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Counting On A Comeback

Sean Elliott had just hit the Memorial Day Miracle, a game-winner from his tiptoes in the 1999 Western Conference Finals that has gone down as one of the great moments in Spurs history.

National TV cameras zoomed in on Elliott sitting on the scorer’s table after the shot, while the Alamodome celebrated. And right behind Elliott, you can see Walter Stoops, wearing his headset and a giant grin on his face.

Stoops is the Spurs’ radio broadcast statistician, and he’s been working Spurs games since 1985. If there has been a great sports moment in San Antonio in the past 30 years, Stoops was probably there, scrawling down numbers on sheets of paper.

But in December, he thought he might not work another game. Stoops, 65, lost his left foot to diabetes.

“One of my first thoughts after the amputation was whether I would work games again,” Stoops said. “I was wondering if my life as a statistician was over.”

The life of a statistician is one of perfect accuracy and perfect attendance. Stoops has only missed six games in 30 seasons before December, all of them after the deaths of his parents.

He’s worked with Bill Schoening, the voice of the Spurs, since Schoening began calling games in 2001. While Schoening speaks, Stoops is next to him, keeping meticulous numbers of stats and scoring runs categorized on nine different sheets of paper.

Stoops communicates with Schoening through a headset, but they often use hand signals when the AT&T Center gets too loud. Schoening said he rarely has to ask for a particular stat, either. After working together for 14 seasons, they’ve developed some telepathy.

“He’s very, very passionate about what he does,” Schoening said. “He loves the Spurs, loves the game loves giving me the numbers. He’s a real pro and everybody loves him.”

Stoops also is a high school and college sports statistician, working on high school football games under the Friday Night Lights with Gary DeLaune, who has been a high school play-by-play announcer for more than 50 years. He also works with Stars broadcaster Andy Everett on football games for UTSA, the University of Texas- San Antonio.

“He makes any broadcast at least 30 percent better,” said DeLaune, who was part of the Spurs’ broadcast team from 1973 to 1977.  “You can’t concentrate on trying to paint a picture on a broadcast, then have to worry about how many passes Manziel threw. So you rely on Walter, because he never makes mistakes and he loves doing the job.”

Stoops (no relation to Oklahoma football coach Bob Stoops) got his first job as a Spurs statistician when he was working at a bank in 1985. He’s always loved numbers, and he was asked to record field goal attempts, back when a team of nine kept official stats by hand. In 1989, David Robinson’s rookie season, Jay Howard took over play-by-play duties for the Spurs and Stoops joined him on the radio broadcast team. He’s worked beside the “Voice of the Spurs” ever since.

Some of his favorite memories include the championships. He speaks fondly of the early days of the job, when locker room access was different and he would just walk through to meet Michael Jordan and Charles Barkley.

In his living room Stoops keeps a framed boxscore from one of the most unique statistical achievements: Robinson’s quadruple-double in 1994.

“To me, it’s the best job there is,” said Stoops, who retired from his full-time job at a bank in 2013. “I’ve never wanted to be the guy in front of the microphone, but I get to help tell the story and I get a pretty good seat.”

In December, Stoops worried that he might not be able to perform his dream job.

He had been diagnosed as a diabetic five years ago, but said he made few changes to his diet. Stoops paid dearly for it when a cut on his foot became infected.

A few days later, he was in the hospital. Doctors amputated his left leg below the knee, and he spent about a month in the hospital.

“I was foolish,” he said. “You have to listen to your doctor. My life will never be the same because I didn’t.”

Stoops has always been active. He’s played golf since he was 12. There’s also nothing he loves more than chasing around his six grandchildren.

But the statistician is now part of an alarming statistic in San Antonio.

According to San Antonio Metro Health, 18 percent of Bexar County’s population is diabetic. By comparison, 14 percent of registered voters in Bexar County voted in the San Antonio mayoral election.

More than 2,000 diabetic amputations occur each year in San Antonio, a rate that is three times the national average.

“I had a cut on my foot, got on an infection, and I wake up in the hospital and it’s been amputated,” Stoops said. “But it was the years when I didn’t take care of myself that made the difference. I think there are a lot of diabetics like me out there, and I hope they listen to warnings.”

Stoops spent about a month in the hospital, including Christmas. He missed more Spurs home games than he has in the past 30 years combined.

While watching the Spurs from his hospital bed, he would text Schoening statistics just to feel like he was still a part of the game.

“I can’t explain how much I missed being at the games,” Stoops said. “It’s something that’s been a part of me for half my life.”

Shortly after the amputation, Spurs Sports & Entertainment Senior Director of Broadcasting Mike Kickirillo called Stoops to check up on him. Stoops said he was nervous about being replaced, but Kickirillo immediately ended those fears. He told Stoops to worry about getting better and that the Spurs would figure out any arrangements necessary when he came back.

So Stoops went to work. He was fitted with a prosthetic and had to learn to walk with it.

He’s since changed his diet and has lost 45 pounds.

By March, he was ready to return to work as a statistician. When he arrived at the AT&T Center on March 10, broadcast intern Taylor Hair was waiting to help.

Hair shadowed Stoops, helping him navigate through difficult areas of the AT&T Center. Because Stoops’ seat was only accessible by stairs, he would throw his arm over Hair’s shoulder to take the steps.

Hair’s job has its perks as well. When Tim Duncan stopped to check on Stoops before a game, Hair got to meet one of his heroes.

“On Day One, it probably felt like part of my job as an intern,” Hair said. “We’re friends now, Walter’s such a positive guy, and it hasn’t felt like a job in a long time. He’s an incredible dude.”

Stoops is such a fixture at Spurs games that many others stopped by to visit with him after he return. One person Stoops remembers fondly is referee Monty McCutchen taking a few moments to check in before a game.

When Stoops got to his seat at the AT&T Center, he was already in his rhythm with Schoening on the first night.

He was back to furiously charting on his nine sheets of paper and giving Schoening every number needed.

“Diabetes has changed the way I live,” Stoops said. “But I’m not going to let it stop me from doing things I love or change who I am.”

Stoops is working Stars games this summer, and will continue to do stats for high school football and UTSA games as well.

After an infection in his leg sidelined him for part of the summer, Stoops hopes to be back on the golf course by the holidays. Every now and then, he’ll hop out to the practice putting green and hit a couple strokes on one leg.

He’s back to never missing a moment.

 “Throughout everything, Walter’s disposition never changed,” Schoening said. “He stayed cheerful, he always had a smile, an I think that’s what has always drawn people to him.”

Twitter: @lornechan