A 40-year association between partners and pals came to an end last month after Albright, "The Whisperer," offered color commentary to go with Ormond's play-by-play call for the last time after hundreds of West Aurora High School football and basketball games the two worked together.

"I'm sure I'm going to miss the football games," said the 66-year-old Albright. "We share the same passion. We both went to West High, graduated from West High and both came back and spent a large part of our lives around West High. Good friends are hard to find, and he's a good friend."

It might be hard to find a teacher and coach more imbedded in the far west suburban school district than Albright. A longtime middle school American history teacher, Albright also coached a combined 86 seasons of football, basketball and track at various levels.

Albright was honored by the West Aurora School District 129 board last month for his service as a teacher, coach and broadcaster.
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"We liked each other and hung around together," said Ormond, who continues broadcasting and also serves as District 129's board president. "We got to know the families (of coaches and players) because Rick would know them.

"We would spend a lot of time talking about the interesting human side of it," Ormond said. "I think that was one of the things that we focused on in our broadcasts ... (and) that added a dimension to our broadcasts that was unique."

Albright's run included 18 years as West Aurora High School sophomore basketball coach and a front-row seat in 2000 for the varsity team's memorable ride to a Class AA state basketball championship.

"I was on the bench and it's the last game I coached, and I retired from teaching and coaching after that," he said. "What was really neat is that we probably had five, maybe 10 more-talented teams. But none more cohesive. That was the difference that year."

Albright got his start in broadcasting in 1971. He was playing in a YMCA league with Ormond, who was working as a local broadcaster and looking for someone to provide color commentary.

"I didn't have broadcasting experience, but I learned from an expert," said Albright. "Neal did Rose Bowl games, the Harvard-Yale game, he worked for 'Wide World of Sports.' He's the most prepared broadcaster I've ever seen."

Picking the most memorable broadcast they ever did was easy. In separate conversations, each selected a 1986 West Aurora football game at Elgin.

"It was a miserable night, raining and sleeting, and West is up by two touchdowns," Albright said. "A car goes out of control behind the press box, hits a light poll and wipes out the electricity for the whole stadium."

The game was suspended until the following afternoon.

"It's a beautiful, sunny day. Elgin passes and gets right back in the game. This kid named Larry Sullivan — he (later) kicked in the Big Ten — kicks a 56-yard field goal (for Elgin) to win by a point. That's a state record."

Albright still referees basketball and volleyball and said he'll be available for spot duty in the broadcast booth if needed.

"I intend to fill in if Neal needs somebody," he said, "but my wife and I want to do some other things. She's been so patient for 40 years."