed and we were divorced within nine months. Glenn Ordway: Well, but you satisfied your kids' love of their father and proximity to their father. I mean bob lobel: Well, I wasn't I had I I had a job that was really good and it paid me quite a bit of of money at the time and Glenn Ordway: Mm-hmm. bob lobel: I just felt comfortable where I was and I just felt like it wasn't the right thing for me. Now, believe me, I see Jim Nance on the telecast, on the NFL all the time. Do it does it ever come up in my mind? All the time. I see him in the Masters and you know, other golf tournaments. Does it ever come up? All the time. Do I think about what if? No. Here's my rationale. He's better than me. He's really good at what he does. If they'd a hired some schlub and he wasn't, you know, any good at what he did and he still hung on, then I might think differently. But I think Nance is really good. I really respect him, I really like him, and I don't envy him, and I don't in the end feel like I really should have taken that job. I asked myself, what if I'd have taken that job? I'd have probably been fired after three or four years. Yes. Well, I know you don't know about that. And I don't I know Glenn Ordway: I don't know about that. Plus plus your love of g your love of golf. bob lobel: I don't know about that either. I'm just saying I think Jim Nance is really, really good at what he does. Glenn Ordway: He is. He is really good. But you were offered the job. Nance was second fiddle. Okay? He was second fiddle. The funny thing is, Bob, I knew Jim Nance pretty well at that time. He was doing the Utah Jazz basketball games, okay? He was the analyst. He was also doing weekend TV, I believe, out in Salt Lake City. But I knew him pretty well because in those days we didn't have the internet. We couldn't un know as the next game on the schedule is the Utah Jazz. We didn't know what the jazz were doing. So we all had connections, all of the play-by-play and analyst guys. We had everybody's phone number. I used to call Dickie Vital because he was doing the Indiana Pacers broadcast. And bob lobel: Great. Glenn Ordway: used to call him the night before the game and say, Hey, Dickie V, what are the Pacers doing right now? That was our connection for information on the next schedule game. And so I used to call Jim Nance. By the way, he's changed his phone number. I tried, it just doesn't work anymore. But in those old days I did that and so I didn't bob lobel: Yeah, I would've I no, I kept my same number. That's how you got me. Glenn Ordway: You did. You d you you did. You well you're you know, you're the people's man, you know, you he's a little above that. Though you had that job and you you let it you let it go. So I don't know how many people know about that. bob lobel: Was I stupid? Tell me, was it tell me was did I really did I do a stupid thing? And you can tell me the truth. Glenn Ordway: No, it it it if you did it for your your your kids, because it didn't work out with Susan bob lobel: Well what would you have done? What would you Glenn Ordway: Warnick anyway. So what difference did it make? But if you did it for your kids, I'm never gonna, yeah. I bob lobel: Well what would you have done? No, what would you have done? You you're the god Glenn Ordway: I would have I would have tried to move my kids, I think, to New York. I think bob lobel: No but Glenn Ordway: I would have taken the big time gig, Bobby. I think I would have. Though I must say, I must say bob lobel: Okay, that's good, that's fair. Glenn Ordway: this. I must say this. When I did get fired by EEI. In two thousand and thirteen, I had other opportunities. I had an opportunity in Chicago. Matter of fact, when I left the Celtics gig, I had two or three opportunities. I could have done Toronto Raptors were just starting. They wanted me as a play-by-play guy. I could have gone to gone to Golden State. They wanted me. And I elected to do the same thing that you did. Okay, I'm a homie. I'm gonna stay here in Boston and my family's here and my kids here. So I shouldn't bitch and give you shit about it because I did the same thing. bob lobel: No, but anybody can put anybody that can put f a fire out on Johnny Mo's pants can do just about anything. Glenn Ordway: I we gotta talk about Johnny most. We have to, because people may not remember this. They know that I worked with Johnny for seven, eight years. They may not know this, but in the late 70s, Johnny was having similar health problems. It was the reason I got the gig. because they they had a a guy by the name of Rick Weitzmann, a former Celtics player that was doing bob lobel: I mean. Glenn Ordway: color commentary with Johnny, but he was a school teacher in Peabody. And he couldn't do road games and some home games he had difficulty getting to if it was like an early start or something like that. And Johnny was having health problems where literally there was one game in Philadelphia in which the tech, yeah, the guy that's running the knobs had to do the play by play because Johnny lost his voice in the second half of the game. So it became a real, real issue. And I had done some college like you had, Bobby. I had done some college play-by-play and did basketball, did hockey, did football. And so I ended up getting the gig. And it was obviously a a tremendous gig, and it was an unbelievable period of time in my life. And I was working with somebody that I used to listen to with a transistor radio underneath my pillow. bob lobel: Right. Glenn Ordway: And I used to hear we're here high above courtside. And I that was my childhood. And now I get the opportunity to work bob lobel: Amazing, isn't it? Glenn Ordway: with the guy. And it was amazing. And of course, he was so unique, so different, at times so bizarre. And yet, you know, I did love w working with him. Now you did it in the late 70s, same reason he was having health issues. They needed somebody who could come in that could do both analysis. And play by play. And so you would did not grow up in Boston, but obviously you knew the legend of Johnny most. What was it like for you when you first sat down and started working with him? bob lobel: Well, I think he was afraid I wanted to take his job. That was the first thing. Okay. Glenn Ordway: Same thing. Hold on. Same thing. Okay. Bob, he was the most insecure person I have ever met in the business, and yet of everybody I have ever known in the business, including you, he had the most secure job by far. bob lobel: Of course, of course. He was Red's guy, and that was not gonna change. And and for good reason, Red was a genius, and Red, for some reason, knew what Johnny brought to the telecast, to the broadcast. And the reason he was afraid I was gonna take his job is like three weeks after I got to WBZ to do afternoon sports, he was sick. And Pat Randall, the sports director at WBZ, said to me, I want you to go out to Kobo Hall. Go out to Detroit and do the Celtics Pistons game. So three weeks after I'm at WBZ, I'm going out to Detroit to do a s you think this isn't a big deal for a kid from New Hampshire? Go out to d just like you, to a Celtics Pistons game in Kobo Hall with John Havlichak playing setting his career record and and being on Armed Forces Radio. It's like you know, you can only imagine being on Armed Forces Radio and this game brought to you by an Armed you know, you do the whole reading of the thing and you then you start to realize that people are somewhere in Europe are listening to what you're talking about. And it was a huge deal. And I think that that was when Johnny got the idea that I was gonna take his job. And I think he never really lost it. And it was kind of an uncomfortable couple of years. I mean it was Sydney Wicks and Curtis Rowe. That was Glenn Ordway: That was uncomfortable within itself. Right. bob lobel: That was uncomfortable as it is. And then there was a time when you can d come up with Johnny Most like putting fi his pants out on fire, which I think is the most amazing story of all time. But there are times there was once we we came to the we sat at the garden and I would go up there first in that little r you know, the little overhang area which was a great place to watch a basketball game. And and s you know, you crawl up there through the rafters and and the and through those unobstructed view seats or obstructed view seats. And w I'd sit down and this one game, Glenn, I swear to God, Johnny came up and he had no idea who the Celtics were playing. Hey, high above courts I had to do basketball battle. The Boston Celtics it against the paused looked over. Seriously, okay. Yeah. Glenn Ordway: This Bob, this was not an isolated case. It w it bob lobel: I can Glenn Ordway: it was not. Johnny was technically in his y earlier days, back in the before the team really and you were dealing with the team when it w when it really started to suck there at the end and I got the the start of that great run in the in in the eighties, but bob lobel: No, and I can't say one gr one genius thing that you and Johnny did was the telephone answering machine Glenn Ordway: no, they were fantasy tapes. They were they were recreation. Right. bob lobel: fantasy, whatever they were, it was genius. Genius. Glenn Ordway: Yeah, they were recreation of the last you know, four minutes of the of a game between the Celtics and the Lakers for game seven of the NBA championship, and you become the s the star. I can't tell you how many people still come up to me and say, I got one of those when I was a kid, you know, my parents gave me one for Christmas. We bob lobel: It was genius. I mean, I brought it up. I remember it. I mean, obviously it made an impact. Well go ahead, tell me the you really Glenn Ordway: Yeah, Johnny and I ended up getting the rights for the entire NBA for that. And it was a great venture. And it it was really good for our relationship because it it it became rough and uncomfortable at times with Johnny because of his insecurity. I mean, it which was amazing. I can't tell you how many times I would sit down and say to John, John, nobody is ever going to fire you. Okay. And it would be stupid. For me to try to push you out of the way. It would be dumb for me because the audience would absolutely hate me as the next play-by-play guy. I don't want to do that. I want to ex i i Yeah, I had many bob lobel: Yeah, I never had that conversation. I never had that conversation. Glenn Ordway: conversations with him about a lot of this stuff. And I would say to him straight out, I want to extend your career. I can help extend your career. It was it, you know, went over to the broadcast, went from D Z to RKO. They extended to do a half hour pregame, half hour postgame, as you know, Bob, because they had to pay huge rights fees. So John couldn't do a half an hour pregame show and half an hour post-game show. He could just bob lobel: Right. Glenn Ordway: do the game and that was it. So I was actually, you know, helping him out along the way. But when you talk about not knowing what team it was, Johnny was a great really a technical Play-by-play broadcaster when he was younger. If you listen to those older tapes, different voice, higher, you know, octave, but he was really great at telling you where the ball was. Once John got into the period in his life, in his career, where he knew he could make this two and a half hour theater. You know, the good guys, the bad guys, he changed everything he did. And so therefore, he never studied again. About the the rosters or the team. He didn't have to do that. His prep work was, okay, what am I gonna say? I'm gonna call that guy Mr. McNasty, and that guy's gonna be McFilthy. And he would come up with all of these nicknames for the other. That was his prep work. So, yes, that didn't happen one time where you said he showed up at at the garden, didn't know what team was. That showed up, I'm gonna guess, a dozen times that I can remember, where he got bob lobel: Yeah. Glenn Ordway: into the open. And he was at the Boston Garden and he wasn't sure of who the Celtics were playing, even though the other team was down on the floor out there, you know, shooting. So bob lobel: Right. Right. Glenn Ordway: you're right. And to me that was bizarre, but that was Johnny Most. bob lobel: One of the great collections from Evening Magazine, they did a piece on Johnny Most in Detroit. It was the game when he was yelling at Isaiah Thomas, these dirty guys, they don't know how to play. That's all they are, there's dirty, filthy Glenn Ordway: Right. bob lobel: you know, wood and he's holding his microphone and he's shaking and he's Glenn Ordway: Shaking. bob lobel: right. In evening magazine Glenn Ordway: All right, so bob lobel: just happened to be shooting that night when he did the you know Who are these dirty guys in Detroit? That's all they think about is, you know, they don't know how to play the game. Anyway, it was really it was classic. Glenn Ordway: Okay, so I had the incident where he burnt his pants up on on on fire and and bob lobel: Yeah, this is how I wanted to hear this. Glenn Ordway: we And so I will tell you this the the most embarrassing part of that was that i he he was one of those guys that shopped at like Kmart or Zare's if you remember Zare's. That's bob lobel: It really s that really surprises me. Glenn Ordway: that that's that's that's where he would buy his clothes. So these were bob lobel: What a shocker. Glenn Ordway: Bob, these were polyester slacks, okay? Even though Eastern clothing was like one of our sponsors. So bob lobel: I know, I know. Glenn Ordway: yeah. And so this was a meltdown. So he had two cigarettes going at one time. One was in the ashtray because the bob lobel: Poor guy. Glenn Ordway: the game was continuous and if one cigarette ended after seven minutes, he needed the next one going. And he's a literally a chain smoker. So he drops the one in the ashtray as he's trying to switch from one to the new one and he drops it right on his lap. And so it was a freaking meltdown in his crotch. And it was like four or five gigantic round holes right there in that crotch area. bob lobel: Mac. Glenn Ordway: And I had a cup of coffee that I had in front of me that was cold. What else was I would going to do? I certainly wasn't going to pat that area and put it out. I wasn't doing that. bob lobel: No, absolutely you have very few options. Very few options. Glenn Ordway: So I literally Drop the cold coffee right on his lap. And he understood. He looked at me, he goes, thank you, babe. Thank you, Pabe. But the best part was he had to go downstairs from the perch we were at down to the locker room to get a Celtics towel because he couldn't walk out of the garden, because everything in the crotch was exposed as he was walking through the Boston garden, leaving that night. Now I remember you had an incident where his teeth fell out in the middle of the game. bob lobel: Well that was Al Greenert. It wasn't me. It was and it was really Al Greenert, who was the former St. Ann Selms basketball coach. But it was this Glenn Ordway: I remember Al. I knew Al, yeah. bob lobel: his it was this color man before and yeah, his teeth fell out and Al reached out and grabbed them in midair. I wish it were I wish it was Glenn Ordway: So we so they could have bob lobel: like I wish I could say it was me that grabbed his teeth, but that would be that would be Rob Peter Paypal. I did not grab his teeth. I'm not sure I would have been that quick or was that eager to grab his teeth. No, I can't Glenn Ordway: you know, imagine that. A a Celtic fan bob lobel: imagine that. I had one incident in Philadelphia or after a game against the seventy sixers. It was a playoff game and we were sitting at at at courtside. And a fan came down and you know the Sixers had won the game and most is sitting right there in a Philadelphia fan, can be just as e just as bad as Boston fans in every which way. Glenn Ordway: Worse. Yeah. bob lobel: Perhaps, lit up a big cigar, took a big puff and blew the smoke right in Johnny's face. And he said, Take that, Red. And then Johnny threw down the headphones and ran after the guy and said, Take it. I had to, you know, fill in while Johnny chased the guy down the corridor. Unbelievable. Glenn Ordway: Yeah, that's not the first time he attacked fans. And usually they were in Philadelphia. Those were the nastiest fans of them all. We were leaving the team bus was leaving one night after a win against Philadelphia. And that was unusual because Philly kinda had their number down there and somebody everybody's in the bus and outside you got a bunch of fans in the hallway and they're punching holes in all the tires, and so the bus couldn't move. We had to sit there and wait for another bus. For about two hours. I mean, the the the stories are endless about the crazy stuff that went went on in those days. But everything was so different in those days. So you and I were in the Red Sox clubhouse during the 70s, and people would probably be amazed at this. But I remember the first time I saw this and I I couldn't believe it. And smoking cigarettes was still an open thing. We just talked about Johnny smoking. But I remember going into the Red Sox Clubhouse, maybe for the first time, Bob, in 7374, and going up to the great Carl Yastremsky. And I've got my microphone out there and I'm gonna in and I'm gonna interview I'm gonna bob lobel: I knew what you were gonna say. I know exactly what you were gonna say. Glenn Ordway: and I'm gonna interview Yaz. And Yaz has got one of those like camping, you know, chairs that you fold up and you put it in in front of his locker. And on the side of it, with with like gaffer tape, he had an ashtray. that was taped onto the to the to the armrest of this thing. And I'm sitting there interviewing Yaz af right after a game. And he's chain smoking as we're doing the interview. I mean, could you imagine seeing something like that today? bob lobel: No. No, it's amazing. I agree. For yes. I just watched this kid play the other night. kid's pretty Glenn Ordway: Kid his kid's pretty good, yeah. bob lobel: good. Glenn Ordway: well, not his kid, his grandson, right? Grandson, right. Yeah, kid to us, but yeah. bob lobel: Gr grandson, right. In Atlanta. And you know, I liked it I loved it in the dugout. The kid w his grandson's walking down after he got a base hit or sacrifice fly. And one of the braves said, you know, way to go, yes. It was just really one of the most bring back moments, you know. He had some great moments like covering up home plate must have might have been one of the greatest visual things I've ever seen, other than him's retirement. I mean for a guy that was always really quiet and and chain smoking behind the scenes, he provided some pretty great moments, even, you know, outside his own hitting prowess. Glenn Ordway: See, I had difficulty talking to him, and I don't still to this day don't understand why. I just think he was shy. I just don't think he wanted to do a lot of talking. And it was interesting, you may remember this. Up in the press box, his dad used to be up there a lot, okay? bob lobel: Fur. Glenn Ordway: And his dad would sit next to me because I was back in like the third row and his dad would sit, and I became really friendly with his dad. And I actually bob lobel: Yeah. Glenn Ordway: had this conversation with him one night and I said, You know, your son, I I I try to warm up to him and and and talk to him and just can't seem to get anything out of him. And he goes, Really? Yeah, so well, I'll see if I can find out. And so I saw him a couple weeks later and I I asked him, Did you ever and he said, Yeah, he's got nothing against you. He he said, Yeah, he's just one of the media guys that come in and talk to us. I I have no issue with him. So I don't know what it was, but I used I became really friendly with his dad who gave me all sorts of stories. Now you in those days it was a little bit different. You you know, you had some That were friendly and some that were not friendly. I won't bore you with my Don Zimmer stories, but there were some battles there, including a near physical altercation. down bob lobel: I knew that you and Zimmer had some issues. I I was Glenn Ordway: in Florida, it would have been like like two fat guys in sumo wrestling suits going at it with each other if we actually made contact. But you were really tight with Carlton Fisk. And I mean really tight, correct? bob lobel: Two type. Too tight. I think that's the one relationship that I I don't regret because I have such great memories of Fisk and I w when I was in New Hampshire during high school basketball games. His wife was from Manchester. Okay, so his wife, they both they met at UNH. He grew up in Keene or over over in that area. And his wife was from Manchester. So for some reason we became close friends at there, you know, after his rookie season with the Red Sox. But then he did call her on my high school basketball games. We go to high school too. Glenn Ordway: Did he really? bob lobel: Yeah, can you imagine? I mean, yeah, it was Glenn Ordway: Wow. bob lobel: it was pretty cool going to Spaulding High in Manchester, New Hampshire, or no, Spaulding High s you where Rochester, New Hampshire or wherever they were. and having him come and do color on the basketball games. It was great for those kids and it didn't hurt us at all. But it wa you know, that's where it it all started. But I really got to be too close with him. You know, we went on a golf trip in Scotland Scotland and Ireland and we were in Saint Andrews and remember we walked back toward the hotel and we crossed the s I wish we had a f cell phone because would have taken a picture, but crossing the Swillin Bridge at St. Anselms and it was just him and I. You know, it was just really cool stuff and and really I I became to the point where I just could not report on him objectively because we were too close. And that's when I said the He's the one athlete that I became too close with. Not that I regret it, but in a in a journalistic way, I it wasn't very cool for me to do that. And then we actually went to his house in in Illinois when he was out there with the White Sox. He played longer with the White Sox than he ever played with the Red Sox. And when he got into the Hall of Fame, we were able to be there when he took the call and so yeah, I used the relationship and and got got a lot out of it because of the relationship, but You know, it wasn't that cool t to be that close to s somebody that you covered. Glenn Ordway: Yeah, I bring it up because people did talk about it at the time and nobody's gonna tell you who you can be friends with bob lobel: Yeah, you know what I Glenn Ordway: or not, but on the other hand, from a journalistic standpoint, it you know. bob lobel: I agree. I d I talked to him last his my birthday is Christmas Eve, his birthday is the day after Christmas. So we kinda had that in common. I called him last December twenty sixth. The last that's the last time we talked on the phone. We talked for about a half hour. We talked about all those, you know, memories about going over to Ireland and everything else. But yeah, I was I was too close to him. But I you know, I don't regret it. But in a journalistic way, as I just said, it was You know, wasn't the greatest thing. But you know Glenn Ordway: So be it. It it's it's it's it's part of your life now. So bob lobel: Let's Glenn Ordway: to take you back to the seventies again and even eighties, when the New England Patriots, you and I are old enough to remember when the New England Patriots were the fourth team in this town. Fourth team. And it wasn't even close. Okay? I mean, no, bob lobel: No no, not even close. Glenn Ordway: I mean they almost moved, as you know, mainly because they had the worst attendance in the National Football League. They averaged twenty five thousand. That one year, was that ninety or ninety one? I I keep I can't remember. But they averaged twenty five thousand. They almost left town. And the the the funny thing about that period is there was a blackout rule in the National Football League. So you couldn't watch bob lobel: It was a crazy. Glenn Ordway: the home games. So think about this. Only twenty five bob lobel: The Thursday at noon. No Thursday at noon was the cutoff. If they weren't sold out by Thursday Glenn Ordway: Correct. bob lobel: at noon, you couldn't see it on CBS or NBC or whatever's carrying it. Glenn Ordway: So Bobby, only 25,000 showed up, but nobody else in New England could see the games because the home bob lobel: True. Glenn Ordway: games were all blacked out. And our view of the New England Patriots was Gil Santos. That was it. You know, that w yeah, that was bob lobel: Best play right play. Name is fantastic. Glenn Ordway: that was it. And so then Bob Kraft comes in and it all changes. Okay. Well, Porcellus came in first and gave them l legitimate credibility, and Drew Bledsoe gave them. Credibility. And then Bob Kraft came in. I'll tell you the first time I met Bob Kraft, and you tell me because you may, it'd be a similar thing. I met Bob Kraft because he had called me up. I was doing a radio show on you know, on ITS or RKO, whatever, and he had just bought a world team tennis team. Okay. The Boston, they they were the Philadelphia Freedoms. And He bought that franchise, brought him to New England, changed the name to the Boston Lobsters, and they played in in New England and he had like big time stars. I mean, he had Martina Navartalova was playing. Roy Emerson was his player coach. It was big time star. I get a call, first time I had ever talked to Bob Kraft. Hey, would you love to come over and watch one of our games? Obviously, he wanted me to. Go on my show at night, I was doing a late night show and talk about the Boston Lobsters. And I was, you know, fairly young, naive kid. And I'm sitting there going, sure, what have I got to do? You know, I think it was Walter Brown, arena, whatever I can't even remember where where it was played. But I end up going and then I meet him, and then I got to know Robert Kraft, as he's now known, and got to know him pretty well over the years because when I started doing the Celtics. He and his family were Celtic seasoned ticket holders, and I used to run into him in the crowd all the time. But do you remember Robert Kraft when he was basically an owner and it was a group of like four guys, I think. And Bob, he was also doing like the PR to try to get peons like me to to to talk about his his team tennis league. bob lobel: I know what you're saying. I've had a very interesting relationship with Bob Kraft over the years. and I think it hasn't ended well. it started great. he used to invite me down to the Cape, played golf with him, knew Seabury, went to his house with him and Myra, and who was a wonderful person. And interviewed Myra. about her plans for then sh Schaefer Stadium, and about how she was going to she wanted concerts to come in and this was a brand new idea, but this was Myra's wish and Bob loved it. He was in the process of of buying the team and he couldn't have been friendlier with me. And he really th thought that I could help him gain public support for him and and buying the team and y you know, and then there was Eddie the Eddie Adleman racetrack thing, and it probably if it wasn't for Eddie Anelman and the racetrack, Bob Kraft wouldn't even be here. Glenn Ordway: Maybe. You're right. bob lobel: So but anyway, over the years, I really w you know, after I got fired, I really think Kraft had something to do with that. I could never prove it, but Glenn Ordway: wa wait a minute. How? How did Bobcraft have something to do with you getting fired? bob lobel: 'Cause of the network, you know, CBS and general managers and Kraft was not happy with the you know what? I'm not gonna say that. That's that's I'm probably off off base there. Glenn Ordway: Well no, I mean you y you you obviously in your in your mind, your recollection what year was that? Was that two thousand and eight, Bob? bob lobel: Two thousand yeah two thousand and eight. Glenn Ordway: Yeah. And they had a mass layoff at the time 'cause it wasn't just you or a bunch of people, but w I and bob lobel: No, it was totally. Glenn Ordway: what's that? bob lobel: It was totally a mass layoff, there's no question. Glenn Ordway: Yeah, but you think because of his connection with CBS and CBS owned and operated WBZ T V four at the time, right? And so how how did he play into it? bob lobel: Right. Right. Well Crafts well he wasn't certainly happy with me. We did we were not in we're our relationship was at a very low point at that particular time. It you know, it's easy for me to say that. Probably it's less real in the real world than in my mind. But it's easier for me to come up in my mind and think that somebody else was responsible for me getting fired. Maybe it was poor performance. But I don't think so. I told the guy that fired me, I th I thought I was part of the problem, not the or n or part of the solution, not the problem. But that's another story for another time. Glenn Ordway: But you know the T V business, radio business is the same. You were making big money, okay? And you were also getting up there in age. I can look at myself and that shit happens in in that business world right now, radio and TV. They want young faces, and guess what, Bob? They want young cheap faces. Okay? And so I think that was part of it, but I I think that's interesting if you think that craft might have influenced That decision in some way. Have you ever had that conversation with Kraft? You never picked up the phone and said, you know, did you have anything to do with this or? bob lobel: No, I haven't. We haven't had any why would I do that? No. No, I wouldn't do that. No. Glenn Ordway: Well, I mean, to get some closure or whatever, I I think I would. I think I and maybe we're different in that respect. I think I would pick bob lobel: Well, you take the Jim Nance job and I didn't. So there you go. Glenn Ordway: That's a good point. but I think I would I would wanna know the answer to all of this. bob lobel: Well, because I know what he'd say. I know he'd totally deny it. Why w what I already Glenn Ordway: Yeah, he probably was. bob lobel: know the answer, so you know No, Glenn Ordway: But you still think that to this day. bob lobel: I don't I guess I shouldn't have even brought it up. Apparently I miss obviously I must still think. Glenn Ordway: Well you did. So obviously obviously this many years later it bothers you, right? bob lobel: Well, it did on this particular podcast. Glenn Ordway: How pissed off were you, angry, sad in two thousand and eight? You had been there for thirty years. You had had an unbelievable career. The resume was impeccable, though you should have taken the dance job. But the r resume, the rest of the resume was impeccable. What was that like in two thousand and eight? bob lobel: Well, I ha like I said, I thought it was part of the solution, not the problem. that I thought I was doing what I was supposed to do, being the best that I could possibly be. I didn't think it was an age thing. I don't know, you know, unfortunately you brought that up. I know it already is part of the business. Glenn Ordway: Well I but I think it's part of the business, Bob. I mean I i w we don't I still think I'm eighteen. I don't know about you. I don't I don't look at myself as being seventy five, but they do. And they look at at at age and they look at the money that they're paying. And we see bob lobel: That that would be a different thing. That Glenn Ordway: Yeah. bob lobel: that would be a different thing. But then I looked back and I said it was really nothing to them but the kind of money that you know, kind of money they're talking about. But that's you know, that's it's the way it goes. I wasn't happy with it. The first time I was really ever fired. and I didn't understand why. I didn't have my agent there in the room. I should have had that. There's a lot of things I would have done differently that day, but I certainly remember that day is if it were yesterday. I remember the conversations we had, which were pretty simple, and I'm just really upset still with the guy that did it. I just don't I understand that he was probably acting out of some of his boss's desires to cut payroll and he was probably the agent to do that, but I still don't forgive him. And I'm a forgiving person. I forgive you for having me on today. Glenn Ordway: I want to get to what I thought was one of the greatest teases. bob lobel: It's about time we got to something good. Glenn Ordway: The greatest teases in TV local TV history. You teased the fact that you had an exclusive interview with Gene Yockey. Okay. Wait a minute, wait a minute, wait a minute. Let me finish. I'm bob lobel: my god, it was the worst thing. Here's I got a great answer. Why are you bringing up all this shit? No, you're bringing up all this shit. I did some good things. Glenn Ordway: I I'm I got lots of good things. So you you had this exclusive interview. With Gene Yackey. For those people that don't know, the owner of the Red Sox wife, the owner passes away and she takes over the team. Let me try to give you an example. It's probably bob lobel: my god. Glenn Ordway: what Linda Pazzutti will be 10 years from now, okay? She'll be the Gene Yaki. But Bob tease this exclusive interview with Gene Yockey and I'll tell you why I'm bringing bob lobel: Art and that is real good. Glenn Ordway: this up in a second. You will understand when I bring it up. Bob does the interview and you tell me what the interview was that you did with her. Where were you? bob lobel: I was at some gathering with John Harrington and Buddy LaRue and Gene Yawkey and Haywood Sullivan. I'm not sure where I was at the time, but it was somewhere downtown or somewhere. Might have even been at I don't think it was at Fenway Park. But anyway I was th like the only media guy there or something and Jean Gnackey historically never said anybody about anybody to anybody anyone. She never spoke a word. Well, I got her to speak a word. Glenn Ordway: Not a word. She never spoke a word. We didn't know what her voice sounded like. bob lobel: Actually three words. She s Glenn Ordway: Go ahead. bob lobel: I said, how do you feel about this whole transition? with Buddy LaRue and Haywood, you know, blah, blah, blah. And she said, I'm very happy. Now, I want to set the story straight. Glenn Ordway: Okay. bob lobel: I call back to the station, and who answers the phone but Andy Hiller? Glenn Ordway: News guy. bob lobel: news guy. I said, Andy, just tell the producer that I got this I didn't know if I said exclusive because I well he did. It was presented on the Glenn Ordway: They presented it as exclusive interview. Right. bob lobel: air. Like but I there was some lost in translation when I called on the phone back to the station. I said I just talked to Gene Jockey and that and I'll bring that interview back because I said she never talks. So somewhere between Andy Hiller and the desk it got translated to this excuse. I'm this is seriously, I know you're laughing at this, but this is what happened. You know, this was a bad rap for Bob on this. Somewhere Glenn Ordway: Okay. bob lobel: bet somewhere between the phone call and the desk it got translated into this big, huge exclusive interview like a sit down with Geniaki. Well it was nothing of the sort. It was that I got Geniaki to talk. Glenn Ordway: Three words. bob lobel: Yeah, I'm very happy. Glenn Ordway: Yeah. bob lobel: So that's Glenn Ordway: Well, it wasn't your fault, so no. bob lobel: That's no, that's my story and I'm sticking to it. Glenn Ordway: You should. But that was a bizarre period, the whole thing with Hayward Sullivan, Buddy LaRue. It w it was bob lobel: No, I mean it totally was, but in Gene Yockey, you know, she never talked to anybody. Glenn Ordway: Okay, hold on. She talked to me for over two hours. Are you ready bob lobel: Okay, well then you have a Glenn Ordway: for this? I'm I'm gonna tell you the story. in eighty or eighty one, I go over from ITS to RKO. Bob Fish is the general manager, and RKO was going to bid for the rights to the Boston Red Sox radio rights. They ended up going to W P L down in Plymouth. You may remember that, Bob, bob lobel: Remember. Glenn Ordway: which Which was crazy. And it was an inside job. It was Haywood's best friend or something. It was a a a ridiculous thing. But we had a negotiation, and the negotiation lasted for over two hours. And I show up with Bob Fish, and they're asking, Bob wants me there because I know he doesn't know who these people are. I know who these people are. And maybe I can add a few, you know, nice things about RKO and tell them how the synergy will work together between the Red Sox and RKO. So in the room, Heywood Sullivan, I'm trying to remember, there were three or four different people in the room. Jean Yaki was part of the negotiation. She is sitting right across from me. And she has an ashtray. Back to the Yaz story. She has an ashtray and she's a chain smoker. bob lobel: I know, she did smoke a lot. Glenn Ordway: She's chain smoking the whole time and blowing it into my face. Okay. And this is before I work with Johnny. So I wasn't accustomed to secondhand smoke at that point. And She talked non-stop. When I tell you that John Harrington couldn't get a word in edgewise, Haywood Sullivan couldn't get a word in edgewise. I was amazed. I was stunned. Because, like you, I had never ever heard this woman utter anything except in your exclusive interview. Those three words. So bob lobel: Yeah. Glenn Ordway: she talked and she was into specifics. And I'm amazed because. Wasn't she like a seamstress or something like that? And and suddenly bob lobel: Well I you know what, I'm not sure exactly what the Glenn Ordway: What her occupation was, I don't know. But bob lobel: Right. Glenn Ordway: when she was talking, I was amazed. bob lobel: South Carolina thing. Glenn Ordway: I was told at the end of that meeting by Harrington, by Hayward Sullivan and I d was Dick Presciani there or somebody else was there, a PR person at the time, basically said, You can never utter a word about what was said in this meeting, because they know I also do a talk show you because they were scared shitless that I was gonna go in the air and say, I talked for two hours with Gene Jockey. I've never t bob lobel: What did she talk about? Glenn Ordway: she talked about the specifics to the broadcast. How would you do the broadcast? I mean, she got it it she was not a wallflower. She was not somebody. I expected her to sit there, smoke her cigarettes, just look around the room and say nothing, Bob, because that was the perception of Jean Yaqui. She was tot. I I've I've I haven't told this story before. I've never told this story before. bob lobel: I've never heard that story, Glenn. That's an amazing story. This is an amazing s amazing story. Glenn Ordway: Yeah, and two it was literally two hours. And we had tongue and then we were smiling at each other. We were carrying on conversations across and I had, and you'll appreciate this, I'm sitting there going, Shit, why don't I have a microphone right here? Why can't bob lobel: Probably thought you were hot. Glenn Ordway: I not sure that was the case. Though I might have been harder than Tom, right? Tom, yeah, I can't I might have been. You did it, I mentioned it bob lobel: Right. She might have been hot. Maybe so maybe you thought she was hot. I don't know. Glenn Ordway: well, let's not get carried away here, Bob. The cigarette smoke itself was in my face was enough. You did you did Sports Spotlight, I mentioned, where you did a lot of, you know, the stuff that were that were, you know, outtakes and things like that, Bloobers. That was just great TV. But you also did Sports Final on Sunday night. And you might have done the greatest half hour or hour. TV sports TV show that was ever done in Boston, you were able to bring together three of the greatest athletes, different generation in Boston, Ted Williams, Bobby Orr, and Larry Bird. And it was an exceptional television show. I remember I actually watched it maybe three or four times. How did you pull that all together? Because those guys didn't know each other. bob lobel: First of all, I've never watched the show, so if you watched it three times, you're three times more than I have. Glenn Ordway: W why did you never watch the show? bob lobel: I would never I hated to watch stuff that I did on camera because I'd always be critical of myself and I'd always go back and want to know what questions I should have asked, what questions didn't I ask. You know, I don't care how good the show would have been and I've you obviously got a lot of gr great compliments, but I think the compliments always just came because it was just to those three guys that were there. Appreciate Glenn Ordway: No, it was the way it was presented. bob lobel: I know I appreciate it more than you know. Especially coming from you. Glenn Ordway: But but hold on. You are you telling me that in that thirty plus year career in bob lobel: Never. Glenn Ordway: TV, you never watched a single second of you after a broadcast? Never? You bob lobel: No, no, never. Glenn Ordway: should have watched this guy, Lobel. He was actually pretty good. You should have watched him. bob lobel: Yeah, well thanks a lot. There were guys I know that Kol Habakka would watch, Schwegler would always watch his stuff, Jack Williams would always watch his stuff, but fine. Maybe it's because I couldn't get a tape machine because they were always using I couldn't get out the door fast enough. Glenn Ordway: stop it. Plea, you had you in those days you had pull bob lobel: Over eleven thirty I'm not gone. Glenn Ordway: You had you had pull at that place, trust me. You had pull. How did you get all together though? bob lobel: Well, Alan Miller and I talked about doing a special show, sports final. We wanted to bring Larry and Bobby together, the two winter sports guys that played at the Boston Garden. I asked Orr first, and he was very accessible and very amenable. Glenn Ordway: Greatest guy in the world. bob lobel: Greatest guy in the world. We were pretty close, although not as close as he and Fisk and I were. Glenn Ordway: Mm. bob lobel: Can I tell you a quick story about Fisk and Orr? Glenn Ordway: Yeah, go ahead. bob lobel: Okay, then bring me back to this other thing, okay? So Fisk and I and Orr, we're driving back from the Tucker Anthony golf, was on the Cape. We're driving back because we're going to Noshotok to play in the senior golf Pro Am. And I'm the only one with a car, and I'm driving back, driving back from the Cape with Fisk and Orr. Fisk is on the front seat, or's in the back seat. And I'm driving we get to pr pretty much about Quincy Braintree up ninety three and and the conversation we know we talk about golf and whatever we talk we don't talk about relationships with three guys talking about golf and stuff you know. Glenn Ordway: Relationships. bob lobel: Really it's not we didn't come up. But I'm saying I'm saying here's a here's one for you guys. If for some reason I drove off the road and we had a car crash and the three of us were killed, what do you think the headline in the Boston Herald would be? And and Or said, Don't worry, you won't be in it. Swear to God. And in Chris says you may not make the story. That was Fisk's column. You may not make the story. So it was pretty good. That was pretty you know, those three guys. Okay. Glenn Ordway: They were right. So how did you bring it together? 'Cause so n so you know Bobby, you knew Larry, right? bob lobel: I knew Larry but I th we had to ask a friend of ours that knew Larry better if he'd come in and it was his birthday. Glenn Ordway: September seventh. bob lobel: December seventh. Good one, Glenn. Good one. You know your stuff. And so we were all set with Bobby and Larry. So then the Sunday before, or one of the days before, John Henry Williams comes into our office because he was hitting on one of our interns. Glenn Ordway: Hold hold on so people will know this is not John Henry, the owner of the Red Sox. This is bob lobel: No. Glenn Ordway: the son of Ted Williams. His name is John Henry Williams. Okay. Correct. Yes, passed away. Yep. bob lobel: John Henry Williams, the late John Henry Williams. And he came in because he was hitting on one of our interns, and that's why he was in this into our office. And he says, I hear you're bringing Bobby and Larry in next week. And I said, Yeah. He says, You want dad to join him? Because Dad's coming up this weekend. And it took me about five seconds to answer. okay. so that's how the le that's how Ted got in. His son asked him to come in. Glenn Ordway: So his son was hitting on an intern? bob lobel: Yeah, one one of our interns. Glenn Ordway: And you've already revealed that name in the past, so I know who who it is. Debbie Robleski. bob lobel: Roblesky, Debbie Roblesky. Glenn Ordway: She's a professor now at Full Sale University down in Winter Park, Florida. I can give you that information. Worked at ESPN and elsewhere. She's terrific. She's wonderful. So that was the way you were able to get it. So bob lobel: I know. She worked. Yeah, she she's great. She's fantastic. So I don't know if John Henry Roblesky was the key. Debbie Robleski, I've always given her credit for it. And Glenn Ordway: Sean Henry John Henry Williams was a piece of work though. We were bob lobel: I know, I know. Glenn Ordway: trying to work out a deal with Ted Williams. It was the first time I had ever met Ted Williams. He came into the radio station because we were working with the Jimmy Fund and we were going to put on a night at the Boston Garden for Ted Williams. And we were gonna, you know, bring in a lot of people, the jumbotron or whatever. We were gonna you know, celebrate his career and his life and the whole works, and it was all going to be to raise money for the Jimmy Fund. We had a good hour and a half meeting in our conference room. Ted is great. He's just telling old stories. I mean, he was that was John Wayne. When he walked into a room, he just took bob lobel: Yeah. Glenn Ordway: over the room like nothing I had ever experienced before. And he was unbelievable. And we thought we had a deal. We were shaking hands at the end of the thing. This is gonna be unbelievable. We're gonna fill up the the garden. We're gonna have this unbelievable night. We get together with a meeting a week later. With John Henry Williams, who's now representing him, to put all the final signatures and put it all together. And the first thing John Henry says is, okay, here's the deal. Dad wants a a boat for doing this. And we said, What? Dad wants a a boat so he can, you know, use it down in in Florida. And so we're going, okay, what's a 17, 18-foot little fishing boat? That's what he wants. So, you know, we could we could find a way. We'll get a sponsor to do it. No, no, no. Dad wants this 34, and he's taking out a brochure of this like yacht, bob lobel: my god. Glenn Ordway: not this yacht, Bob. And he puts it in front of us. He wants that. That was the end of it. Never happened. Yeah, it never, bob lobel: Unbelievable. Actually Glenn Ordway: it never, ever happened, which was amazing. But that TV show, it's too bad you've never seen it. It was pretty bob lobel: Yeah. Glenn Ordway: damn good. Just to hear the reaction of them talking about. The experiences cause they were all very similar, different generations, different sports, and they were all just so similar. bob lobel: Yeah, but Ted really controlled that energy in that room. There's no question about that. I know I Glenn Ordway: Yeah, but that was his personality. I just mentioned he was ch right, he was like that when he walked into a room. Holy and Larry was like the shy little kid in the room, if I remember in the show. bob lobel: No question. We and Orr bashful, Larry shy, and Ted dominating. The the one thing that Orr and Ted had a relationship. They both both had fished together in the past. Ted, by the way, came up with a swear word that I've never heard. It was like a f six-word, one sentence swear word that I can't repeat on the show. We did I did three commercials with him to promote his Citrus Hills. condo adventure with a guy from New H Nashville, New Hampshire, Sam Tampose. And I went down there and did three commercials with Ted, one for tennis, one for golf, and one for fishing. So when we played golf, he'd hit a great shot. Seriously. He did a great shot and he said, There's the teddy ball game I know. And he hit a bad shot and he said this five letter, five word thing and I can't I can't say it here. I don't even why I brought it up if I can't say it. But it was Glenn Ordway: That's pretty bad when you can't even say it on a podcast now in 2026, which tells you something. He bob lobel: I can, I can. Yeah. Glenn Ordway: was so unique. I mean, it's it just as I said, and maybe it was because it was still the kid in me, because the only time I saw him and you know, I was ten or a yeah. Bigger than life, yeah. And I yeah, bob lobel: Quinn and he was so enormous. He was John Waynish. He was bigger than life. Bigger than life. Glenn Ordway: and I remember him, you know, obviously in the like I was 10 years old. you know, nineteen sixty two or sixty one, and he was at the end of his career, and and yet there were n there was nobody at the ballpark. People wouldn't believe it today. You were lucky if there were ten thousand people in like his bob lobel: It's true. Glenn Ordway: last game at the ballpark. People the Red Sox nobody cared about them in in in those days. bob lobel: I heard he was such a heartthrob. You can only imagine he was a heartthrob. He was a handsome hero. John Wayne, what more can you say? Glenn Ordway: Yeah, no, he was de he was different. All right, talk about another heartthrob of of yours, because you did a weekly show with Rick Petino when my buddy Rick Petino was head coach of the Boston Celtics. We did make a little bit fun of it during the radio show during the course of the week, but that was good promotion for you anyway. But you used to have like Jersey Red who would be cooking up the marinara and the pasta in the back room. And you would have a good old time on that on that T V show. You gotta tell me how that came about. bob lobel: Well, he was named the coach, you know, the coronation. he did some things I think he regrets while he was here. But I really got to like him, believe it or not. I know that Glenn Ordway: You were you were you were kind of tight. I wouldn't say as tight as Carlton Fist, but there was some tightness there between you and and old Ricky. bob lobel: No, we were we were. There's no question. Well we did a television show with him. I mean, you know, he got paid for it. I don't know what he got paid, but they promoted it. It was like Men in Black. I have a thing behind me. I don't know, you probably can't see it, but it was part of the maybe I don't know, it's just down there. So you can see it in the corner. Glenn Ordway: No, it's okay. We'll we'll we'll get it. I can s I can see it. I I'll see it in real life. bob lobel: Men in black, Patino Lobel, Glenn Ordway: Yeah. bob lobel: men into basketball. That's what the promo was. So any Glenn Ordway: I hope so. bob lobel: So anyway, Alan Miller and I would go to the games on Wednesday night, we'd tape on Thursdays and we'd just pray that they'd win on Wednesday night so he'd be in a good mood for Thursday. And Half the time he was, half the time he wasn't, but he did bring in Bill Russell. He brought in some really good guests and you know, it was a show that we had to do and we had to make the best of it and we had to do it. we then end up I think before he was brought here we went down to Louisville, or went down to Kentucky, I guess it was, d for one of his Kentucky games and we just cultivated a relationship with him. Before we left, Glenn, we all he asked the week that he left, and he left quite a bit of money on the table, like close to $20 million on the table when he left. And I'm not trying to justify it, I'm just saying it w it was about seven seven or eight of us, including Jersey Red, Alan Miller, myself, and three or four of his other cronies. at the Palm Restaurant in Boston and he went around the table and asked people what he should do. What should I do? Should I stay or should I go? My vote was simply I said that's why they made the Acela so you could get out of town as fast as you possibly could get. That was my advice that was my advice to him and I'm not sure I was the deal breaker, but I think there were a lot of votes that said f that he oughta go, although he did leave a lot of money on the table. So I Glenn Ordway: So you were one you were one of the eight that sat there and helped him make that decision to leave Boston. bob lobel: I don't know, Glenn, I don't know if I helped him or any of us helped them make that decision, but that's the that was what he did. He grabbed he had these people at the Palm restaurant. You remember the where that was? Glenn Ordway: But did he follow that up by asking another question? Do you think I should come back to Boston after I take the Yassel out of town and come back and do that late press conference to tell everybody why I left? No. No, he didn't take that phone. He didn't take that. His bob lobel: No, he didn't he didn't take that. No. Glenn Ordway: mi his biggest mistake, because you're right, he's a tremendous coach. And I think you see it in college. Pro is a different game. He made a major mistake by getting rid of Jan Vogue, who knew the salary cap inside and out better than anybody, brought his own agent in from Kentucky and had his agent handle the cap. Guy had n he he had no idea of the cap. And in the first few weeks that he was there, he thought he could get rid of Rick Fox and A bunch of these other players, and he could get this guy, Travis Knight, as a free agent out of the off the Lakers, about a 6'10 power forward. And the mistake he made was he didn't understand the cap and the cap rules. And so he could bring Travis Knight in, but he had he would have had to renounce nine players that are on his roster to fit him in under the cap. Huge mistake. But he didn't understand. The NBA rules. And unfortunately, Rick is one of those guys. He's a control freak, as you know. He thinks he knows everything. And he and he didn't. But is he a good coach? No, he's a great coach. He's a great coach. And he'll always be. bob lobel: Don't forget what he did to Red. Glenn Ordway: Well, that I was just going to bring up, I think was the killer for him. So they come in and they do a coronation at the at the garden. You were there. I was there. They lowered down all of the banners like a halo right above Patino. bob lobel: It was the coronation. There's no question about it. Glenn Ordway: Yeah, and Red was stuck in the back row. Okay? And Rick was named the president of the Boston Celtics. Now everybody knew that Red was not running the Boston Celtics. But you don't take the architect of the entire legendary franchise and strip him of the title of president. You just don't do that, Rick. You you know, you understand his place, your place, and then you're gonna run everything. He's not gonna run it, you're gonna run it. But I was told by somebody who would know that Rick had a conversation with Dave Gavit, and that Dave Gavit told him the one thing you gotta worry about with the Celtics is everything that happens right, Red gets credit for, and everything that happens bad, you will get the blame for. Now Gavott was 100% correct in that, Bobby. He he laid it out. But Rick took it literally and said, Okay, strategy. I gotta strip the big fella. Take your cigars, your little humidor, and get the hell out of here, and I gotta cross him out. And it was a huge mistake. And people within the organization resented it. And then he had to literally clean out the entire organization. And we know the result of it. Bob Lobel and seven other jurors voted. For him to leave town. That's what happened. That was the ending result. bob lobel: True. So it's so amazing. You think he could have for some guy so smart, you think he could have seen the handwriting on the wall. But he he you know what? He great coach, like you said. Glenn Ordway: great coach. Great coach. And you know, stubborn as as hell. How bob lobel: Right. Glenn Ordway: was your health how was your health these days? I know you've dealt with spinal stenosis. I've had a little bit of of that as well. It's not not fun. You had, I believe, surgery and whatever. Can you play any golf now at all? bob lobel: Yeah, I I play in a golf machine called a paragolpher. I'm in a wheelchair and I've been for about six years. I had this tr s virus called transverse myitis that pretty much made you know, put me in a wheelchair which I don't like, but you just what are you gonna do? You don't if you don't have any other options, you just have to deal with it. You can't sit around Glenn Ordway: Yeah. Yeah. bob lobel: and bitch about it. You know, it doesn't do you any good. So yeah. I probably would have played this afternoon if I hadn't spent these two hours with you. Sorry, I'm just just you know I'd say Glenn Ordway: It hasn't been two hours yet, see? It's gone you know. Seems like hold on. It seems like two hours for you. That's what it does. I'm listen. bob lobel: I got no, I'd I'd be remiss if I didn't bring up Liz Walker. Glenn Ordway: I'm gonna bring up Liz Walker. I'm gonna close with Liz Walker because I'm gonna I I wanted to say No, I'm not bob lobel: I don't take the two hours personally, Clint. I'm not you know Glenn Ordway: I'm not I don't take anything personally, Bob. You know, I have thick skin and I've been I've been I've been called a lot worse over the over the years as you have. You know, we get used to it bob lobel: Seriously, I wasn't just I was just kidding. I was just Glenn Ordway: after a while. bob lobel: I was just kidding. Glenn Ordway: I know you were kidding. I don't worry about it. bob lobel: All right. Glenn Ordway: I was gonna close it by talking about you've had a spectacular 30-year career. And even now, you're doing a podcast with Mike Lynch. You and he were doing TV at the same time during that same period, and you're having fun doing some other stuff. You're doing a a series that you can get on on on YouTube where you go back and recall, you know, great sporting events and you know, recalling some of the moments that you remember. So you you're you're getting your hands still in on this stuff. But I gotta tell you this and don't take it negatively. Your career was made by Liz Walker because bob lobel: I don't doubt it. I just said, you know what? Glenn Ordway: No, it she it was. You came together with Liz Walker, and she was the news anchor, co-anchor at the time. You were the sports guy. You were already on the air. She came into town and there was instant chemistry. And I can tell you, people always questioned it. Is there something going on here between Lil Bell? bob lobel: Course they did. I think I'm the father of her son. Glenn Ordway: I don't know. you know, we can get into bob lobel: No Glenn Ordway: that if you'd like, but you know, you might be a little sensitive to it. bob lobel: I'm not sensitive to it Glenn Ordway: But the connection. bob lobel: at all. There's three people that know who the father w well, I should say this there's three people who know who the father wasn't. Liz Walker, the real father and me. Glenn Ordway: There you go. But chemistry in radio and TV is everything. I think sometimes it's more important than the actual content you throw out there. If people like what they're seeing bob lobel: Well, it was at the time, Glenn. It's was at the time. May not be at the time now, but it was at the time. Glenn Ordway: But you had this unbelievable connection from her. And it right from the start, Bob, with the video of the first broadcast that you guys did together. The chemistry was there right from the beginning. Did you feel it? bob lobel: Yeah, I did. I just I remember when I first met her when I f she first came to the station. and she had a big hairdo she and I started out on the weekends together and we had as you said, so much chemistry together on the weekends that when I finally get ready to to move her over to Monday through Friday, I was kind of an afterthought. I mean I've heard the whole story by now from people that know, the people that made the decisions. That sh Glenn Ordway: What was the story? bob lobel: the story was it they wanted her to do Monday through Friday, and I think to make her feel comfortable, they wanted me next to her. So, you know, you're right when she s when I said that she made she made my career what it was. 'Cause I probably wouldn't have been sitting on that seat if it hadn't been for her. Now Glenn Ordway: Well, you would have taken the n you would have taken the Nance job at that point, you know, if you couldn't work with Les Money Sobriety, right? bob lobel: Right, right. So now you know, I keep saying no, you know, you were the wind beneath my wings, whatever the song whatever the song was. Anyway, so that's we joke about it and all that stuff. She's in my phone book under Jesus, now that she's a member. I'm not kidding you. what? Glenn Ordway: She's she's a minister, right? She's a minister, right? She's a r right? bob lobel: She is a minister and she's in my phone book listed as Jesus. If I so if I want to tell Jesus, I'm calling Liz Walker. yeah, I don't underestimate the difference that Jack made in that chem in that chemistry between Liz and I and Jack. Yeah. He was maybe the funniest human being I've ever met on the planet. But anyway, having said all that, that's that's all. Glenn Ordway: Yeah, no, it the the connection clearly was there, and you guys did it for many, many years. That doesn't happen anymore in TV or as you know, every time I turn the television set on, I'm sitting there going, Who's this now? Who's this anchor? I it's a new anchor every six weeks now on local television. They bounce around. But the what the what it did for your career, I believe, is there was attracting the sports audience, and you had done that. That was your base, but you expanded beyond that, you know, with women. And people that didn't even care about sports, because all they cared about was as Liz Walker was introducing you for the sports, or you sending it back to Liz Walker at the end to them, you know, that was Nirvana. They were, they were, they were catching something that they really enjoyed. Because I think your appeal was my appeal was to to men, okay? Your appeal was far broader than that. You were able to bring in women, and I think that clearly. was the Liz Walker connection. And it's amazing when you now tell the story that if she wasn't going to weekdays, who knows, Bobby, you you could have still been stuck on weekends, you know, may never never got that opportunity. bob lobel: May never have gotten that opportunity. Who who knows? But I can I can just anybody that's going into this business, I tell them, look, you're not talking to one audience of a million people. You're talking to one audience of a million people, you're gonna be pretty nervous. You know, gonna get in front of a stadium of a million people and you're gonna be talking to them, it's not gonna work. You're talking to a million audiences of one person. So you have to look at that. You have to look at it that way. A million audiences of one person, because you gotta believe there's one person out there you're talking to. You're looking into a machine and trying to deliver a message, whether you're reading the teleprompter or not. And usually I didn't. That was part of my problem. I didn't. But you're looking in and you gotta talk to that one person. And I always thought that that one person was a female somewhere watching that didn't care that much about sports, that I needed to get to appreciate what I was talking about, or at least enjoy what I was talking about. W whether it was why can't we get players like that or make jokes about the Red Sox. I mean, we we tortured the Red Sox when they were, you know, in that period. But we had a lot of fun doing it. Glenn Ordway: Well you brought out the panic button and the panic button became bob lobel: It's right there I mean. Glenn Ordway: it's right behind you. The the the panic button became, you know, part of you. And it's still connected to you right there. bob lobel: Scary. It's just a little frightening, isn't it? Glenn Ordway: It is. And I I wouldn't worry about skipping out on teleprompter. You probably pissed off Alan Miller and some other people in the control booth a a few times about that, but to me that was part of the charm. And bob lobel: Get over it. Glenn Ordway: that was get over it. That was part of the charm when you'd get off the script and some of the facial expressions that you would make was was all I think the the the charm of of Bob Bla Bell plus Liz Walker. bob lobel: How do you think we'd handle the Red Sox today? We how do you think we'd handle the Red Sox today? I mean, how do you think we'd handle the Red Sox this week? Or handle both I mean this the last ten days w other than the Drake May I know you didn't want talk about pre present day situations, but the you know, the Drake May Buffalo game, you know, turned to the last narrative in the last ten days it was Drake May taking such a pounding and the Red Sox losing two straight in New York by those hideous games. How do you think we would have handled that on the air today? Glenn Ordway: Well, and that's the difference now, Bob, in that you really have to go to sports talk or podcast or whatever to get people who are gonna be critical because most of the media now is not really critical the way we were back in in the day. And we used to take and hold on, we we bob lobel: But I think we don't I think I don't think we would Glenn Ordway: used to we used to take all sorts of shit from it. You've already mentioned the fact that craft might have had something to do with your dismissal at channel channel four because you were Critical. Well, when the team's not doing well or things are not doing well, you have to be critical, but you don't see an awful lot of that. I'll throw one sports thing at you. I've never seen a decision made before where you're gonna bring back the general manager and you're gonna bring back the field manager. And even though you finished with fewer wins than you did a year before, and you get blown out in two games with the Yankees, eight days before the season ends. You give both of those guys new three year contracts and you're basing it on a period of thirty-seven games in the middle of the season, fluke, maybe, I don't know, in which you were thirty two and five. But you forget about what led up to that. You forget what what followed bob lobel: You know what? It's so amazing. Glenn Ordway: it. bob lobel: We just talked about this with Dan Shaughnessy today in our podcast before we came on. Talked about this very same thing about giving those guys the the the new contracts at that particular part for what they did in the middle of the season. In a season where they lost forty seven games more than they w whatever the whatever the situation Glenn Ordway: Yeah, yeah. bob lobel: is. It's fascinating. Anyway, that's we we had we no we had more fun Glenn Ordway: I I I just have I have no under bob lobel: that we had more fun making fun of them just no matter how creative we could become of making fun of what they did. Glenn Ordway: This was a lot of fun, Bob. It was great catching up with you and we'll do it again, my friend. bob lobel: Thank you. Thanks for having me, Yeah. You did a great job, Glenn. Thank you. And congratulations on your podcast. Glenn Ordway: Thanks so much.