By ROY HESS | The Brownsville Herald
As a radio broadcaster, a teacher, and most notably, a friend to all, Hank Hollingsworth lived a life that touched many in the Brownsville community.
The news of Hollingsworth’s death earlier this week at age 78 was saddening for everyone who came to know him as the “Voice of Brownsville” at KBOR 1600 AM Radio. As an announcer/broadcaster, he covered news and sporting events for approximately 35 years starting in the 1960s. He also taught at Porter High School from 1984 to 2014.
Hollingsworth’s distinctive, familiar voice coming over the airwaves on a football Friday night was just like hearing from an old, trusted friend. He provided play-by-play descriptions of countless football games, most of them at Sams Memorial Stadium, and was inducted into the Rio Grande Valley Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.
He is remembered as a kind and humble man.
During his time as a broadcaster from the mid-1960s to around 2000, the athletes, coaches and fans came to appreciate and respect his vital contribution to Brownsville football in addition to the news coverage he provided for KBOR.
In 1963, Hollingsworth was the one to break the news over the radio to Brownsville residents that President Kennedy had been assassinated. Hollingsworth interviewed Presidents Reagan and Nixon when they came to the Rio Grande Valley to campaign. He also interviewed Tom Landry and Roger Staubach during their visits to South Texas.
“Hank played an important role (broadcasting news and sports) for many years,” said Joe A. Rodriguez, a former coach, athletic director and current Brownsville ISD school board member. “He was there back when it was just Brownsville High (in the 1960s). He always supported us (with his radio coverage). Not only that, he was such a great person, too.
“He was a real blessing to our community, and I’m sad to hear of his passing,” Rodriguez added. “He’ll be missed. He was always there for Brownsville and the kids.”
One of those who recalls Hollingsworth’s days of broadcasting football games in the late 1970s and early 1980s is Ivy Arroyo, a 1981 Pace graduate who was on the Vikings’ 1980 team that upset Coastal Bend powerhouse Gregory-Portland 7-6 in a memorable bi-district game on a cold, wet night at G-P. Hollingsworth was there along with his broadcast team to keep the Valley informed about how the game was going and joyously tell the listeners about the eventual victory.
Arroyo said his father recorded the G-P game off the radio that night because he had to work. The treasured recording is now in Ivy’s possession.
“Mr. Hollingsworth was truly the voice of Valley high school football,” said Arroyo, who now lives in Central Texas and is a client development director for a law firm. “He was a soft-spoken man, yet had quite a sense of humor. There was the time (as a Pace student) I first met him in person as I was jogging by KBOR (on Central Boulevard) one afternoon. He was fixing to get into his car when I stopped to introduce myself. He said, ‘I know you Ivy Jay!’
“He shook my sweaty hand and went on to say, ‘Gee Ivy, I really like watching you mercilessly pound your opponents (as a Pace linebacker and offensive lineman) every Friday night,'” Arroyo added. “Then he said, ‘From where I sit (in the press box), everybody looks the same size, and I didn’t realize just how short you really are. You play much bigger than your size. Either way, I’m glad I don’t have to play in front of you.’ We laughed and talked about several games and teammates.”
Arroyo said he’ll always remember Hollingsworth as a major contributor to football in Brownsville.
“He had such a great respect for the game and the kids he represented on the radio,” Arroyo said. “On the inside, I saw myself as 6-foot-5, and then Hank was my wake-up call that in reality I was only 5-foot-6. He was such a class gentleman through and through. I wish my boys (who now play football in high school and college) could have met him. We will miss him dearly. My sincerest condolences to his family.”
The KBOR broadcast team gradually evolved to include at various times Ronnie Zamora, David Dierlam, Benny Bellamy and occasionally others. Zamora, now the communications and marketing coordinator at Los Fresnos CISD, called games from the broadcast booth with Hollingsworth from approximately 1985 to 2000.
“Hank was my mentor,” Zamora said. “He was the first to give me the opportunity to broadcast sports. Together with David Dierlam, we did about 15 seasons of high school football together. It didn’t feel like work at all. It was a lot of fun. Hank showed me that microphones are nothing to be scared of. I am going to miss him.”
Hollingsworth’s impact was felt as an educator in the classroom as well.
“Mr. Hollingsworth was my government and economics teacher my senior year,” said Joshua J. Caldwell, who graduated from Porter in 2002. “I knew that he was a radio legend before I was ever his student. While I was too young to ever hear him on the radio, I always enjoyed his stories about his broadcasts.
“He was a compassionate teacher who treated us like adults,” added Caldwell, now an attorney with the 13th Court of Appeals. “He always facilitated lively discussions about the government and economy and enjoyed listening to us students debate, even though he may have disagreed with a lot of what we had to say.”
Hollingsworth, a 1958 graduate of Fort Worth Trimble Tech, arrived in Brownsville as a 20-year-old in 1960 and radio quickly became his livelihood and his passion.
“I would say broadcasting has defined my life,” Hollingsworth said during an interview last June. “It was a great preparation for the classroom (as I became a teacher at Porter in 1984). You’re exposed to everything under the sun (in broadcasting). It’s a world unto its own. It did so many good things for me.
“God knew what He was doing when He sent me here (to Brownsville) 57 years ago,” Hollingsworth added. “The people I’ve met here are wonderful.”
A graveside service is scheduled at 11 a.m. today at Rose Lawn Memorial Gardens to be followed by a memorial service at Brownsville First Baptist Church at 1 p.m.
Roy Hess covers sports for The Brownsville Herald. You can reach him via email at [email protected]. On Twitter he’s @HessRgehess