Longtime Houston TV sports anchor Bob Allen has died at 70

See Houston's most beloved sports figures throughout the city's history. See Houston's most beloved sports figures throughout the city's history. Photo: File/Houston Chronicle Photo: File/Houston Chronicle Image 1 of / 123 Caption Close Longtime Houston TV sports anchor Bob Allen has died at 70 1 / 123 Back to Gallery

Dave Ward, the longtime Houston television news anchor, was walking down the street one day years ago when a young boy rushed up to him and said, breathlessly: "You're Dave Ward! Do you know Bob Allen?"

Ward, indeed, knew Bob Allen. Most everyone in Houston, in fact, knew Allen, the longtime Houston sportscaster at KTRK (Channel 13) and, from 2013 through 2015, at KHOU (Channel 11), who died overnight after a 16-month battle with cancer. He was 70.

For more than 38 years at Channel 13, working alongside Ward and his other colleagues as one of the nation's longest-tenured sports anchors, Allen was the nightly pipeline to the Oilers, Astros and Rockets to hundreds of thousands of viewers on Houston's most-watched newscasts.

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Along the way, he became a friend and confidante to dozens of young men and women through his work with the Sunshine Kids and Special Olympics, while chronicling some of the most memorable moments in Houston sports history.

"I really did get to live my dream," he said in a 2013 interview. "I did what I loved to do, and I did it for a pretty long time without ever having to leave my home town."

Allen was diagnosed in the spring of 2015 with T-cell lymphoma, a variety of blood cancer that derives from the abnormal growth of T cells, a type of white blood cell that plays a role in the body's immune system.

He received a stem cell transplant in December from his brother, Ken Egalnick, and for a time was hopeful that the spread of the disease had been halted. But his health continued to fade as 2016 progressed, and he spent the last two weeks in hospice care at his home after electing not to seek further treatment.

Ken Egalnick said his brother spent much of his final days visiting with friends at home and discussing stories on and away from the playing fields of Houston.

"When he became ill, he said, 'Hey, I'm going to beat this thing, but if not, I've had a great life,'" Ken Egalnick said. "He went into it with that attitude. He fought like hell, but he had no regrets."

Allen's daughter, Genna Fincher, said in a statement, "On behalf of Bob Allen's family, we are so incredibly touched by the love and support shown to us during this difficult time. My dad valued his place in the Houston community, and the encouragement he received from you over the last two years gave him more strength and comfort than you will ever know."

Plans for a private memorial service are pending. The family has designated the Sunshine Kids for memorial contributions.

Born Robert Alan Egalnick, Allen was the son of Lee Egalnick, founder of the Karl Young League for youth baseball, and played the sport while growing up.

He also was a television junkie. In a 2013 interview, he said that at age 10, he rode his bicycle from the family home in West University Place to Channel 13 so he could meet news anchor Ray Conaway and sportscaster Guy Savage.

After graduating from Westbury High School and Stephen F. Austin State University, he began his career at KPRC (950 AM) and joined Channel 13 in July 1974 as a weekend anchor. He was named sports director in 1975, succeeding Dan Lovett, the original sports anchor of Channel 13's "Eyewitness News" format, when Lovett left for WABC in New York.

"I'm glad I had a role in suggesting to (Channel 13) that they hire Bob as my replacement," said Lovett, who returned to Houston after a long career in television. "He was a good guy, a loyal guy, and he did his job well. People liked him, and he contributed to the success of Eyewitness News.

"I was the first, but I couldn't stand up to what he did. He was a giant in my mind."

Longtime sports anchor Bill Worrell met Allen when both worked at KPRC – Allen in radio, Worrell on Channel 2 – and the two remained friends after they became competitors with Allen's move to Channel 13.

"We hit it off right away," Worrell said. "We were both eager to advance, and Bob developed into a good newsman. We were just two young guys starting our careers together."

In an era where television newsmen competed on the air and fraternized away from the camera, Worrell said he and Allen spent many late nights at Kay's Lounge on Bissonnet and at Jack Biondalillo's bowling lanes on Old Spanish Trail with the likes of Ron Franklin, Dave Ward and others.

"It was a close-knit group and not as competitive as it is now," Worrell said. "I remember the jokes and the time we spent away from work."

One of Allen's final appearances on social media came in June, when he joined Ward, Lovett, Worrell and former Chronicle reporter Hal Lundgren for lunch at a local restaurant. The group spent two hours together, swapping tales of Houston journalism.

With Allen's death, "It's a sad day for a lot of us who started our careers together," Worrell said.

Allen also was mourned Thursday by the young men and women who grew up listening to him and followed him into sports journalism, including Stephanie Druley, a senior vice president at ESPN, and Kevin Cooper, former director of media relations for the Texans who now has a similar role with the Houston Super Bowl Host Committee.

Cooper said he met with Allen two weeks ago and the conversation "was just like talking to him back in 2007. He never let on that he was in any discomfort. The humor was still there."

"If you grew up in Houston, Bob was the guy who gave you the news every day," Cooper added. "He raised me to have an appreciation for sports, and he did that for a lot of people."

For most of his career, he began his sportscasts with a cue from Ward, the dean of Houston newscasters, a colleague and, like so many others, a friend.

"I was with him on that desk for 38 years," Ward said. "He had a huge smile, a great smile. And he was big with kids, like the little boy who called him BobAllen, in one word. He told them how their teams were doing, win or lose."