Written by Tim Petermann, former UWEC Athletics Sports Information Director
Bob Gallaher, a long-time sports and news anchor at WEAU TV 13, received the 2021 Jim Mueller Blugold Spirit Award at the Blugold Hall of Fame banquet Friday, October 15.
Gallaher joined the TV 13 sports department on September 12, 1994, the day the 1994 World Series was cancelled due to the players' strike. He covered Blugold sports as the Sports Director until July, 2014 when he became a News Anchor. Recently, he took on a new role as Hello Wisconsin Anchor.
Gallaher has been on hand to cover some of the great moments in Blugold sports history. That included the first two football playoff games in 1998 when the Blugolds beat St. John's in Collegeville and Central College in Pella, Iowa. And the 2007 football playoff games at St. Norbert and Bethel. He was in Salem, Virigina for the 2000 men's basketball Final Four. He recalled Jill Millis' walk-off home run to win the 2008 NCAA softball championship and the team deplaning in Eau Claire with the championship trophy. He remarked how many fans made the trip to Terre Haute, Indiana for the 2003 women's basketball Final Four and after the Blugolds lost a heartbreaker in the semifinals, how many remained for the third-place game. He was in Decatur, Illinois when the Blugold women won the 1997 NCAA sectional to advance to the Final Four, racing to Springfield to get video back to the station. Then he worked with the NBC affiliate in New York to get video back as the Blugolds played for the national championship.
Other memories that stick with him are Sherm Carstensen's shot in the 2000 NCAA sectional and watching Sean Hoolihan run the two-minute offense as good as Aaron Rodgers. He was there with the packed crowds at Hobbs as the 2013 Blugolds earned a spot in the Frozen Four and eventually brought home an NCAA championship from Lake Placid, New York. He recalled that "there were some characters on that team."
He also pointed out the memorable athletes that he covered. "I had plenty of favorites … Sean Hoolihan, Kevin Scully, Janel Soppeland, Heidi Arciszewski, Kristi Channing, Becca Spaeth, Michelle Burns, Jessie Brantner, Ryan Quinn, Sherm Carstensen, Jon Wallenfelsz, Matt Fermanich, Todd Marks, all of Leslie Huntingon's softball teams, Kim Arndt, Molly Menard and I'm probably forgetting a ton of players." He also mentioned the incredible coaches that have led Blugold teams: Ken Anderson, Don Parker, Lisa Stone, Tonja Englund, Bob Nielson, Lisa Herb, Kim Wudi, Todd Glaser, Leslie Huntington, Gibby, Coach Loen, Coach Schwamberger, Coach Schneider. I could go on and on."
A packed house at Zorn or Hobbs or the UWEC Marching Band at Carson Park will always be memorable, according to Gallaher.
Gallaher has been key to sharing the stories and successes of Blugold teams, coaches and athletes with the Chippewa Valley and western Wisconsin for over a quarter of a century.
The Jim Mueller Blugold Spirit Award, named in honor of its first recipient, Jim Mueller, recognizes a non-staff individual or group for long-term support of the Blugold athletics program. The recipient must have demonstrated exemplary interest in and concern for Blugold student-athletes and coaches. Their pride and spirit as a friend and ambassador of the Blugold program epitomizes the true meaning of a Blugold.