Pete Taylor
- Thread starter imaclone2
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For someone who didn’t follow the Cyclones at this point, what was the timeline on this? It looks like they played a game the day he died, did he pass before or after the game? What happened? It just seems strange to have such a big part of the gameday experience pass and nothing changes schedule wise.
Just pulled up the game recap from cyclones.com and honestly I had forgotten a lot of detail about that day. Just a wild walk down memory lane.
Why did they not cancel? I'm speculating here because I don't recall, but probably because Mizzou was already in town, and it was an announcer as opposed to someone actually on the team.
If I remember correctly in the games before this he passed he'd been having some serious migraine headaches. He passed fairly early in the day I want to say around noon or so.
Tomorrow will mark 20 years since we lost Pete Taylor. Apparently the mbb radio broadcast today started with a Pete Tribute that will be on social media tomorrow. Seems hard to believe he's been gone 20 years. In many ways that day still seems like yesterday. I can almost remember everything about that day.
He was the 1st person I felt like I knew that I didn't know, years of listening him call FB and BB. You could turn the game on and tell how it was going. Was shocked when we learned of him dying. That was back before there was 100 ways every game to follow it he was the voice of the Cyclones. JW does a fine job but Pete will always be a huge part of Cyclone lore to me.
I heard the news while driving and found a spot to park and just started balling my eyes out. It truly was like I had lost a family member.
If memory serves, he had appeared on the morning show of KXNO or whatever the big sports station was at that time. I remember reading about it, perhaps on Cyclone Report, and people said (before he had passed) that he sounded drunk. A few hours later, news of his passing broke and it all made sense.
I don't recall the headache thing you're mentioning. Not to dispute what you're saying, just that I don't remember that.
I heard Pete was rushed to Iowa City for surgery which he did not survive. This is heresay though.
Actually missed a game because of the headaches and that was when you knew something was really wrong.
I listened to many broadcasts by Pete Taylor, who was the Channel 8 sports anchor, back in the day. There were precious few TV games, so we relied on radio for most of the games. If he covered games in this era, we might refer to his style as "real raw". You always knew the game situation, but were also aware of how he felt about the Cyclones' performance on a given day. Yes, he was a pro broadcaster, but he was also a die hard fan. I remember the 1981 football game at OU, which ended in a 7-7 tie. Late in the game. ISU missed what would have been the game winning FG. But when the Cyclones crossed the 50 on what felt like a game winning drive, I remember that he belted out "And the Cyclones are ... BLOWING THE OKLAHOMA SOONER OFF THE FOOTBALL!!!". Lets just say that was a call that really drew you in. It had been many years since the days of the Dirty Thirty, and we were absolutely *sick* of losing to those S.O.B.s. So hearing those words was really powerful stuff. The coach at the time, too, was Donny Duncan, the former assistant at OU, and the game had no doubt been circled on the calendar. The roster was loaded with notable players in including QB John Quinn, RB Dwayne Crutchfield, DB John Arnaud (Austin's dad), and placekicker Alex "football has been very very good to me" Giffords. Alex just missed that kick, although if you read the article below, as I had long forgotten, ISU shot up the rankings to #12 in the rankings."ARE YOU KIDDING ME???"
Heard from John during all of the most exciting moments in recent Cyclone history.
FYI, here is an Iowa State Daily "Random Recall" article recounting of the game:
Iowa State Random Recall: Oklahoma
Editor’s note: Each week, the Iowa State Daily will look back on a notable matchup from the past between the Cyclones and whoever they are playing that particular week. This week, assistant sports editor Sam Stuve goes back to Iowa State’s 7-7 tie against Oklahoma on Oct. 3, 1981. People, get...
iowastatedaily.com
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Thank you I remembered the flowers but couldn't quite remember the rest
Well said.
Watching these clips brings tears to my eyes. Every year. Every. Single. Time. In a lot of ways his voice literally (still to this day) defines my fandom. My brothers and I grew up on that voice.
I remember that day like it was yesterday.
