Terrible news.

I didn't even know that he was sick! I'm in shock.

I didn't follow him over to channel 11, but grew up watching him. Did he make it known that he was sick, or did he hide it? What kind of cancer?

**** cancer

Damn. Didn't know about this either. Definitely a Houston TV icon.

damn

One of the best.

A true professional. Hard to believe he was on the air for almost 40 years. He never looked his age.

Sad to hear, I grew up watching Bob on Channel 13.

Bob was a true class act. He was the college roommate and frat brother of one of my cousins and I remember him well as a kid.
He was there for all of the great memories of Houston sports.
Nice guy in every resect.
He and Bum and the Snake are sitting back now having a good ole time. LuvYaBob

Houston icon. Hard to find anyone better.

2016 needs to hurry up and end.

Ghost91 said:

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I didn't even know that he was sick! I'm in shock.

I didn't follow him over to channel 11, but grew up watching him. Did he make it known that he was sick, or did he hide it? What kind of cancer?

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leukemia I believe

Here. He and Bob Boudreaux were two of my favorites growing up.

Sometime in the past I shared this on another thread, but I have a friend that used to be in the print media business. He had press passes to all Texans games and asked me if I wanted to go to a game with him.

We sat in the press box for a Texans/Colts game. I sat next to Bob Allen for awhile and then he left for a bit and then came back. While he was gone someone else took his seat. It was Santana Dotson. Super nice guy.

I had watched Bob since I was a kid. Back when he was married to Jan Glenn from Good Morning Houston and they were sort of power couple in the city before that was a term used much.

He was a bit gruff in the press box. Most of the media people were. My newspaper buddy was not really planning to go to the game but went because I had taken him up on the offer.

I got an appreciation for what they all do. For us fans, it seems cool to get to go free to all sporting events. And they enjoy sports. But in the end, it is a weekend where they are once again working. And they have to be ready to put on a smiling face and look great at all times.

Bob got mustard on his shirt so he left and went home to West U or wherever he lived and got back quickly with a fresh shirt, ready to go on air from the field after the game. Bob Slovack (I think) and Bart Ennis were asking him how he got to his car so fast and got home and back in seemingly five minutes. I think he got to park really close.

It was interesting seeing him talk with the guys from the other stations. They all seemed to get along and they were cutting up. Interesting fraternity to be in.

Bob looked amazing. I don't know how else to put it. He was in great shape and he looked like an ad for hair products and skin care products. He had not aged at all since I started watching sports news.

One of my favorite Bob Allen memories is of him getting a Channel 13 camera man to come to his house when a big fight was on PPV. He would give live updates on the fight and have the cameraman turn towards his tv and show some short live footage of the fight, which I'm sure was not legal to broadcast on ABC!

Who does that? Who orders a fight on PPV on a Saturday night and invites a camera into their home? Bob freaking Allen, that's who. He went the extra mile for his viewers.

RIP Bob Allen. You are a legend. Say hello to Marvin for us.

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Ghost91 said:

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I didn't even know that he was sick! I'm in shock.

I didn't follow him over to channel 11, but grew up watching him. Did he make it known that he was sick, or did he hide it? What kind of cancer?

---

The Original AG 76 said:

leukemia I believe

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Close, but it was lymphoma

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+ 1 more quotes (click to expand)

Ghost91 said:

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I didn't even know that he was sick! I'm in shock.

I didn't follow him over to channel 11, but grew up watching him. Did he make it known that he was sick, or did he hide it? What kind of cancer?

---

The Original AG 76 said:

leukemia I believe

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The Milkman said:

Close, but it was lymphoma

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you are correct

A pro's pro.
Back from the days when the local network anchors were better quality than the national ones.

T&P to the family (and my childhood)....

I interviewed Bob Allen for my HS newspaper back in the day. He was gracious enough to return my phone call and answer my questions about how he got started in the business, what sports he enjoyed covering the most and who his favorite sports personalities were.

RIP, Bob.

Terribly sad, especially given that he had a cancer that isn't one of the high-mortality types like pancreatic and eso****eal. He was one of the few guys on TV I liked to watch.

What you think Ruben the dancing bear doesn't match up with Dave Ward and Bob Allen?

I was the auctioneer for a few charity auctions with Bob. Very nice to everyone involved.

RIP Bob Allen

You were my favorite sports reporter in Houston. Hated that he was not on channel 13 anymore

Sad news. I grew up watching Bob every night do the sports on Channel 13. In my opinion none of the other guys in town could touch him. When I think of the term sportscaster, he will always be who I think of first.

RIP Bob.

who'd think that the hard drinking Dave Ward would out live Bob. Cancer sucks. Guess Dave & Ed Brandon are the only ones left from that broadcast team that I grew up with.

I had no clue about his cancer. Tragic. Truly one of the best. He will be missed.


http://www.chron.com/entertainment/celebrities/article/Longtime-Houston-TV-sports-anchor-Bob-Allen-has-9985516.php#photo-4042688

Threads like this make me realize that in some ways I'll never be a native Houstonian. I grew up in Fort Worth (18 years), and knew all of the personalities up there. I still remember most of them. I've now lived here just as long, and I hardly know any of the people y'all talk about on here. Watching local news is almost like learning baseball. If you don't do it as a kid, the connection will never form. All these years in Houston, and I haven't watched 10 hours of local news.

I loved watching Bob when he was on 13. Just seemed like a normal guy who would enjoy hanging out drink a beer with......

the guys now try way too hard and all appear to be putting on an act

It's funny you say that because I knew all these characters well since my parents always watched the local news and I absorbed it through osmosis.

I can't tell you anything about the current newscasters (traffic & weather ladies notwithstanding...thanks T-Board ) since it's just depressing these days.

....I also don't follow baseball as much as I used to. Weird.

Thank you Bob Allen. I enjoyed watching your sports coverage on KTRK for years and KHOU as well.

Can anyone find the clip of him elbowing the guy while he's trying to give a live report after the Astros won the division? I looked on youtube and found a radio interview about it but no clip.

Bob was a really good guy. I posted this on my FB page and wanted to share. I was a fan first, then I became his colleague.


Bob was a great guy. I'll never forget three different memories I have of him. The guy was a pro, but he always seemed to make you feel at ease.
I first met Bob years ago when I started out in tv. I was working at KBTX at the time and had gone to the old Floyd Casey Stadium in Waco. I'd watched him on tv as a kid, and I was in the press box helping cover the game. I was in awe, but he was super cool.
Fast forward to my time at ABC13. We'd just gotten the dejero boxes for live shots. Bob was doing a live shot at Rodeo Cookoff, and it works on cell data signals. The delay was jumping everywhere -- from 3 seconds to 9 seconds to 12. It was a mess, and I shouldn't have taken it. And, he just shook it off. He was ok and chalked it up to stuff happens. I felt really bad about that.
And lastly, I remember talking to him one night at a friend's engagement party. I hadn't seen him in months, but it was cool just to catch up. I talked sports with Bob on occasion, but mainly he kept me on my toes during the show, and I kept him on time during the newscast. Bob, you will be missed.

RIP Bob.

RIP Bob

Was sad to hear of his passing

Soon all the Houston TV legends will be gone

Anyone hear why he left ABC13? Never heard if he had a run-in with anyone or decided to retire and missed working and ended up at KHOU. He will be missed.