Walt Smith has been a lot of things during his life.
He was a jailer. He was a bus driver. He sold insurance. He's the father of 10 and the long-time husband for his wife Marlene.
He may have even been Santa Claus.
"I've probably known him all my life," said Ord native Doug Duda, co-host of the "Doug and Daddy" show on KICS and KXPN radio and a well-known play-by-play voice in Central Nebraska. "He was probably Santa Claus when I was two or three.
"He was Santa Claus, he was my bus driver, he called games when I was in high school, and then I got to work with him."
Oh, yes. Smith has called a lot of games over the years. If you're talking about play-by-play voices in this part of the state, Walt Smith has to be one of the first names to come up.
Now Smith, 72, is being honored with the Nebraska Coaches Association Media award this weekend in Lincoln.
"I can't understand why you would get an award for doing something you love to do," said Smith, who is still a Shelter Insurance Agent in Ord. "Every new game for me is an adventure. I just love doing it."
Duda was Smith's radio partner for about eight years in the 1990s until he left KNLV Radio in Ord for Power 99 in Kearney. Duda was just out of college when he got the job at KNLV and he had a lot to learn.
The biggest thing Smith taught Duda was that there was a right way and a wrong way to call high school athletics.
"When I started I was just out of college," Duda said. "It was kind of a maturity level thing that I needed to be told. You watched too much of the college or pro stuff and you think maybe it's OK to say whatever came to your mind. That's not the case with high school kids. Hopefully that's something that has stuck with me throughout my career."
As far as Smith is concerned, it's all for the young athletes -- not only the standouts but the role players and the ones who come off the bench.
"The whole point of being there is to credit the kids for what they did," Smith said. "It's not just picking out one guy. You talk about all of them. They all practiced and did what they needed to do. Maybe they don't get all the playing time, but they're out there."
Smith says he's been calling games for "48 or 49 years," and he has the stories to prove it.
There was the time they were doing a football game in Bartlett to be broadcast the next day. There was no phone line so they had to keep the tape recorder inside their clothes to keep the tape warm.
Smith also has another Bartlett story to tell.
"They had this new coach," Smith said. "We got there and nobody was there. I walked to the dressing room and there was this kid standing there. I said, 'Son, where's your coach?' He said, 'I am the coach.'"
The coach was a young Paul Nordhues, who still coaches football and is the activities director at Wheeler Central High School.
Smith remembers Ord's girls basketball team losing a 35-point halftime lead at the 1987 state tournament, then coming back to win the Class B state title the next season.
He remembers watching Burwell's Brett Gumb, who now plays at Chadron State, rush for 414 yards in just three quarters of play in 2004.
"His line that day did everything he wanted them to do," Smith said. "The further the game went it seemed he picked up an extra step of speed and physically got stronger. One guy wouldn't bring him down. It took two or three to get that kid down."
Duda remembers calling the 1989 boys state semifinal loss to Lincoln Pius with Smith when the Chants missed a 3-pointer at the buzzer that would have tied the score.
There was also the first-ever state football championship game at Memorial Stadium when Wolbach defeated Milligan for the six-man title in 1996.
"On the other side, there were broadcasts out of the backs of pickups, on the top of planks and in motor homes -- more strange places than I care to remember," Duda said.
Wherever they went, people knew Walt Smith, and Walt Smith knew them.
And if he didn't know them, he was a master at faking it.
"Somebody would come up and say, 'Hey Walt. How you doing,'" Duda said. "The first couple of years I didn't know a lot of people. I'd say, 'Who was that?' Walt would go, 'I don't know.'
"He was pretty sly about things like that. Even if their name didn't come to his mind, he could carry on a half-hour conversation with them."
That's just Smith's way. Everyone is a friend and everyone involved in the event -- players, coaches and officials -- deserve respect.
"That's never a part of my broadcast to belittle anybody about anything," Smith said. "It's about respect. I respect them and what they're doing and hopefully they respect me for what I'm doing."
NCA Awards
Milestone Level IV Awards -- Charles Perone, basketball; Frank Samuelson, basketball; Doug Goltz, football; Jeffrey G. Hoham, boys tennis; Dennis Koinzan, boys track.
Coaches of the year -- Boys basketball: Randy Bauer, Pleasanton; Girls basketball: Tim Kassmeier, Norfolk Catholic; Boys cross country: Doug Zoucha, Norfolk Catholic; Girls cross country: George O'Boyle, Lincoln Pius X; Football: Mark Braymer, Pierce; Golf: Paul Reinertson, Gibbon; Soccer: John Walsh, Millard North; Softball: Terry Graver, Elkhorn; Swimming: Tracy Stauffer, Millard West; Tennis: Josh Budler, York. Boys track: Roger Mathiesen, Kearney; Girls track: Dean Korus, Humphrey St. Francis; Volleyball: Jake Moore, Lincoln Pius X.
Ed Johnson Award: Del Schoenfish, Cambridge.
Skip Palrang Award: Larry Jacobson, Omaha Burke; Binnie & Dutch Award: Larry Jacobson, Omaha Burke; Guy Mytty Award: Curlee Alexander, Omaha North: NCA volleyball award: Steve Morgan, Ogallala; NCA girls basketball award: Mike Lanham, Southern Valley; Friends of High School Sports Award: Charlie and Mary Caverzagie, Plattsmouth; Dave Schultz, Nebraska Orthopedic. Media award: Walt Smith, Ord.
Jim Farrand Assistant coach/Junior High coach of the year: James Libal, Freeman.
25-year coaches/Ads -- Jon Cerny, Bancroft-Rosalie; Benjamin Egger, Wood River; Rick Eickholt, Neligh-Oakdale; Tim Fichtner, Milford; Kristine Freese, Norfolk Catholic; Mark Hrabik, Syracuse; Larry Hrbek, Lincoln High; Marty Hughes, Dundy County-Stratton; Chris Hutt, Johnson County Central; Warren Jackson, Valentine; Vic Jacobson, Thayer Central; Doug Jones, Elgin; Mike Jurgensen, Burwell; John Kershaw, Hitchcook County; Chris Kraus, Hyannis; Jim LaMaster, Adams Central; Bill Lentz, David City; Bob Michl, Freeman; Ron Mimick, Aquinas; David Novak, Elmwood-Murdock; Todd Porter, Bellevue East; David Rehnstrom, Hartington; Jody Rhodes, Paxton; Ruben Ruybalid, Centauri, Colo.; Tom Schoenfelder, Southern Valley; Lynn Schoening, Lincoln Northeast; Terry Smith, Meridian; Tom Spale, Schuyler; Terry Spence, Spalding Academy; John Stanton, Platteview; David Tejral, Twin River; Darrel Timm, Neligh-Oakdale; Sue Wewel, Archbishop Bergan.
