By TEDDY ALLEN/Designated Writers

(This photo is from the night Bob, at a Big Festive Occasion at East Ridge Country Club, was awarded the title of Mr. Shreveport, which we sort of knew he was that already, perpetually…)

Bob Griffin was such a Bob, just an exceptional regular guy in a sometimes overly flashy and egotistical business.

He brought a joy to sportscasting, to all things he did professionally, that few can match.

That he passed away Monday at 85 from complications due to a short illness is a punch in the gut. Because we’ve all lost a friend.

No one’s been on television’s airwaves in Shreveport and Bossier City more than Bob, ever. And that’s a good thing for all of us. The more Bob, the better.

He’s been a member of the Louisiana Sports Hall of Fame since 2009 when he was awarded the Distinguished Service Award in Sports Journalism. He’d been a sportscaster for 48 years then. And had been on-air with the children’s show Bob and His Buddies before that.

If you’d never met him but you watched him for years on television, you knew him. Same guy off TV as on TV. Same guy at a bowl game or at a high school basketball game on a Tuesday in February. For more on that, click the leadoff spot at DesignatedWriters.com, this website, and read John James Marshall’s piece about Our Guy. Bob has been Mr. Shreveport since sometime around the LBJ Administration.

Authentic gentleman. Hard to come by these days.

I was lucky to meet him and be around him often and get to know him well because our professions crossed paths, a lot. Always encouraging. And few things brought me more joy once I knew him than hearing him mispronounce the name of a foreign tennis player or a Shreveport Captain. This didn’t bother me and it sure didn’t bother Bob. Shoot, what I wanted from Bob was time with a friend, whether he was in front of me or on my television set.

And that’s always what he gave me.

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