A Tribute to the late David Benner | Writer, Former Pacers PR and Fan of Famous Dave’s
By TERRY LYONS
BOSTON – Every summer, about August 10th-15th, every team in the NBA, every player on those teams, the trainers, travel secretaries, coaches, marketing people and PR people are chomping at the bit to get the NBA Schedule for the upcoming season. It’s a relentless hunt for any leak, glimpse or glimmer of the official NBA schedule.
The athletic trainers and their assistants and equipment guys – usually all a combo of the franchise’s travel secretaries – need to book hotels, get charter schedules, arrange for practice sites – YOU NAME IT – to get ready for the grueling season to come.
There was one slight exception.
When the schedule came out, a handful of us, including the late David Benner of the Indiana Pacers – a really good man who lost a 13+ year battle against colon cancer this week – would first look at the Pacers’ road schedule and hope there’d be an off-day when his club came here to Boston.
He and longtime team broadcaster, Mark Boyle, valued their time in Boston and prayed for an off day on a road trip which would allow them to visit one of their favorite places on earth – Stanza Dei Sigari – in Boston’s North End, steps from the popular Mike’s Pastry Shop on Hanover.
Sometimes, the Pacer would fly after their previous game and get to Boston far too late for a run to Stanza. (It closes about 12:30am). Then, they’d play a night game in Boston and fly off to the site of the next game.
That happened all too often.
On a few nights over the past 10-to-14 years, we’d hit the jackpot and the Pacers would fly in the day before their game. David and Mark would check-in, drop their luggage, grab a quick bite, double-check to be sure there weren’t any pressing team business and cab it to the North End, faster than Paul Revere rode through the Freedom Trail. On more than a few of those occasions David Benner’s friends, admirers and counterparts would join them for a cigar and a drink, and be entertained for the night, listening to Benner’s great stories, his quick wit, sarcastic humor and ability to just eloquently crush anyone in our small group so quietly, so quickly that it was amusing to all, but an honor to be on the receiving end.
He was smart, opinionated, well-informed and entertaining. His personality bloomed like spring garden with wildflowers and the longer you knew him the more he trusted you, once you cleared the check-point, you’d be given a gift – the clear, blue sky of 100% genuine Benner.
Leading up to a terrible day in the history of Boston, then-Sports Illustrated senior NBA writer/reporter/columnist Ian Thomsen had pre-arranged the perfect Boston welcome for David, much just to say thank-you for all his service, help getting Pacers’ coach and administrator – the great Larry Bird – to make a call back to said reporter. If David said it was done, the phone would ring. Benner batted 1.000 with Bird, his boss and friend, and that was golden for a Boston-based sports writer.
The outing was planned to begin at Massimino’s – a 10-table no nonsense, no reservation type place – possibly the best Northern Italian Food in the Commonwealth. After a great dinner, we would, then, walk a block or three and climb down a staircase and head left or right depending on the crowd or lack thereof on either side of the cigar lounge and significantly relaxing bar.
As the Pacers were in the air that day, terror hit our hometown as two homemade bombs filled with schrapnel were stuffed into backpacks and left for no one and every one on Boylston Street in the Back Bay, right where the runners of the Boston Marathon would be finishing their 26.2 mile trek. With the varying speeds of the runners, the finish line would be crossed by tens of thousands long after the men’s and women’s champions finished the race.
The Boston Marathon is what the great and 1967 race winner, Amby Burfoot, so accurately calls “the Carnegie Hall” of long-distance race locations. If you can run Boston with its difficult qualifying process and equally difficult course, including Heartbreak Hill, you’ve made it and can make it anywhere.
Benner was so disappointed to hear the news that Boston had pretty much closed down and that the Pacers game the next night against our Celtics was very likely to be postponed. Our plans seemed so trivial in the scope of such senseless madness, as the deaths of three people at the finish line when the two bombs exploded some 14 seconds and 210 yards apart was reported. There was a bitterness added, when the news of the death of a little boy and the maiming of his sister’s leg made its way to the newscasts. Hundreds of others were seriously injured, still others injured with wounds that didn’t bleed. We all still carry that emptiness on a day that is without a doubt the best thing Boston has to offer, each and every year.
Other regular season and even a playoff match-up allowed us to meet again, another better day, at Stanza. It wasn’t the same but Benner and Boyle always brightened the mood and our spirit, especially after the police and law enforcement community hunted down the two crazed maniacs, one dying in the chase and the other convicted and sentenced for his multiple counts of murder and terrorism.
Just the sight of David Benner with a cigar in his hand brought back memories of the summer of 2002 when the FIBA Worlds were staged in Indianapolis and the spirit and actions of volunteerism brought the event to life, only as the State of Indiana can do.
Benner’s position with the Pacers made him the perfect candidate to run the entire media operation at two venues as the World Championship (now called World Cup of Basketball) took place as summer wound down and those precious few days until the NBA preseason would begin melted away into the summer night.
Night after night for a long tournament and one when the USA Basketball national team struggled mightily, putting a negative damper on the entire effort. The USA would finish a lowly SIXTH but the medal round of the tournament marched on as Argentina and eventual champion Yugoslavia taught all the world that global basketball no longer belonged to Americans.
The tournament crept its way toward Labor Day weekend and the fatigue and frustration showed in Benner’s face one day. He seemed so down, but his professionalism and dedication to the job won out over his own wishes for a Labor Day weekend with his wife, Jane, and friends.
It was Jane, also volunteering to work the events, who was asked by this reporter that Labor Day weekend Friday if there was something – anything – we could do to thank David and maybe bring him some joy?
Her response is etched in our minds with the memories of David, a true professional, a two time winner of the Brian McIntyre Award for excellence in NBA team media relations, and just our man, Benner.
“Yes, “ she said without a second of hesitation. “This is his favorite weekend of year and he’s missing it,” Jane added, almost in tears some 21 years ago. She was upset because every year there’s a massive BBQ Festival held in Indianapolis where all the great Midwest BBQ cooks and connoisseurs meet to judge the best of the best.
The idea was planted firmly and it was only seconds before the plans were hatched to solve that problem.
After commandeering a large vehicle with ample trunk storage space, said trunk was first emptied and then wrapped inside with bedsheets and towels (“borrowed” from the hotel). After getting hand-written directions – long before the words Tom-Tom or the letters GPS were globally recognized – onward we went to the outskirts of town with the destination being Benner’s favorite of all the favorites – Famous Dave’s BBQ ribs.
To the proprietor of Famous Dave’s, the question was asked, “How much would it cost for “all of it.”
“All of it,” he asked?
“Yes, all of it, or as much as we can afford, please?” (Note: Some of the players pitched in $100s).
Famous Dave understood the plea and had his staff drop everything and spring into action to make some 100 portions for Benner to share with his media relations staff back at the place we once called Market Square Arena but was now and then a brand new gorgeous Fieldhouse of Basketball.
The Famous Dave’s staff delivered and helped tuck and secure the trunkfull of BBQ into our car and not a drop was spilled. The only stumbling block was the heavy security surrounding the Fieldhouse as we were just short of a year since the terrorist attacks at the World Trade Center, the Pentagon and a plane highjacked in Pennsylvania. Some ‘splaining had to be done and the story was backed-up by the wonderful aroma of smoked ribs, pulled pork and other varieties of BBQ, and their side dishes of corn, mashed potatoes and all kinds of fixins.
Yes, for one minute the security rules were broken, as a dozen media relations staffers descended upon the trunk and moved all the portions safely and right into the media relations HQ where they could be shared amongst the massive number of volunteers serving under the direction of one man, David Benner.
The look on his face said it all when he caught a whiff of our plotting and the forever image of joy and satisfaction on his wife’s face as she basked in the glow of her husband’s favorite dish being hand delivered to him in his workplace.
It was Priceless and Tasty!
Five years later, a reminder came along upon the author’s decision to depart New York City, the NBA office and set sail to this great town in New England.
Benner wrote, “Congratulations on ‘retirement’ – consultant-ville or however they wish to put it. While you will be ackowledged for contributions to the NBA, media, international relations and other resume-worthy accomplishments, your legacy with me will always remain with the timely delivery of Famous Dave’s ribs at the Basketball World Championships. For that, I am forever indebted.”
This all leaves us here, today, in the moment of a death of a friend. It began with a diagnosis some 13 years ago, one he kept to himself or shared with just a very few friends.
He fought and carried on.
He received treatment and carried on.
In 2019, the diagnosis of cancer came back again. He fought and he fought until he couldn’t fight it anymore, once again proving to everyone that CANCER SUCKS.
He took about three weeks after he and his wife decided to stop the fight and they found everlasting peace.
For that peace and lessons of life and a very dignified death, this writer – colleague, admirer, consumer of his sharp wit, witness of really good, funny impersonations and witness of a superstitious ritual/trash talking/face to face/nose to nose/pre-game/scream-out with our friend, Reggie Miller – will always remember one David Benner and I will remain forever indebted to him for sharing his precious time and an everlasting impression of his blessed and noteworthy life.
HERE NOW, THE NOTES: This week’s usual notes are dedicated to David Benner with respect paid to his wonderful wife and family members.
The head of the NBA’s basketball media operation, Tim Frank, posted his memorial and put it quite well:
“It’s almost impossible to completely explain the impact David Benner had on not only me but so many of us in this profession,” wrote Frank. “When I first met him, I was a student at Notre Dame and he was the Notre Dame football beat writer for the Indianapolis Star. The guy was positively hilarious. He did a Lou Holtz impression that was second to none and he would entertain everyone. When I got to the Rockets, I was pleasantly surprised to learn he had become the Pacers PR Director. It’s a pretty big transition but my gosh did he kill it in every way. And he was so helpful to me along the way. Players, media (local and national), team people … anyone you talked to came away from experiences with David with a smile on their face. He was as good as anyone at dealing with players and helping them understand how important this part of the job was. I always knew about his incredible connection to the Pacers players but when the organization honored him last April and Reggie Miller flew in just to be there, it said it all. The NBA will certainly be different without him but his impact will live in so many of us. He was a legend in this job, plain and simple. But more importantly for me, he was a tremendous mentor and friend and someone I just will never forget. I’ll miss him tremendously but the opportunity to know him was a gift and one I’ll never take for granted.” RIP DB
Memorial contributions can be made to the Indianapolis Animal Care and Control Foundation 7399 North Shadeland Avenue Suite 117 Indianapolis, IN 46250 or at www.friendsofindyanimals.org, or the Humane Society of Johnson County Indiana 3827 North Graham Road Franklin, IN 46131 or at www.hsjc.org or the Franciscan Health Foundation 8778 Madison Avenue Suite 100 Indianapolis, IN 46227 or at www.franciscanhealthfoundation.org
Benner is survived by his wife of 21 years, Jane Jankowski; sister Sue (John) Smitha of Indianapolis, brother Larry (Carol) Benner of Lapel, and brother Bill (Sherry) Benner of Indianapolis. A proud 1973 graduate of Center Grove High School who attended Indiana University-Bloomington and IUPUI, David began his journalism career as a copy boy at The Star and later joined the sports staff, where his beats included high schools, IU, Notre Dame and most notably a long-time stint (1983-1991) covering the Pacers.
The 19th-ranked Musketeers (22-8, 14-5 BIG EAST) cruised to a 22-point lead in the first half before the 20th-ranked Friars (21-9, 13-6 BE) stormed back to cut the advantage to two points with 15:18 to play. But Xavier never lost the lead and won 94-89. Musketeer guards Souley Boum and Colby Jones combined for 62 points, 16 rebounds and eight assists. All five PC starters reached double figures led by Ed Croswell and Bryce Hopkins, who had 17 points each.
