Remembering Smokin’ Joe

IT MUST have been in the early ’80s or later—I don’t remember the exact year—when a group of expatriate journalists in the United States, including myself, got together at the old Press Club on 555 Post Street, San Francisco.

I drove up from Los Angeles since the clique seldom rendezvoused, and when it did, it was for a special occasion.

That time around, it was both to welcome Joe Cantada, who came to the Bay Area of California on personal business and to bid him goodbye at the same time before he caught a flight back to Manila.

Smokin’ Joe Cantada had been among the voices of dzHP, “The Sound of the City” that included at one time or another Harry Gasser, Ed Tipton, and Milton Alingod— mainstays of the coverage of the fabled Tour of Luzon.

Joe went on to distinguish himself as a boxing announcer—he honed his craft so much he was chosen ring announcer of Muhammad Ali’s “Thrilla in Manila” match with Joe Frazier on Oct. 1, 1975.

His ease with the English language earned plaudits from members of the foreign boxing press who wondered aloud if he was an American like the boxing sage at that time, a guy named Howard Cosell.

I don’t have personal knowledge of how Cantada got the moniker Smokin’ Joe. But I bet you it must have been due to his booming baritone, his cadenced delivery and his adroit use of the Queen’s tongue.

Until he died of lung cancer at age 50 on March 22, 1992, Joe lent his star to Philippine broadcasting, anchoring coverage of the Philippine Basketball Association.

If polls were done today for the best local sports announcer ever, the smart money pick easily could be Jose Maria Cantada, a.k.a. Smokin’ Joe Cantada.

* * *

Memories of Joe’s stature in sports announcing came to mind with the death last week of another erudite performer like him.

ESPN’s Stuart Scott was 49 when he was felled, also by cancer.

In the brotherhood of the mike that transcends race, creed and certainly time, Joe and Stuart would have been kindred spirits.

Like Joe in the Philippines, Stuart was one of the most recognizable figures on sports television in America and wherever ESPN sports is broadcast. Like Joe, he was known for his emphatic delivery style and catchphrases to describe game highlights.

Scott’s signature expression was “as cool as the other side of the pillow” he used to describe a difficult play in sports that was executed with ease.

Despite his cancer, Scott remained a cool and composed anchor of SportsCenter beamed worldwide.

One of his most memorable interviews was with Erik Spoelstra, the Filipino-American coach of Miami right after the Heat won the 2013 NBA championship.

“We got knocked down to the canvas two or three times this playoff run, but the thing that matters, we got up and we kept on working,” Erik told Scott while the rest of the sporting universe tuned in.

“You used a lot of boxing analogies with your team. Why?” Scott wondered.

“Well, everybody knows I’m a [Manny] Pacquiao fan,” said Spoelstra, the first Fil-Am and Asian-American coach ever to win the Larry O’Brien NBA Championship Trophy. “There are quite a few competitors that our guys can relate to in that sport.”