Roanoker Bob Linkous has many admirers. And, justifiably so. Linkous could be called a rec-league and sandlot coach extraordinaire for thousands of youth players who have played on his teams over the years in Europe, Radford and Roanoke.
He began coaching sandlot sports in 1950 while he was in the Air Force in Europe, and returned to eventually coach basketball, football, baseball and softball for 14 years in Radford before moving to Roanoke where he continued on the sidelines.
Linkous was noted for his success in coaching. You could count on his teams always being in the title chase. The records speak for themselves and his list of honors are impressive.
While in Radford, his teams won five city championships in basketball, seven in football, three in baseball and eight in softball. After coming to Roanoke, he tacked on numerous division championships in basketball and football, as well as a large number of city championships.
And, while his coaching record is among the best, Linkous likewise was a player who could hold his own while playing against some well known names in sports.
Linkous, who turns 84 in December, was born near Radford in 1931. He attended Christiansburg High School, but dropped out to join the Air Force.
“The Korean War broke out, so I joined the Air Force and volunteered to go to France,” Linkous, still looking fit, said in a recent interview. “I had a 13-inch neck, 27-inch waist and weighed 109 pounds. But, I had always been involved in playing basketball, football and softball.”
While in the Air Force, Linkous began to beef up, becoming a shortstop on the Air Force softball team, playing football and being part of Air Force military teams that played throughout Europe against future well-known competitors such as baseball’s Willie Mays and football Hall of Famer Lenny Moore.
“Willie Mays was an unbelievable player even in those days,” Linkous says. “I don’t care what you say, there’s no question about it, he’s the best baseball player, ever.”
After a four-year military tour, during which he earned the equivalent of a college degree in civil engineering, Linkous returned to live in Radford where he entered the construction business. In addition to coaching, he also was scoutmaster for Radford Boy Scout Troop #140 where he mentored seven Eagle Scouts who all became class officers at Radford High School.
“I’ve got kids from that scout group that still call me even though they are now retired,” Linkous says proudly.
Linkous lost his first wife to cancer in 1972, leaving him with four children to raise. Almost five years later he married Ruby Mitchell and adopted her three young daughters, bringing the family total to five daughters and two sons. Bob coached six of the seven along the way, with son Dicky Linkous and daughter Vickie Linkous still two of the most recognizable names among standout Roanoke golfers.
After working in the mechanical supply business for years, Linkous decided to venture out on his own in 1979, opening Linkous Supply.
“I went in to say goodbye to everyone at my former employer, and one guy waved his finger at me and said, ‘you won’t last 30 days,’ ” Linkous recalled with a laugh.
Talk about a miscalculation. Bob remains a principal in the firm that has now been in business 36 years.
Despite business responsibilities, Bob continued to coach at the sandlot level in Roanoke, mostly in basketball and football. “I kept coaching because I loved being with youth and working with youth,” Linkous says.
Linkous always was noted for going the extra mile. In Biddy League basketball for 8 and 9-year-olds, Linkous once coached two teams in the same league, with both reaching the championship game.
“I sat at half-court and coached both teams in that game,” Linkous said. “I spent 30 seconds of a timeout with one team, the other 30 with the other. I guess I had a lock on winning the title.”
And, the winning teams kept coming. His Roanoke teams provided him with many thrills, some in victory, others in defeat. His 1975 Southwest football team dropped a 105-pound title game in triple overtime to the Williamson Road Browns.
But, one of the biggest victories for Linkous came in the 1976 9th Annual Heights Club Invitational Little League Basketball Tournament held at the old Patrick Henry High School gymnasium.
Linkous’ Southwest Ramblers were in the final against Roanoke rival Heights Club, coached by long-time sandlot icon Buddy Sink.
A March, 1976 newspaper article covering the tournament called the the Ramblers’ win ‘impossible.’ According to Linkous, fellow sandlot supporter, coach and Roanoke sports writer Bob McLelland called the game ‘the greatest game I’ve ever seen’.
The game went to double overtime, and was still tied when Heights Club missed a last-second shot that was rebounded by the Ramblers, who called timeout with one second on the clock.
“I went to referee Paul Housman and pointed out the clock didn’t start until someone touched the ball after the inbounds pass,” Linkous recalled as if the game was last week. “I went back to the huddle and told my team ‘this is a still a long second.'”
Needing to go the length of the court, Rambler Phillip Wade threw a full-court pass cleanly through the PH ceiling rafters to a waiting Eddie Smith, who caught the ball and shot in one motion, banking in the winner.
“I can remember it like it was yesterday,” Smith, now an insurance and risk management executive in Roanoke, noted recently. “I was in the seventh grade and Coach Linkous told us in the huddle, ‘guys, we can do this.’ The pass went through the rafters without touching anything, and I caught the ball in midair and banked it in from 10 feet. This was pre-AAU and the Heights Club Invitational was huge, teams coming from several states. The PH gym was packed and the place went nuts when the shot went in.”
“Bob Linkous is a legend to me,” Smith added. “He was an amazing coach and is a fantastic man. I hadn’t thought about that game for years and years. It’s so great to hear it brought up again, especially with the connection to Coach Linkous.”
“You would have to pick that game to ask about,” Sink deadpanned during a phone interview. “Bob Linkous was a heck of a coach and that was a heck of a game. His teams were always well-coached, competitive and aggressive. Both teams had players that eventually went to PH and both teams always wanted to beat each other. One thing I remember is our teams lined up and shook hands after that game. That wasn’t the typical post-game tradition back in those days.”
Linkous had a coaching philosophy that left lasting marks on his players.
“I never cut anybody.” he says. “And, whether you were a star or not, everyone was treated the same. I always told my teams this will be the last time you ALL will be together. If you can’t have a good time, don’t show up.”
Obviously, they did show up, becoming part of the Bob Linkous legacy that is still remembered with admiration today.
Bill Turner