'More than a sports writer': Retired Peoria Journal Star columnist dies at age 83

PEORIA — One by one, yesterday's magnificent Peoria Journal Star sports staff is passing into history.

Bill Liesse. Dick Lien. Gary Childs. Wayne Raguse. Chuck Murdoch. Paul King. Steve Aeschleman, Lonnie Schwindenhammer, Mike Blair, Jim Dynan, too.

Yesterday's sports storytellers, all gone to their reward.

And now Phil Theobald , who died Friday at the age of 83 .

Theobald had a personality as enormous as his talent, handling the biggest stories, standing up to the biggest challenges. He was terrifying in the newsroom when he was irritated, an irascible character who'd strip down to his classic old man undershirt, cigarette between his lips, spoiling for a clash.

He didn't back down from his opinions, well-thought, confident, born to be one of the best columnists in the newspaper's history.

A man who demanded intensity and dedication to the craft from everyone around him, he was also a master of dirty jokes, non-stop smoking in the back corner of the newsroom much to the dismay of his young adjoining desk neighbor (me), priceless direction and mentoring and a true example of the passion for the job everyone should have.

Oh, and he could type faster than anyone I've ever seen.

"Phil had this tough, crusty, profane demeanor that intimidated people," former Journal Star executive sports editor and columnist Kirk Wessler said. "That was very real and true. But he was also one of the kindest, most caring and thoughtful people I’ve ever met. And that was very real and true as well.

"Phil was a great reporter. Fearless. Tough. Relentless in seeking the truth. On top of that, he was a wonderful wordsmith. He was living proof you don’t need a journalism degree to be a great journalist. He had a gift that enabled him to be combative and write tough things while earning respect, trust and even friendship from his story subjects."

Theobald covered the Peoria Chiefs in their best years under late owner Pete Vonachen. He loved to drive to South Bend, Ind., for Notre Dame football games. Went up to Chicago to cover the Bears every week. And he weighed in, with a sharp edge, on Bradley men's basketball.

From Jim Molinari to Mike Ditka

When Theobald became Journal Star sports columnist in 1995, he often hammered then-Braves basketball coach Jim Molinari in print. The coach had a hard time with it, and asked Wessler to get Theobald to back off or soften it. Wessler declined. Instead, Theobald invited Molinari to a Bears game he was covering. They shared a great ride up and back.

"Next thing I knew, they were playing cards and smoking cigars and calling each other like they'd been best friends since kindergarten," Wessler said.

Later on, Bradley hired Jim Les as coach, and Theobald referred to him constantly in print as "the stockbroker" which is what Les was before taking over the basketball program. No one escaped Phil.

Theobald became national news when he walked out on Chicago Bears coach Mike Ditka during a profanity-laced Monday presser by the coach in Chicago the day after a win over Tampa Bay in late October of the 1992 season.

Ditka was asked about walking away from quarterback Jim Harbaugh after he threw an interception. Ditka responded with an avalanche of expletives.

“Coach, I’ve respected you, and that’s the first time I’ve been called those names,” Theobald said as he got up and left the room.

“Good,” Ditka said, “I’m glad you’ve respected me.”

And with that, Ditka unhooked his microphone and left, too.

The national media ran video and audio of the incident. What no one ever saw was that in the moments after the incident Ditka sought out Theobald and apologized. They shook hands and maintained a working relationship.

Theobald had a knack for eliciting reactions from people. The punchline to the Ditka story was that Theobald often called some in the newsroom the same names.

Philip L. Theobald

Phil Theobald died Friday at the OSF Richard L. Owens Hospice Home in Peoria, surrounded by family. He was born on Jan. 3, 1941 in Galesburg, and married Sandra Lind on May 31, 1990 in Oneida.

He is survived by Sandra, daughters Erin (Kevin) Berry and Andra (Jason) Chamberlin, and step-daughter Susan Stairwalt. He is also survived by brothers, Gary and Ed, and sisters, Pat and Jane. Also surviving are four grandchildren, two step-grandchildren, one great-granddaughter, and many nieces, nephews, great nieces, great nephews and cousins.

Theobald was an honorably discharged veteran of the Army. He grew up in Galesburg, and his first job was at Coney Island there.

He graduated from Galesburg High School in 1959 and began a four-decades journalism career with the Galesburg Register Mail. He moved on to the Canton Daily Ledger, and eventually arrived to the Peoria Journal Star sports staff in 1965.

During his award-winning run at PJS he served as a beat writer, then columnist and ultimately assistant sports editor before retiring in 2004.

He loved to golf — once firing a hole-in-one at Mt. Hawley Country Club . He was an avid card player — gin rummy was his game. He loved to fish, and later fuss over his grandchildren, who he adored.

A public celebration of life will be held at a later date. His family invites you to share your favorite stories and memories and honor his memory by visiting www.masonfuneralhomes.com .

In lieu of flowers, memorials may be given to the Peoria Journal Star Christmas Fund , in partnership with The Salvation Army. Mason-White Funeral Home in Washington has been entrusted with arrangements.

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How we remember him

Theobald joined me as a columnist on press row for a Rivermen playoff game one postseason, and never asked me a question. He had this huge sheet of notes, and it became clear he'd been reading what I'd written about the team, listening to conversations I'd had on the phone, too.

He was uber-prepared. It drove home a point to me about respecting the things we cover — and the colleagues we cover things with. I learned how to do interviews while listening to him. Learned how to listen to fans around us and build off what their interests are. He let fans lead the way to story ideas.

Theobald didn't always like the stories he wrote, but he always made sure he prepared for them no matter what level or size the event was.

He'd look at me before an event and say "Are you ready, Armeniak?"

• Jack Brimeyer was the Journal Star managing editor who signed off on Theobald as sports columnist.

"He was such an interesting guy," Brimeyer said. "He built a cabin at his lake near Canton. Built it single-handedly. He collected iron dogs as a hobby. He was so much more than a sportswriter. He was crotchety and hilariously funny and told dirty jokes. He wrote about the things people were talking about. He'd go to a Rivermen hockey game and interview a 5-year-old kid."

And Theobald set up Brimeyer on a blind date with his now wife of 25 years.

• Bradley basketball beat writer Dave Reynolds spent years alongside Theobald as well.

"Phil had a penchant for knocking folks down a peg in print, but he was their greatest champion when they needed one," Reynolds said. "He could be irascible, but he was a softie at heart.

"Once at a Chicago Bears game, he saw two servicemen in uniform walking into the game. He handed them $20. Thanked them for their service and told them to buy themselves a drink."

• Journal Star sports writer and later news side reporter Nick Vlahos, on social media:

"My favorite story about Phil happened well before I started at the JS. In the late '60s, Effingham was top-rated and undefeated headed into the state basketball quarterfinals, where they got stomped by Galesburg, which is Phil's hometown. Phil asks the Effingham coach the first question in the post-game news conference: 'Coach, how long will it take to restore public confidence in the state poll?' "

• Bob Grimson, former page designer and editor in the sports department, on social media:

"He was a tough teacher, but a fair one. And a damn good one. The old lions are leaving us and taking a piece of journalism we'll never see again. — 30 — Phil."

• Kevin Bronson, former PJS sports reporter who went on to hold editor positions at the Los Angeles Times, Pasadena Star-News, St. Louis Sun and many others:

"We are all composed of tiny particles, and some of mine surely contain remnants of his cigarette ash. Proud to have been hazed by Phil, who elevated to an art the bruising of inflated egos ..."

• Phil Luciano, former Journal Star columnist, on social media:

"On more than one occasion, for reasons that probably made no sense, Theobald was working days — even more improbably, when I was actually in the newsroom and at my desk. He was fiddling with that post-office/box machine that spun copy to the basement/heaven/wherever. Invariably, I’d complement him on his threadbare, white undershirt — not a normal T-shirt, but an ancient undershirt. He’d, invariably, blurt something almost unintelligible but definitely crude. We’d both smile."

• Former Journal Star sports copy desk editor Jerry Smith, on social media:

"I will never forget the Sunday he called me to dictate his Bears story. It was probably '91. About halfway through, he paused and asked me to justify the text to see how long the story was. Then he asked if he had already used a quote. It was then I realized he wasn't dictating: He was actually using my hands to write his story. You would not have known it otherwise. He dictated it as fast as anyone without ever having written a word ... And it was just excellent. I never read Phil the same way ever again. I feared him as an editor because I wanted my work to be as excellent as his."

• Former Journal Star editorials writer Mike Bailey, on social media:

"In a newsroom — and a Peoria — full of one-of-a-kinds, Phil was at or near the top of that list. I spent a lot of time back in sports bending his ear on one thing or another, and trying not to be quoted in one of his columns."

• One time Theobald wrote an entire column that was just a list of all the offensive lineman for 75 high school football teams in the area. He wanted the unsung guys who never got their names in the paper to have a moment.

He wrote another column, critical of a Bradley men's basketball performance, noting "My mother always said if you can't say anything nice …" Then the rest of the column was empty white space.

• "I had to talk him into it, taking the columnist spot, he initially said no," Wessler said. "He said he was planning to retire in three years. Well he stayed nine. His final year, he came in and asked if he could retire with a management title. It was an interesting request (Theobald earlier in his career represented the newsroom guild in contract negotiations with management)."

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On to a final press box

There is a wall in a corner of what used to be the sports department in the Journal Star news room, where the names are posted of some of those sports writers who have passed on, an unofficial memorial to them, and in a way, to an old-school era of journalism.

Theobald covered the 1985 Bears Super Bowl run. And the home run chase between Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa.

And his daughter, Erin's, first basket during a grade school basketball game.

He was at the Atlanta Olympics, countless Journal Star Honor Roll meets and, outside sports, had a diehard interest in Civil War history.

A lifelong angler, Theobald had a favorite fishing spot in Fulton County. His family plans to scatter his ashes there.

Speaking of resting places, Theobald used to write, in his columns, about his fondness for naps, noting "July is the best time for naps, until August" or maybe "November is the best time for naps, until December."

If he could write this right now, I think he’d end it by saying, October is the best time for naps.

Until eternity.

Dave Eminian is the Journal Star sports columnist, and covers Bradley men's basketball, the Rivermen and Chiefs. He writes the Cleve In The Eve sports column for pjstar.com. He can be reached at 686-3206 or deminian@pjstar.com. Follow him on X.com @icetimecleve.

This article originally appeared on Journal Star: 'More than a sports writer': Retired Peoria Journal Star columnist dies at age 83