Rockets Radio LEGEND and ICON Gene Peterson passes away at 83

Memory eternal.

truly THE voice of the Houston rockets.

 

RIP Gene

 

Damn.
This one really hurts inside. Spent the majority of my adult life listing to him and Jim on 740. Damn, my nostalgia heart strings are feeling this one.

RIP Gene, how sweet it was.

 

RIP

 

Well, I call bs on tellman. From the stories Ive gathered from his daughter, theyve treated him like a red headed step child after his career was done. No backstage passes at the game, no free tix to the game, nothing.

 

Some of his calls are core memories for me and millions more Rockets fans. Rest well Gene I’m sure there are a bunch of departed Rockets fans that want to hear him do play by play of this new generation of Rockets greats.

 

I grew up listening to him and Jim - patterned my radio calls on his......great great announcer.

DD

 

For those who didn’t witness it. This wasn’t regular season.

It was 1994, Game 4 in a WCF game.

 

They been screwing us since 1994

 

Oh, this is sad news. Gene and Jim were such a vital part of Rockets basketball. I think of their calls as much as many of the players. RIP.

 

I was just about to post this video. You beat me to it.

 

“From right to left”

He made a difference in many lives.

 

Man I grew up on him and Milo Hamilton , listening with my grandfather ... I used to yell " dipsy doodles it up for 2" in the backyard on my layup attempts... Loved that he made me visualize the plays on radio ..

 

Sorry to hear. RIP.

 

How sad it is…

Condolences.

 

"Backing it up -backing it up-backing up - double- spin left - lanes it up and in." - Gene Peterson.......... and NBA basketball between 1990-2002

 

Thats the 8th foul on Malik Rose tonight but only the 3rd one they've callled

 

A true icon, Houston legend, and one of the most talented radio personalities of all time across all sports.

My Gene Peterson story that I have never told in detail on this website; Pardon the rambling in advance.

He used to play golf at the same club as my Dad and they had become friends over time. This was in the 90s during and after the Championship years. My Dad said you would always find him in the clubhouse playing cards with the other members after a round of golf.

When I moved away from Houston in 1996, GP would give us tickets to games in San Antonio (before the Spurs won their titles), Nets when they were still in New Jersey, and the Clippers at Staples Center.

We would never ask, he would always just offer them knowing where I was living at the time. Sometimes it would be preseason games. He would go out of his way beyond what should be expected of a media personality. He would even apologize for not being able to get the big ticket requests vs the Knicks or Lakers, etc.

He was the nicest guy ever. I would make sure to see him in the media booth and thank him for the tickets and he would ask how my Dad was doing.

In his last season calling games, I visited with him one last time while the Rockets were playing the Clippers. I had purchased my own tickets for that game but I made sure to find him and visit him. Even then he remembered me and asked why we didn’t reach out in advance for tickets. I thanked him for all of the offers over the years and congratulated him on a legendary career.

A younger Craig Ackerman was sitting by his side as his assistant, and we were in a timeout or halftime break and had a nice conversation. I could tell that Craig knew there was a personal connection because Gene was asking me about my family and how I was doing on the West Coast. That was the last time I ever talked with him and it was over 15 years ago, In the 2008 season.

Jim Foley came back for the last game of that season so they could call one last game together- Jim and Gene.

Ackerman held his mentor in the highest regard, knowing he could never fill the shoes of a legend, but learning from one of the best…

I am so grateful that I got to be the recipient of this great man’s kindness and generosity.

How Sweet It Is, the life he lived.

May he Rest In Peace.