AL MCCOY - SEPTEMBER 21 Al McCoy came to the Valley intent on calling baseball games. Instead, he became the voice of pro basketball for generations of Phoenix Suns fans. He died in Septem- ber at 91. Known for his catchphrases — “Zing go the strings,” “Heartbreak Hotel” and espe- cially “Shazam!” — McCoy called 51 seasons of Suns basketball, from 1972 to 2023. That included three trips to the NBA Finals, in 1976, 1993 and 2021. He gave words to the greatness of Connie Hawkins, Charles Barkley, Steve Nash and Devin Booker. By the time he retired from broadcasting after 51 seasons, having set the record for longest- tenured team announcer in NBA history, he was every bit the franchise legend they were. “His peak lasted 51 years,” said current Suns radio announcer Jon Bloom. “The voice never wavered. The most identifiable broad- casters are the ones you don’t need to see or hear more than a couple words, and you know who they are. That’s Al McCoy.” McCoy was born in Iowa, arriving in Phoenix in 1958 to call Triple-A baseball games for the Phoenix Giants. For the next 14 years, he bounced around broadcasting jobs in the Valley — boxing, minor-league hockey and ASU football and basketball. Suns archi- tect Jerry Colangelo handed him the headset for Suns games in 1972 after McCoy submitted a demo tape of him calling a 1966 NBA preseason game. For more than a half-century thereafter, McCoy hardly ever took the headset off. He grinded through 82 games a season and many postseason runs, hardly ever missing a day of work. “It meant that much to him,” said former Suns player and current broadcast analyst Eddie Johnson. “For the life of me, I don’t know how he did it that long.” As players and coaches came and went, McCoy’s voice was always there to welcome fans to another game of Suns basketball. In 2007, McCoy won the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame’s Curt Gowdy Media Award. In 2017, the Suns inducted him into their Ring of Honor. In 2023, at 90 years old, he retired from broadcasting. “I never heard him blow a call,” said current Suns television announcer Tom Leander. “He was always ready for the moment and gave the perfect description. That’s why there are so many iconic calls on file. He nailed it every time.” – Zach Buchanan JIM WEIERS - APRIL 19 Longtime Arizona politician and Re- publican Party leader Jim Weiers died in April after a battle with congestive heart failure at 70 years old. The multi-time Arizona House Speaker was a leader in the state Republican Party throughout the 2000s. Weiers was born in Deadwood, South Dakota. When he was 12, Weiers and his family moved to sunny Phoenix. He became a business leader and he had several businesses throughout his life. In his early 40s, he ran for the state House of Representatives to represent a Phoenix district. Weiers served in the legislature for 14 years, including 12 years in the House — including three terms as Speaker — and two years in the Senate. His time in the public eye was sometimes controversial. He was involved in a scheme to run fake Green Party candidates to help struggling GOP ones, was accused of covering for a convicted pedophile whom he’d mentored and benefitted from the embezzle- ment of Fiesta Bowl funds by former Fiesta Bowl CEO John Junker. Weiers is survived by his brother, current Glendale Mayor Jerry Weiers. The two served together in the Arizona House, making the duo the first brothers in Arizona history to serve in the body at the same time. In a statement after his brother’s passing, Jerry Weiers cited his brother as the reason he entered politics. “Throughout his life, Jim demonstrated high ethics and integrity, and was motivated by the honor of serving others — servant leadership is what we should all strive for,” Weiers wrote. “There was no challenge too great nor issue too small for Jim to tackle.” Three days after his death, Arizona Gov. Katie Hobbs ordered that flags around the state Capitol be lowered to half-staff in memory of Weiers. “I am saddened to hear of the passing of Speaker Weiers, a man who worked tirelessly for his community and who was a champion of maintaining positive bipartisan relation- ships in order to better serve the people of Arizona,” Hobbs wrote in a statement. “Our thoughts are with his wife Gina and his entire family during this difficult time.” Weiers is survived by his wife, Gina, four children and 12 grandchildren. – Morgan Fischer MAX WILSON - JULY 3 Max Wilson came to the Valley in 1959 to serve in the U.S. Air Force and work at Luke Air Force Base. He ended up staying for more than six decades before dying in September at 81. Wilson was most well-known for serv- ing on the Maricopa County Board of Su- pervisors from 2002 to 2013. His successor, current Supervisor Clint Hickman, dubbed him “Mr. West Valley” in a press release an- nouncing his death on July 31 after a long battle with Alzheimer’s disease. After leaving the military in 1963 and serving at the base as a civilian, Wilson no- ticed airmen and their families were having difficulty finding places to live. “He made it his literal business to find them homes, starting a career in real estate development that not only supported military families, but also contributed to the economic development of the West Valley,” Hickman said in the press release. “I’m grateful for Max’s service to our com- munity.” Wilson originally ascended to the powerful body by appointment in 2002, later winning four elections to the board. He was remembered in 2013 by Phoenix New Times for mostly keeping his head down and mostly supporting Joe Arpaio during the controversial, problematic sheriff’s reign. Still, Arpaio threatened him during a feud over the county budget and named Wilson as a conspirator in a bogus 2009 racketeering lawsuit that was later withdrawn. Wilson stepped down from his supervisor role in March 2013 for health reasons. Before becoming a supervisor, Wilson also served on the Litchfield Park City Council, including as vice mayor. He was survived by his wife, Judy, four daughters, eight grandchildren and sixteen great-grandchildren. – TJ L’Heureux JANA BOMMERSBACH - JULY 17 They say to give people their flowers while they’re alive. In life, Jana Bom- mersbach received countless accolades: induction into the Arizona Women’s Hall of Fame, an Emmy for her Arizona Centennial special, “Outrageous Arizona,” a Distinguished Service Award from the Arizona Press Club honoring a lifetime of work. But we see no reason to stop honor- ing this towering figure of Arizona letters after her passing on July 17. Bommersbach joined the staff of Phoenix New Times in the late 1970s and her colleagues from those days remember her for her news chops, her ability to find compelling stories, her fierce work ethic and for being “feisty and honest.” In the years after New Times, she brought her signature talent to the Arizona Republic, Phoenix Magazine and to her books — both fiction and nonfiction, most notably “The Trunk Murderess: Winnie Ruth Judd,” about the infamous Phoenix murder case. For her talent, for her spirit, for her gump- tion, for her resolve, for her voice, for the inspiration she still is to journalists in Arizona and beyond: Thank you, Jana. — Jennifer Goldberg >> p 16 The Departed from p 13
