Got an email today from Pat Butcher saying Vic Holchak, RIP.
In a strange coincidence I was talking to a friend of mine about 1-800-94-TRAK this weekend.
The college age runners will not believe this but in the late 90s even with the invention of the internet there still wasn't a good way to find out what happened in European track meets. So you could dial 1-800-94-TRAK. You would get a recorded message from Vic Holchak recapping the European action. He had this fabulous deep voice: "Hello everybody this is Vic Holchack in Zurich" and he would recap the Zurich Golden League in like a minute and have a call of the 100 meters. He made track and field exciting.
Anyone know how many years he had this service? I felt like it was only a year or two and then the internet results took over.
Pat Butcher's remembrances here:
http://www.globerunner.org/index.php/04/vic-holchak-rip/
Obituary here:
Vic Thanks for bringing the sport alive to us all and making it exciting. I'm not sure LetsRun.com would exist if you hadn't brough European track and field alive to me.