When my family moved from New Jersey to a small town just north of Columbus, GA named Shiloh in the early 90s, you couldn’t even get the NHL scores on local television. That all changed in 1996 when the Columbus Cottonmouths came to town. They were an instant hit, winning the Central Hockey League Levins Cup just one year later. One of the men who was front and center building that team was a former NHL veteran and Stanley Cup Champion by the name of Phil Roberto.
Sadly, Phil Roberto passed away this week.
I first met Phil Roberto during the Championship season in 1997. I was a young and ambitious 20 year old obsessed with hockey. He could be a little gruff, but he always enjoyed talking about the sport we both loved. I didn’t know the in and outs of the sport, I thought a backcheck meant you skated backward and hit somebody. Over time, Mr. Roberto taught me the basics of the game. I’m not an expert, never will be, but the time I spent talking with Mr. Roberto and then Cottonmouths Coach Bruce Garber, I learned enough that almost 30 years later, I got a dream job working for the New Mexico Ice Wolves as their PA Announcer. No, you don’t necessarily need to know the game to do that, but I’d like to think it helps. We didn’t always get along, there were periods that we didn’t talk at all, but we always managed to start talking about the greatest sport in the world. I always called him Mr. Roberto even though he told me to call him Phil. I hadn’t seen Mr. Roberto in almost 20 years, but I will never forget the hockey talks.
Rest in Peace sir, thank you for the memories.
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