Surprise!
Bob Allen pulls off a stunning return: TV sportscaster legend comes back on a new network
It always seemed weird that Bob Allen resigned from KTRK Ch. 13 after nearly four decades on air with so much left on his fastball. This wasn't a Jay Leno being pushed out the door by a younger force on the rise. Allen still had it — as anyone who spent much time around the Houston Texans could see.
Well, apparently Allen himself thinks it was a little weird too. Because . . . he's back. Only months after his emotional on-air goodbye.
Only not at KTRK Channel 13. Allen is returning to be a weekday sports anchor at rival station KHOU Channel 11.
In a world of copycat sports anchors, Allen is one of the few true originals left.
"I've still got a lot of stories left to tell," the 66-year-old Allen said in a statement released by his new station.
The move is a definite win for TV sports in Houston. In a world of copycat sports anchors — all seemingly trying to mimic the tone coming out of Bristol, Conn. — Allen is one of the few true originals left.
Now he will be on KHOU weeknights at 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. starting April 25. Sports anchor Butch Alsandor left KHOU in late February.
From the beginning of his long KTRK goodbye, Allen insisted he wasn't retiring. Still few expected him to come back in a full-time role like this. In the past, Allen's made it clear he particularly enjoys covering this Texans run and this will give him a chance to see it through. He will not be in the same role he had at KTRK, which has long been the official local TV station of the team. He will not be on the team plane.
But that matters little. He's still Bob Allen — and nobody else is.
"Bob's not just another TV sportscaster, he's a Houston legend," Philip Bruce, KHOU's executive news director, said in a statement.
I'm normally someone who doesn't listen to the hype. And I certainly haven't been in Houston for 40 years. But with Bob Allen, the hype's real.
It's good to have a storyteller back.
