RIP Dan Cook

He was a legend in the Southwest as a columnist in San Antonio.

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA.dancook.35e7cb48.html

 

It is difficult to overstate how popular this guy was in South Texas, as both a columnist and a broadcaster. The word "legend" is thrown around all too often ... but in this case it's apropos.

RIP, Mr. Cook.

 

There are a million stories about Cook, including one where he solved a notorious crime back in the 50s, I think, that had the FBI baffled, and even captured the criminal. I wish I could remember the details.

Anyway, he was a classic, old-school, Front-Page throwback, and a tough son of a bitch. As I recall, when he was in his 60s he owned a bar in San Antonio for awhile and served as his own bouncer, and literally threw out his share of troublemakers. You didn't fuck with Dan Cook.

 

The Express-News has an all-sports high school competition each year (points for playoff wins, etc.) that it calls the Dan Cook Cup. One of the local TV stations, KENS (for Express-News Service) was in the E-N building for years so Cook could do the TV reports as well as write columns.

 

If a movie was to be made about Dan Cook and if Lee Marvin were still alive, Lee Marvin would be the right choice to play Dan Cook.

 

I got to edit Dan's last column and it was a privelege. He was always worth reading. He, Blackie Sherrod and Dan Jenkins were the holy trinity of Texas sportswriting when they were all active. It was a happy time.

 

Dan Cook invented sports in San Antonio, years before the Spurs came along.

 

sounds like my kinda guy

RIP

 

I had the privilege of working with Dan at the San Antonio Express-News a from 1963 until 1969 when I was a very young sportswriter. He made the distinction that the staff worked "with" him and not for him. He was a major factor in influencing me professionally and to some extent personally, though I could never keep up with his lifestyle. We spent many a night at the old San Antonio Press Club on the river, drinking, playing cards and just having a ball. We spent a lot of time, too, at the old "after hours" places in downtown SA, the Commanders Room and the Navy Club. Unfortunately, we did not see a lot of each other as the years passed but I will make the drive to San Antonio on Monday for the visitation. When folks die, a lot of things are said and some of them are even true, of Dan no one who knew him will ever doubt that he was one-of-a-kind . . . he lived 81 years and every one of them he truly lived to their fullest.

 

This thread has made me wish very much I had known Dan Cook. Those of you who wished to pay tribute to his life are doing a damn fine job.

 

he sounds like someone out of a runyon story.
almost mythical.

 

Some good Cook stories in this column:

http://www.mysanantonio.com/sports/stories/MYSA070508.1C.dancook.robinson.39e861c.html