Remembering Miller Pope, an indispensable member of the Atlanta sports community

And quite known to them, the wide circle of friends and colleagues in the Atlanta sports community and beyond that Pope developed over a five-decade career was enriched by his kindness, his humor and its archive of industry stories and gossip. Holman said, “Everyone loved Miller.”

Pope, who lived in Kennesaw, grew up in Thomasville aiming to be in the radio industry. His love for the medium grew from listening to Florida State football broadcasts emanating from nearby Tallahassee, Fla., said his cousin Debbie Smith. After about a year at Valdosta State, he moved to Atlanta around 1980 to try to make it in the field.

Pope’s father, retired from the Army, sent him to Atlanta with the directive that “if it worked, it worked, and if it didn’t work, he would go to the Army,” Smith said.

He quickly found a job as an observer for the Falcons’ radio broadcasts. It was the start of a career that would keep him in the middle of the Atlanta sports scene until his death. He was the radio engineer for the Atlanta United game Saturday night at Mercedes-Benz Stadium on 92.9 FM.

As a radio engineer at sporting events, Pope’s responsibilities included ensuring that broadcast equipment was functioning properly, that the broadcast was reconnected to the original station, and that game sounds and The call that accompanied it were balanced.

It was a job he accomplished with excellence and diligence. For Hawks home games, Holman’s routine is to report to State Farm Arena at 4:30 p.m. for a 7:30 p.m. tipoff. When he arrived, he invariably found Pope already there, having set up the equipment for the call. Wes Durham, who worked with Pope during his time at Tech and then with the Falcons, recalled the little touch Pope added by always making sure the stand was stocked with bottled water.

Technical commentator Randy Waters described it as “a level of skill that is nothing short of extreme.” Mike Conti, the play-by-play voice of Atlanta United, called him “ultra-reliable.” Durham considered him “a great teammate.” Pope’s experience and technical know-how helped the broadcast teams – and by extension, their listeners – probably more than they realized.

“He took a lot of pride in his work and what he did, and he wanted everything to be perfect, but you couldn’t have been around a nicer guy,” said former Tech football coach Paul Johnson, who got to know Pope through his weekly interview. coaches show.

“I just know Miller always had the best interests of our broadcast in mind,” Tech spokesman Andy Demetra said. “He would always tell us if something was wrong. And, at the same time, he would be very affirmative if he felt like we were doing a good job. It was so wonderful to have that resource in the booth or fieldside with you that you knew would help steer the broadcast in the direction needed because Miller knew backwards and forwards what made good radio and good distribution in Atlanta.

First as an observer, then as an engineer, Pope served many of Atlanta’s most notable sports broadcasting voices over the years, including Larry Munson, Al Ciraldo, Brad Nessler, Durham and Holman and a young generation including Brandon Gaudin, Demetra and Conti. His work with the Falcons and Tech football and men’s basketball radio broadcasts lasted the longest. Pope was inducted into the Georgia Radio Hall of Fame in 2020, one of the few members honored for his engineering work as opposed to his on-air talent.

“I am one of the many people who benefited from his professionalism and his friendship, there is no doubt about that,” Durham said.

The friendship part too, Pope mastered. Easily identifiable with his imposing stature, short haircut, and ever-present smile, Pope could be what Demetra called “a charming cynic” but was also “as gentle and selfless a person as you could hope to meet.” Durham remembered his desire to help young people who were just starting out in the radio business. Demetra saw him handing out gift cards to Tech Basketball student leaders as a thank you for loading his bulky radio equipment onto the team charter. When Holman’s grandchildren visited him at the radio table, Pope set up headsets for them to listen.

“He saw me at some pretty low points in my career, and he always tried to say something to make it better,” said Conti, the Atlanta United playmaker.

And the stories – Pope had plenty of industry stories to share, memories dating back to his early days in Atlanta. “He always had the right scoop,” said Scott Howard, the radio voice of UGA.

A running joke was that a Pope book on Atlanta sports would have juice by the ton.

“He said, ‘No, I would have to betray a lot of people’s trust,'” Waters said, emphasizing “a lot.”

Atlanta’s games will have to continue without a single force to help them get broadcast. And the plants Pope kept at his cousin’s house in Marietta will need someone to tend them.

To get away from work, Pope, divorced and childless, tended a garden including tomatoes, okra and squash at his cousin’s home in Marietta and called her from the road to tell her when to water or not to water. There he also planted a brightly colored flower garden for his aunt Betty Pope, which she can see from her bedroom. (He was also an animal lover, having taken care of a rescue dog named Baabaa, which he inherited from his sister. Smith requested that gifts in his memory be made to Releash Atlanta, a dog rescue agency .)

News of his death on social media sparked an outpouring of memories of his friendship and kindness. The hope prevailed that he was aware of the great affection that so many people had for him.

“He was just one of those guys that everyone loved and relied on,” Holman said. “And now, without him, it will never be the same.” Each of our shows will continue throughout life, but the shows will have a different feel each night. Because every night, of course, we will think of Miller.