A tribute to a legendary journalist, person

I worked at the Daily Herald for a few years in the late 1980s before I got to know Bob Frisk and he became one of my closest friends.

I was new to Chicago's suburbs, didn't watch high school sports and knew little of Bob's work. So I was surprised, during a service anniversary ceremony, when then-Managing Editor Doug Ray called Bob the best journalist in the newsroom. Doug had perfected the art of highlighting the best qualities of employees, so I figured he was engaging in a little hyperbole. Talking it up for a guy who had toiled for the Paddocks for so many years.

Turns out he wasn't. Over time, I learned that Doug was serious. And correct: Bob Frisk really was that good. The Daily Herald has been home to scores of superb journalists. Many of whom consistently broke vital local and state stories. But as talented as so many of my former colleagues were and are today, none was a better journalist than Bob Frisk.

Bob was not flashy. He never wrote investigative pieces that revealed misspent tax dollars or toppled a nefarious elected official. But he was a walking textbook on the principles of journalistic excellence. He got the facts right. Every time. He was a superb storyteller. He had mastered the art of writing a lead paragraph to entice readers and then rewarding them with a well-told story. He was fair. He respected sources and readers. His news judgment was impeccable.

He understood that covering high school sports was a little different. He insisted, correctly, that if a shortstop's error cost his or her team a big game, it was sufficient to describe the play - no need to name the athlete.

He knew everyone in the suburban sports world, and everyone in that world knew and appreciated his work. He was an encyclopedia of prep sports knowledge dating back 70 years. He loved softball and girls basketball and fervently believed that Title IX means what it says. He loved emceeing awards banquets to honor prep stars; and in the days leading to the first week of Friday night lights every August, he was like a kid anticipating Christmas. His passion for high school sports was the dictionary definition of genuine.

Finally, while this sounds cliched, it's true: As wonderful as Bob was as a journalist, he was an even better person. Space doesn't permit an adequate explanation. Suffice it to say he was loyal. Funny. Great storyteller. Interested in his friends" lives. Beyond sports, he was conversant about the books, movies and music he loved. A devoted and oh-so-proud father and grandfather. He embraced a delightfully positive outlook on life. If you've not already done so, read Sunday's pieces about Bob by Burt Constable, Tom Quinlan and Barry Rozner, all of whom are spot on in describing him.

The term legend is sometimes loosely applied. In the case of Bob Frisk, it fits. Perfectly.

Dave Beery

Fishers, Indiana