RIP Lacy Banks

[Double Down]

Sad news as Banks died today. Age 68. An absolute pioneer in our business and a kind and wise man. First African American sports writer at the Sun-Times.

http://t.co/QjJUsxVi

 

[Versatile]

He was as close to Michael Jordan as any reporter in Chicago. It's a shame to see him go so young.

As an aside, sort of, this sentence threw me off: "He was a Baptist preacher for nearly 60 years, too, a side of himself he could uniquely intertwine into his career as a journalist."

Was he really a preacher at age 9, or is that a typo of some sort (meaning to say he was a Baptist for nearly 60 years or he was a preacher for nearly 50 years, perhaps)?

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Sad to hear this.

 

[Den1983]

So sad. Read his stuff religiously when I was a kid; one of my favorite writers. Absolutely admired his work.

 

[Colton]

Had the pleasure of meeting him many times during the Cavaliers-Bulls playoff battles during the MJ era and he was always a decent guy to me and I enjoyed his work.

RIP, Mr. Banks.

 

[lblong]

@ Versatile, yes, believe it or not, Lacy really did start preaching at age 9! I can vouch for that because Lacy was my uncle. My grandfather was also a Baptist preacher, and when he saw that Lacy had the gift, he allowed him to share it. Not only did Lacy start preaching at age 9, he was a traveling preacher, preaching at churches in different towns in Mississippi where he was born. He started at 9 and continued to preach the gospel for the rest of his life.

 

[Elliotte Friedman]

Wow, that's quite a story. Sorry for your loss, but it seems like you were very proud of Mr. Banks. That's always a great thing.

Didn't really know him, but back when I used to cover some NBA, remember how people used to react. He'd come around Toronto and Lenny Wilkens would chat him up while Antonio Davis rubbed his head.

RIP.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

The man did me one enormous favor once upon a time . . . a favor he had no personal reason to execute -- or give a single **** about doing.

RIP.

 

[Dick Whitman]

Very sad. I grew up on those Bulls championship teams, and we were a Sun-Times family. So I read him daily until I went to college, and then picked back up on his coverage in the summer. His words were the soundtrack to those titles, for me.

 

[Gehrig]

Very sad. I grew up on those Bulls championship teams, and we were a Sun-Times family. So I read him daily until I went to college, and then picked back up on his coverage in the summer. His words were the soundtrack to those titles, for me.

You played for the Bulls? Just teasing.

Very sad news to hear about the passing of Mr. Banks. He'll be missed.

RIP

 

[Mizzougrad96]

Very sad... Definitely Jordan's favorite writer among the Chicago writers, although I think there were some stories in "Nothing Else Matters" about how Jordan was known to torment him.

RIP.

 

[Drip]

RIP to a true giant and mentor.

 

[Steak Snabler]

His run-in with Lewis Grizzard was legendary.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/lewis-grizzards-chicago-bad-memoriessmoke-appeal/Content?oid=876849

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

Wilbon with a nice column.

http://espn.go.com/chicago/nba/story/_/id/7723614/michael-wilbon-remembers-impact-lacy-j-banks-had-career&d

 

[Uncle.Ruckus]

Fred Mitchell with a fantastic obit in the Trib:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/site/newspaper/news/ct-spt-0323-lacy-banks-obit--20120323,0,4477014,full.story

 

[Mike Nadel]

Lacy was one of the great characters left in our business, and never had a nasty word about anybody. I truly enjoyed working alongside him on press row. He will be missed.

 

[Ben_Hecht]

Why the S-T hired Grizzard as exec sports edtior was and remains one of the mysteries of our age.

 

[jaredk]

His run-in with Lewis Grizzard was legendary.

http://www.chicagoreader.com/chicago/lewis-grizzards-chicago-bad-memoriessmoke-appeal/Content?oid=876849

Apropos of the Reader's piece, Grizzard is famous among his enemies for defining a columnist's work. "He remembers with absolute clarity events that never happened."

 

[KYSportsWriter]

@ Versatile, yes, believe it or not, Lacy really did start preaching at age 9! I can vouch for that because Lacy was my uncle. My grandfather was also a Baptist preacher, and when he saw that Lacy had the gift, he allowed him to share it. Not only did Lacy start preaching at age 9, he was a traveling preacher, preaching at churches in different towns in Mississippi where he was born. He started at 9 and continued to preach the gospel for the rest of his life.

Awesome story.

I remember reading some of Mr. Banks' stuff a while back. Fantastic writer.