Shock, sadness follow Spoon’s exit

Wednesday, Feb. 18, 2004 | 9:58 a.m.

More than once this season, UNLV radio play-by-play broadcaster Ken Korach told Charlie Spoonhour how he had been forced to be blunt in assessing the Rebels' poor performances.

Spoonhour never had a problem with Korach.

"He said, 'If you weren't (honest), you wouldn't be doing your job," Korach said Tuesday night, on the heels of Spoonhour's resignation. "I think I've been critical of the team. And that was painful for me, because I have so much respect for Spoon."

"He was a wonderful man to work with, and I think he put his heart and soul into this program. For whatever reason, it didn't work out for the ballclub, as least, for the last two or three weeks. I wish him the best."

The theme of everyone's reaction to Spoonhour stepping aside was ultimate concern for his health, which the 64-year-old coach cited as the main reason for his decision.

Spoonhour had undergone treatment for skin cancer throughout the last year, at least. When it appeared he was suffering from a flare-up or was required to miss a team function to keep a doctor's appointment, he asked reporters to protect his privacy.

He repeatedly insisted that his skin cancer was not serious and that he was not concerned that it would have any serious effects on his health.

At least once, while being interviewed, Spoonhour had stitches removed from areas of his arms, chest and back, which had been afflicted by the skin cancer, by trainer Dave Tomchek in a room by the locker area.

Jim Goessling, a friend of Spoonhour for more than 20 years whose relationship with the former Southwest Missouri and Saint Louis coach evolved into daily telephone conversations, said he was shocked by the announcement.

"I talked to him (Monday) and (Tuesday morning), and he said nothing," Goessling said late Tuesday night from St. Louis. "I know he took a stress test late last week, for which he did not get results back until (Monday). I told him, 'You take a stress test every time you watch your team.' "

"He told me (Tuesday morning), 'I'll call you after the game tonight.' "

Longtime Spoonhour assistant Derek Thomas left UNLV after last season for his first head coaching job, at Western Illinois, and had been looking forward to returning to Las Vegas today.

The Leathernecks will practice at Cox Pavilion this afternoon, in preparation for their game at Southern Utah on Thursday.

"First of all, I'm hoping that he's OK," Thomas said Tuesday from Macomb, Ill. "If he's going to quit in the middle of a season like that, which I thought he would never do ... I just hope his health is OK. That's the first thing.

"Now, I'm worried about the players. They have to go through a coaching change, and that can't be a whole lot of fun. I'm hoping that those kids will be fine. The staff, too. A lot of lives get changed by one decision like that."

Spoonhour finished his career with a 19-year record of 373-202, including 54-31 in two-plus seasons at UNLV. He did not return messages placed to his cell phone or home phone.

Spoonhour did leave Korach a message on his home phone.

"He was kind enough to call," Korach said. "I was out. But I listened to the message, and it was typical Spoon. He told me what he had decided to do and that he had been to the doctor. I called him back, but got his voice mail."

Goessling, 48, works for a communications company in St. Louis. Sunday afternoon, he sat in the first row, behind the UNLV bench, at the Hearnes Center in Columbia, Mo., where the Rebels were smoked by Missouri, 94-60.

He said he spoke with Spoonhour as UNLV was en route home that night.

"And he was as positive as could be," Goessling said. "He said if they didn't play well, that (a wipeout) could happen. He was very calm."

Goessling -- with many St. Louis sports figures, including most of the St. Louis Blues players and front office -- attended a prominent fund-raising dinner Tuesday in St. Louis and said Spoonhour was the major topic of conversation.

"They were all concerned for him," Goessling said. "All the Blues, all anyone, wanted to know about was Charlie."

One of Goessling's favorite stories occurred when Spoonhour coached the Billikens and ended up touring a few St. Louis watering holes with a group that included Kelly Chase of the Blues and ESPN personality Steve Levy.

Chase is one of the most popular figures in St. Louis hockey history, but in every tavern the troupe visited the group was greeted with loud "Spoon!" chants.

That's a testament to Spoonhour's popularity in and around St. Louis, and he counts New York Yankees manager Joe Torre, who once let Spoonhour manage a spring training game when Torre managed the Cardinals, as a close friend.

"I'm very surprised," Goessling said. "Hopefully, there's nothing (seriously) wrong with him and he decided that it isn't worth the stress. I'm just shocked. Obviously, all I care about is his health."

Thomas has served stints on three different Spoonhour programs and said he was grateful to Spoonhour. That's a sentiment many others should have, too, according to Thomas.

"I think a lot of people have to understand that (UNLV) had been in trouble, on probation, and that is a hard thing to overcome," Thomas said. "It wasn't like they had a good season the year before him and had (top-flight) recruits coming in.

"Nobody knew what was going on. It was stagnant, recruiting-wise, that first year. People still want it to be the way it was 10, 15 years ago ... it just isn't possible. What he did, he came in and cleaned things up, got the motor running again. I hope people understand that."

Korach is in his 12th season working UNLV basketball games, and he has spent just as much time doing major league baseball games, the past eight for the Oakland Athletics, on the radio.

He measured his words about what Spoonhour meant to him.

"He's just a really good man," Korach said. "I've been around a long time, with a lot of sports, and I don't know that I've worked with anyone who was more of a pleasure to work with, who was more professional, then he was.

"It's a sad day."