Daniel John Cook Jr. (August 12, 1926 – July 3, 2008) was a sports writer for the ''

San Antonio Express-News The ''San Antonio Express-News'' is a daily newspaper in San Antonio, Texas. It is owned by the Hearst Corporation and has offices in San Antonio and Austin, Texas. The ''Express-News'' is the third largest newspaper in the state of Texas, with ...

'' for 51 years. He is most notable for making the phrase " the opera ain't over 'til the fat lady sings" into common use. Described as a "sports icon", Cook started working at

KENS KENS (channel 5) is a television station in San Antonio, Texas, United States, affiliated with CBS and owned by Tegna Inc. The station's studios are located on Fredericksburg Road in northwest San Antonio, near the South Texas Medical Center, w ...

in 1956 and continued to work at the television station until 2000. For most of these years, the TV station was owned by the ''San Antonio Express-News''.

Career

After beginning his sports writing career at the ''

Houston Post The ''Houston Post'' was a newspaper that had its headquarters in Houston, Texas, United States. In 1995, the newspaper shut down, and its assets were purchased by the ''Houston Chronicle''. History Gail Borden Johnson founded the ''Houston Po ...

'', Cook worked at the ''San Antonio Express-News'' from August 14, 1952, until he retired on August 3, 2003. In early 1956, he first made national headlines when, acting on a tip, he confronted a suspect in a Houston robbery and in the process wound up himself arrested and charged with armed robbery. (He would later be exonerated when the suspect confessed to the original crime.) Cook wrote his first sports column for the ''San Antonio Express-News'' on November 29, 1956. During his newspaper career, he became in charge of editing the sports column in 1960 and held this role until 1975. Outside of the ''Express-News'', Cook continued his sports career on the radio and television.

The phrase

In 1976, Ralph Carpenter of

Texas Tech Texas Tech University (Texas Tech, Tech, or TTU) is a public research university in Lubbock, Texas. Established on , and called Texas Technological College until 1969, it is the main institution of the five-institution Texas Tech University Sys ...

invented "the opera ain't over until the fat lady sings". The phrase became common use after Cook and

Dick Motta John Richard Motta (born September 3, 1931) is an American former basketball coach whose career in the National Basketball Association (NBA) spanned 25 years. Motta coached the Washington Bullets to the 1978 NBA Championship, and he won the 1971 ...

used it during the 1978 NBA playoffs.

Honors and awards

On March 1, 1996, Cook was inducted into the San Antonio Sports Hall of Fame for his work as a columnist and a broadcaster.

Personal life

Cook was born and raised in Houston, Texas. He graduated St. Thomas High School in Houston and attended the

University of Houston The University of Houston (UH) is a Public university, public research university in Houston, Texas. Founded in 1927, UH is a member of the University of Houston System and the List of universities in Texas by enrollment, university in Texas ...

for two years. He was married and had three children.

Death

Cook died on the night of July 3, 2008, after a long illness.

Partial bibliography

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Cook, Dan 1926 births 2008 deaths American columnists American sports announcers Sportswriters from Texas American television personalities Male television personalities Writers from San Antonio University of Houston alumni St. Thomas High School (Houston, Texas) alumni