For “Countywide & Sun” Sports Writer Danny Chambers, sports has been a constant theme in his life.
“Since I was a toddler, sports was my life,” said Chambers in an email interview. “I lived it every day, and my earliest memories were me thinking and playing sports. Instead of sleeping with a teddy bear, I slept with a football or a baseball glove.”
Chambers’ favorite sport is football, and he always had a football with him as a child and even into adulthood, in case there was a chance to play catch.
“I love the intense competition and camaraderie,” he said. “I’m not going to lie; I love the hitting and seeing a running back break into the open for a long touchdown run. I love the strategy it takes to get the advantage over your opponent. I just love everything about football.”
It was a cruel twist of fate that Chambers was not able to play sports in high school himself.
“I was never not playing sports when I was young, but one of the biggest heartbreaks in my life was in my freshman year of high school when I was told by a doctor that I couldn’t play football, or sports in general, because of a hip ailment that I had dealt with in grade school.”
Chambers was born in Shawnee, and since he moved to Tecumseh when he was three, his love of T-Town has been a second theme in his life.
“I’ve lived in Pottawatomie County all my life,” he said. “It was a great place to grow up and live! I never have, and wouldn’t CHOOSE to live anywhere else in the world. I had a blessed childhood and attended Tecumseh Public Schools from first grade to graduation.”
So, of course, it follows that Chambers is the number one fan of Tecumseh High School sports.
“I grew up going to Tecumseh football games before I began grade school,” he said. “I’ve always been a Savage through and through, and if you cut me, you’ll probably see me bleeding black and gold.”
Chambers took a non-traditional route to get his college degrees because of circumstances in his life. But, ten years after graduation, he received his Associates Degree in Business from Seminole Junior College (now Seminole State College). Ten years after that, he obtained his Bachelor’s Degree in Communications from the University of Central Oklahoma.
In 2004, Chambers began his “real job” with the State of Oklahoma and currently works for the Oklahoma Insurance Department.
Just after accepting that job, he also became a sports writer for the Countywide, something he had never considered doing until he saw a farewell column by the newspaper’s sports writer at the time.
“I had a degree in communication, I loved sports, and I had done pretty well in the journalism and broadcasting classes at UCO and decided to send a resumé to the Countywide,” he said. “It was a few months later, just before football season, that Wayne (Trotter) contacted me and hired me to cover Savage Football.”
Chambers was also encouraged by Wayne and Gloria Trotter, the newspaper’s owners at the time, to cover other sports besides football.
“One of the cool things about beginning at the Countywide was that my youngest daughter was a senior playing volleyball for the Lady Savages,” he said. “You might imagine that Tecumseh Volleyball got more coverage than ever before in 2004.”
Soon, Chambers was covering Shawnee Wolves football, basketball, baseball, and softball, in addition to Tecumseh sports.
Some of Chambers’ favorite memories of covering sports have been following Tecumseh teams to state tournaments, “especially over the past few years as the Lady Savage fastpitch and slowpitch teams become regulars in the State Tournament with each coming so close in the State Championship games.”
He fondly remembers the Tecumseh basketball teams going to State, “first the Lady Savages in 2007 and the Savages in 2011.”
“I love the basketball State Tournaments at the Big House in Oklahoma City, including championship runs covering the Dale and Bethel girls, as well as the Shawnee Lady Wolves winning a title in Tulsa,” he said.
“I also enjoyed the Shawnee Wolves football teams making deep playoff runs with Tucker Brown at quarterback.”
“There are too many favorite memories to mention them all, but I love the relationships with the coaches and administrators,” said Chambers. “I also love watching and getting to know some really great student athletes as they grow and develop. I find that I really miss many of them when they graduate.”
In 2006, Chambers found another way to delve into his love of sports. After hearing about the passing of KIRC radio’s “play-by-play” commentator for the Savages, Chambers sent in his resumé for the position. When he was called in for an interview and was asked for an audition tape, then-Tecumseh football coach Greg George came through with assistance.
“Coach George provided me with a game film and sat in a room at my church and watched the film and recorded my play-by-play for the audition,” he said. “Fortunately, it was good enough to get the job with KIRC.”
When a second commentator position opened up, Chambers was able to work alongside his friend and fellow football fan.
“If anyone loved or knew more football than me, it was my best friend Dennie Burks, and for 11-years we traveled from press box to press box covering our alma mater’s football team on radio until we decided it was time to hang it up,” he said.
Chambers and Burks would later team up announcing for the HUB Network broadcasting for live streams.
In the meantime, Chambers became the Public Address announcer at Tecumseh football games.
“I accepted the job that I’d dreamed of from the time I was a young boy listening to the PA at Savage football games,” he said.
Before then, Chambers had announced at some softball and baseball tournaments and some volleyball senior nights. When asked by Tecumseh Softball Head Coach Perry Wilson in 2010, he became the voice for Lady Savage slowpitch softball. Going on 13 years this spring, it is Chambers’ longest-running announcing job.
Then, when Tecumseh Fastpitch Head Coach Chad Trahan retired from announcing three years ago, Trahan asked that Chambers step in for him. So, Chambers is now the PA announcer for slowpitch and fastpitch softball and basketball, as well as the play-by-play announcer for several sports on the HUB Network.
For both PA and broadcast announcing, Chambers said he loves “just being involved in the games.”
“I also feel that I may be adding something to the game, whether it’s adding information to the games through public address or allowing fans that can’t be at the games (to follow them) through the Hub Network,” he said.
Chambers said there are challenges with both types of announcing, such as dealing with equipment, locations, and preparation time.
“But, maybe the biggest challenge is pronouncing difficult players’ names,” he said. “I hate mispronouncing a name because it’s a kid’s name, and I owe it to them to do my best to get it correct.”
While he still maintains his day job for the State of Oklahoma, Chambers said all of his side jobs are what bring him happiness.
“The State is my livelihood,” he said. “But the Countywide, the Public Address positions, and the HUB Network bring enjoyment and continued involvement in my lifelong passion…sports, and some spending money.”
