Van-demonium

Van Miller golf tournament a huge success

By MICHAEL RUKAVINA
It was fandemonium.

Long-time friends, Buffalo Bills alumni and local supporters honored hometown hero Van Miller Friday during the first ever Van Miller Golf Tournament at Shorewood Country Club and Golf Course.

He began his broadcasting career in 1950 at Dunkirk’s WFCB (now WDOE), commentating more than 2,500 sports games, and spent 37 years doing play-by-play for the Buffalo Bills (the longest tenured commentator for one team before he retired in 2003). It was easy to say the tribute was well deserved.

“There’s nothing like coming home,” Miller said. “I’m in five Hall of Fames and this is the biggest thing that’s ever happened to me. ... It’s the greatest thing that has ever happened to me and I mean that sincerely.”

Miller was honored during the first annual golf tournament in his name, which will be raising funds for the Hometown Hero scholarship to be given to two Dunkirk high school seniors each year.

“It’s been something that’s been kind of in the back of my head for a few years ago and we decided to bring it up to Lakeshore Savings Bank,” said Stephanie Pulvino, Van Miller Golf Tournament Chairman.

“We figured Van Miller, a great hometown hero who has done wonderful things for the Bills, broadcasting and for the nation,” she added. “Lakeshore Savings is our hometown bank and what better way to make a tribute to the past and everything Van has done and make it into a future for our students.”

Friday’s events began with player registration and then a proclamation by Chautauqua County Executive Greg Edwards.

“Friday was an opportunity for me as county executive to share some thoughts from everyone in Chautauqua County on how important it is to have a local son do so well as Van has,” Edwards said. “I discovered something about Van that I think is universal in people who have success, and that’s his dedication, his commitment. I think that’s a part a lot of people tend to overlook.”

Edwards proclaimed Friday, June 20, 2008 as Van Miller Day in Chautauqua County. It was a fitting tribute for someone who distinguished himself to the best of his ability during a long and illustrious career.

“Van Miller commentated over 2,500 games of football, basketball and soccer and he never missed a single game that he was scheduled to cover. That shows how his upbringing helped pay off as a young man and he stuck to it,” Edwards said. “So many times I meet with young professionals who have lofty goals and who really want to make something of their career, and I think in today’s ‘fast-food’ mentality, someone once said that in today’s society people pace in front of the microwave. Van Miller didn’t pace in front of a microwave; he showed up everyday, worked hard and invested himself in children in the games he was covering, understanding what they needed to get out of their games.”

Edwards was invited to make the proclamation by Valerie Pawlek of Dunkirk, who was inducted into the Hall of Fame in Canton, Ohio in 2000 as the No. 1 Buffalo Bills fan.

“He is wonderful. The thing I admire most about him is that he never forgot Dunkirk,” Pawlek said of Miller. “I always kept in contact with him, on his birthday, anything that was in the OBSERVER I’d cut it out and send it to him and he loved it.”

Memories and stories like Pawlek’s were the first of many shared throughout the day. High school friend and friend to this day, Fred Long of Dunkirk, reminisced with Miller about the good-old-days prior to the shotgun start of the tournament.

“We were playing Jamestown in high school basketball. There was no time left on the clock, Jamestown was up by two, and in Jamestown in those days the court was really big,” Long said. “The ball was thrown to Van and Van turned and fired a shot almost 3/4 of the court, the time ran out, and the ball went right in. We tied the game up and won it in sudden death. He was quite a basketball player.

“He was always up to something with everybody. He could broadcast a game when he was about 15 years old, out of his head. He’d just use the guys in the room as the players and just ad-lib a whole game from the sound effects, the hot dog vendors...it was a wonder he could do that. Naturally, it would end up being funny, with a field goal where the ball would hit the goal post, bounce and land on a nail and deflate.”

Successor to Van Miller as Buffalo Bills play-by-play analyst, John Murphy was in attendance, golfing with Bills sideline analyst and WIVB sports anchor Paul Peck. Murphy spoke highly of Miller and about some of his fondest memories.

“We had so much fun, thinking about it driving down here today,” Murphy said. “We would fly on the team charter and sit with each other to talk about the game and what might happen. When you come home from the West invariably your flying over Lake Erie and whenever we crossed over Dunkirk Van would start telling me Dunkirk stories as we flew over. He tended to point little landmarks down here on the ground. Those are my fondest memories, getting the chance to do the games, working with him was great, but really to be next to him on those plane trips listening to his great stories about broadcasting, family, and growing up.

“I’ve often said this, the one quality he really had as a broadcaster was his energy level which was just unbelievable. His enthusiasm for the game, his energy level no matter what: preseason, regular season it didn’t matter. A lot of times some broadcasters maybe get a little jaded, saying ‘oh I’ve done this before,’ and when you listened and watched Van work you realize you can’t do that. He was up for every game, every week. That is the best lesson for any broadcaster young or old.”

The greatest storyteller of the day, however, may have been Van Miller himself, who recalled his life growing up in Dunkirk.

“I spent all my youth here, I went to high school here and played basketball and football here until I was injured. I was on the number one volleyball team that never lost a game,” he said of his sports career.

Miller spoke of how he earned $1.80 at Shorewood caddying doubles for golfers during WWII, and how he worked at Bedford Products alongside the German prisoners of war at the now Chautauqua County Fairgrounds. They were always bumming cigarettes, he joked.

The evening concluded with a dinner, a video showing by sports anchor Paul Peck and a roast by John Murphy and Rob Lederman from 97 Rock.

After the golf:

n This years Hometown Heroes scholarships were awarded to three graduating seniors: Josh Allen, Lucy Warmbrodt and Nick Nieves.

n Donations to the Hometown Hero scholarship can be made through the Northern Chautauqua Community Foundation.

n New Era caps were given to participants in the tournament. The black cap has an old fashioned microphone with ‘Fandemonium’ written on top and ‘Vandemonium’ on the bottom. New Era is thinking of patenting her idea for the hat, Pulvino said.

n A special award was given to Miller: an antique microphone radio donated by Tom Barresi.

“This is a WDOE radio news sportscast trophy that actually plays WDOE so whatever is on WDOE at that time it will play. It’s 45 years old with original WDOE plaques on it,” Pulvino said. “Since that’s where Van started it ought to be a real surprise for him. We did add on the side especially for him, ‘The man behind the voice.’”

n Miller will be inducted into the New York State Broadcasters Hall of Fame next Tuesday. This will be his fifth hall of fame induction.



Comments may be sent to mrukavina@observertoday.com