mikemcguff.com: Bob Slovak leaves abc13 KTRK

After 22 years at abc13 KTRK, weekend sports anchor Bob Slovak says job is a casualty of COVID-19

Bob Slovak has announced he is leaving the abc13 KTRK sports department after more than two decades.

UPDATE JULY 2022

Bob Slovak returns to abc13 in a non-sports role

Here is what he posted on Facebook today:

The challenges of the year 2020 have been many but we keep our faith. My time at KTRK ABC13 will be coming to an end in a few weeks.

My job like so many others a misfortune of the Covid-19 pandemic. We move on with a lot to be thankful for.

I would like to thank ABC13 for an awesome 22 year run, so many great memories. I want to thank all of the ABC13 viewers for letting me come into your homes and living rooms for the last two decades plus to talk Sports.

I got into this business 34 years ago because of the passion and the way Sports makes us all feel. I got that from my Dad, I can still hear him yelling at the Cowboys games on the TV.

I've tried to present my Sports coverage in a fun way and I hope you enjoyed it with me. I want to thanks all of the Coaches and Players I have gotten to know in the Houston area over the years, thanks for letting me tell your stories. I move on to new opportunities and challenges if you have one for me let me know.

We keep moving forward. God has a plan. God Bless.

ALSO JUST HAPPENING AT ABC13 KTRK HOUSTON
- Collin Myers exits abc13 KTRK
- Deborah Wrigley to leave abc13 KTRK

One of the rare TV folks who eschews coffee for Diet Dr Pepper, Slovak joined KTRK in 1998 as the sports reporter alongside longtime Houston sports anchors Bob Allen and Tim Melton.

In 2013, when Melton suffered from a stroke and had to retire from the TV business, Slovak moved from sports reporter to weekend sports anchor.

"People will ask me, you know, 'what's your favorite part of your job?' I'm like, 'well, I get in all the big sporting events for free' and they go, 'well, what's the worst part of your job?' 'Well, I'm working,' Slovak jokingly said in a recent interview.

Slovak has earned honors from the Edward R. Murrow, EMMY and Associated Press awards.

In this spare time, you might find Slovak rocking out at a concert by greats such as the Rolling Stones or Foo Fighters (at least back when you could attend shows).

Before channel 13 and Houston, Slovak worked at KNXV Phoenix, KOTV Tulsa, KFDM Beaumont and KTEN Ada, Oklahoma.

The Dallas native graduated from Stephen F. Austin University with a Bachelor of Arts in Communications, but don't think his DFW roots totally dictate his fan sensibilities when it comes to the Dallas Cowboys and Houston Texans.

"I grew up in Dallas...you know, Cowboys, Cowboys, Cowboys," Slovak once said. "Lived in Houston now 21 years, so I cheer for both. People say you can't do that. When they play each other, I kind of just say who wins is OK, but I'll I'll cheer for both of them."

And to show his love for sports, Slovak said if his television news sports career hadn't have happened, he would have been in some other form of athletics.

"I would probably be a coach on some level, high school or college coach," he said in the interview. "When I first got out of school, that was my backup plan. If I couldn't find a job in TV, I was going to go into coaching, football, coaching."

After his long career at channel 13, Slovak has done play by play for high school games on KUBE 57. He also noted on his Twitter bio that he is serving as an adjunct professor at the University of Houston's Jack J. Valenti School of Communication.

SAY GOODBYE: Leave your memories and well wishes for Bob Slovak

* This post has been updated with information on what Slovak has been working on after he left abc13 KTRK channel 13 in Houston.

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