Welcome back, Bobby Flynn
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Bobby Flynn, wearing his trademark sports coat, visited with Kenney Bourne before today’s Sweet 16 tipoff.
BY MIKE FIELDS (March 15, 2017)
It was great to see Bobby Flynn back in Rupp Arena on Wednesday for the 100th Whitaker Bank/KHSAA Boys’ Sweet 16.
Flynn has been a fixture at state tournaments for more than 40 years as a volunteer, mostly working along press row.
He was noticeably absent last year, however, due to health issues. He suffered broken ribs and broken collarbone in a fall, and after recovering from those injuries, he fell again and suffered a broken back.
“I’m still hurting in my back, but I’m doing a lot better,” said Flynn, who will turn 90 this July.
Bobby’s son Doug said bringing his dad to the Sweet 16 “is the best therapy in the world for him and for all of us. His whole life has revolved around basketball. This is like family for us. We hope this gets him all pumped up and really gets him going.”
Bobby was wearing his signature colorful patchwork sports coat that he’s had for at least 40 years.
Bobby Flynn, a Lafayette graduate, played college basketball at Dayton. This photo from the Lexington Herald from the late 1940s shows him with Dayton Coach Tom Blackburn.
ABOUT MIKE FIELDS
After working as a sports writer for 41 years, I needed a break from the daily demands and deadlines of the newspaper business. So last June I retired from the Lexington Herald-Leader after covering approximately 4,000 high school sports events in my career. Now, eight months later, I’m rested and ready for a part-time return to the game. To reintroduce myself: I was born in Pikeville, grew up in Bardstown, graduated from the University of Kentucky, worked at newspapers in Eustis, Fla., Lake City, Fla., Henderson, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before coming to Lexington in 1980. Email me at mfields@khsaa.org
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