{"id":211516,"date":"2025-08-04T02:33:30","date_gmt":"2025-08-04T02:33:30","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/211516\/"},"modified":"2025-08-04T02:33:30","modified_gmt":"2025-08-04T02:33:30","slug":"frank-layden-never-stopped-giving-back-deseret-news","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nba\/211516\/","title":{"rendered":"Frank Layden never stopped giving back \u2013 Deseret News"},"content":{"rendered":"

I got a call from Jerry Howarth a couple of weeks ago. It had been 40 years, give or take, since we last talked but I knew who it was because there are some voices you don\u2019t forget and this was one of them.<\/p>\n

In a lot of ways, Jerry Howarth is his voice. He did play-by-play for the Toronto Blue Jays from 1981 to 2017. He was on the call for the team\u2019s back-to-back World Series wins in 1992 and 1993. There are people in Toronto who to this day wear Blue Jays jerseys with \u201cHowarth\u201d on the back. I half expected him to launch into \u201cand that ball is going, going \u2026 it\u2019s outta here.\u201d<\/p>\n

But he wasn\u2019t calling to talk about baseball, he was calling to talk about Frank.<\/p>\n

There\u2019s been a lot of that going on since Frank Layden, the former Utah Jazz coach, general manager and president, passed away a month ago at the age of 93.<\/p>\n

\"\"Frank Layden smiles as he and his wife, Barbara, are interviewed at their home in Salt Lake City on Monday, Sept. 12, 2022. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News <\/p>\n

\u201cI want to share with you why Frank was the one person in my life who guided me to my wonderful 36 years broadcasting Blue Jays games,\u201d Jerry said, \u201cmy career would not have happened without Frank.\u201d<\/p>\n

Jerry then proceeded to tell the story of how it was Frank who talked him into getting back into the sports business in 1979 \u2014 the year the Jazz moved to Utah from New Orleans.<\/p>\n

\"\"Jeff Wilkins, left, coach Frank Layden and Darrell Griffith celebrate a Utah Jazz win. | Deseret News archives <\/p>\n

Howarth had been the baseball play-by-play broadcaster for the Salt Lake Gulls for three seasons from 1976-78, followed by a year broadcasting games of the Utah Pros, the minor league basketball team that went out of business when the Jazz arrived.<\/p>\n

Now, with no games to broadcast, Jerry, who had majored in economics in college, landed a job with the Salt Lake Chamber of Commerce as assistant economic director, a great position with a promising future.<\/p>\n

That\u2019s when Frank entered the picture. He knew of Howarth\u2019s play-by-play work. He couldn\u2019t offer him that position with the Jazz, since Hot Rod Huntley was coming with the franchise from New Orleans.<\/p>\n

But he could offer him a job as the Jazz\u2019s group sales director.<\/p>\n

When Howarth hemmed and hawed about leaving the Chamber, Layden cautioned him to never let go of his dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe longer you stay away from sports and the radio the less your chances of becoming a major league broadcaster,\u201d he told him, \u201cwhich I know is what you really want to do.\u201d<\/p>\n

Frank Layden \u201cwas not only one of the nicest people I\u2019ve ever met, but certainly the most influential person in my career. He knew what I wanted to do and was looking out for me to get there.\u201d<\/p>\n

Two years later, after listening to an audition tape Jerry sent them, the Blue Jays called.<\/p>\n

\u201cAnd the rest,\u201d he said in his inimitable announcer voice, \u201cis history.<\/p>\n

\u201cWhat can I do for you?\u201d \u201cHow can I help?\u201d \u201cIf anything comes up, just give me a call.\u201d<\/p>\n

At Frank\u2019s funeral mass at the Cathedral of the Madeleine, his son Scott reminded everyone that variations of those phrases were how his dad always ended a conversation. Then Scott added, \u201cAnd he meant it.\u201d<\/p>\n

Beyond making sure the Jazz, and Frank and Barbara, stayed in Utah, the outsized legacy Frank leaves is of a person constantly looking out for others. As funny as he was, he gave people a lot more than laughs. <\/p>\n

No one can speak to this any better than Richard \u201cSmitty\u201d Smith, a Jazz scout for 40 years who became one of Frank\u2019s closest friends.<\/p>\n

\"\"Longtime friends Frank Layden and Richard “Smitty” Smith. | Richard Smith <\/p>\n

\u201cMaybe it was because we\u2019re both from the east,\u201d says Smitty, a native of Connecticut. \u201cBut we just clicked.\u201d<\/p>\n

In his declining years, when he could no longer drive, Smitty spent a lot of time driving Frank to events \u201che could never say no to.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI don\u2019t know if he ever turned down an opportunity to appear at a fundraiser or a charity event or some kind of speaking event that would help some group\u2019s cause,\u201d he says. \u201cThe vast majority of the stuff he did locally he did for no pay or honorarium or anything, he just did it to help out. If somebody asked, he\u2019d go.<\/p>\n

\u201cI know it sounds cliche, but he really enjoyed the opportunity to give back to other people.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Annie Zarbock, a patient at Primary Children’s Medical Center, center, turns on the lights for the 1998 Festival of Trees with help from Frank Layden, right, and Earlene Rex, festival chairwoman. | Gary M. McKellar, Deseret News <\/p>\n

He did it right to the end, says Smitty, relating an incident from Frank\u2019s hospital room not long before he died.<\/p>\n

Frank went in the hospital on Super Bowl Sunday of this year and never left. Soon after being admitted he underwent a tracheotomy and was given a feeding tube. The man who was never at a loss for words now couldn\u2019t speak.<\/p>\n

Relates Smitty: \u201cThree weeks before his passing he was in his hospital room and we (Smitty and his wife Linda) were visiting him and reminding him that we were going to Los Angeles that weekend to watch the Dodgers play.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe starts motioning to me like he wants to tell me something, but he had the tracheotomy and had a hard time communicating. He tried writing something down, but that was difficult for him too. I said, \u2018Coach, I\u2019m sorry, I can\u2019t understand.\u2019 He kept motioning and that went on for like ten minutes until I finally began to piece it together. When we went to the Dodgers game he wanted us to bring back some souvenirs for Omar. Omar was one of the caregivers who was taking care of Frank.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrying to interpret correctly, I said, \u2018So Coach, are you saying Omar\u2019s a Dodger fan?\u2019 He nods yes. \u2018Do you want us to bring him back something?\u2019 He nods again.\u201d<\/p>\n

The next Monday, a pile of Dodgers gear was next to Frank\u2019s bed.<\/p>\n

When Omar came in, as Smitty tells it, \u201che noticed the Dodgers stuff in the corner and asked, \u2018Did you bring that back for Frank?\u2019 And I said, \u2018No, no, this is for you Omar.\u2019<\/p>\n

\"\"Frank and Barbara Layden, left, with Linda and Richard Smith. | Richard Smith <\/p>\n

\u201cSo Omar\u2019s thanking Frank profusely and Frank\u2019s kinda nodding, giving him a thumbs up.<\/p>\n

\u201cThis is literally three weeks before his passing and he\u2019s still trying to figure out ways to help somebody else.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"\"Frank Layden reads at his home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz assistant coach Jerry Sloan is pictured with coach Frank Layden during a game in the mid-1980s. | Deseret News archives \"\"Steve Brown and Frank Layden do their halftime show from the Delta Center. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz President Frank Layden clowns around with coach Kenny Natt during an NBA draft. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News \"\"Utah Starzz coach Frank Layden signals a timeout during a WNBA game against the Sacramento Monarchs on June 6, 1999. | Gary M. McKellar, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden is pictured during the 1985-86 season. | Don Grayston, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden gets the crowd going with \u201cTake Me Out to the Ball Game\u201d during the seventh-inning stretch during a Salt Lake Stingers vs. Colorado Sky Sox baseball game on Aug. 27, 2001. | Michael Brandy, Deseret News \"\"Rosie Jenkins, Adrian Dantley’s aunt, left, mom Virginia Dantley, Frank Layden and daughter Kalani Dantley watch as\u00a0Adrian Dantley’s jersey is retired during halftime of the Utah Jazz home game against the Denver Nuggets in Salt Lake City on April 11, 2007. | Keith Johnson, Deseret News \"\"Mascot coach Frank Layden holds back some of his team on the sidelines at the fifth annual Mascot Bowl to help raise money for Firemen and Friends for Kids, which was established to offer underprivileged children the opportunity to shop for presents during Christmas, at Lehi High School in Lehi on Sept. 29, 2008. | Tom Smart, Deseret News \"\"A photo of John Stockton, Frank Layden and Karl Malone is on display in Layden’s home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. Layden says it is his favorite sports photo. | Courtesy of Frank Layden \"\"An autographed photo shows Frank Layden and Magic Johnson at an NBA All-Star Game in this photo taken by the Deseret News’ Don Grayston. | Don Grayston, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden speaks during a high school graduation ceremony at the Utah State Prison in Draper on Thursday, June 9, 2011. Donning traditional caps and gowns, a record-breaking 378 inmates graduated and were awarded their diplomas from Canyons School District’s South Park Academy. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Jeff Wilkins, left, coach Frank Layden and Darrell Griffith celebrate a Utah Jazz win. | Deseret News archives \"\"Former Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden is announced to the crowd on his birthday in Salt Lake City on Friday, Jan. 6, 2012. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden shows a photo of himself with Magic Johnson at his home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden jokes around as he poses for a portrait with his wife, Barbara, at their home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Barbara Layden and her husband, Frank, read a newspaper at their\u00a0home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden, right, reads a newspaper with his wife, Barbara, at their home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Annie Zarbock, a patient at Primary Children’s Medical Center, center, turns on the lights for the 1998 Festival of Trees with help from Frank Layden, right, and Earlene Rex, festival chairwoman. | Gary M. McKellar, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden reads at his home in Salt Lake City on Tuesday, June 3, 2014. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Former Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden and his wife, Barbara, receive a humanitarian award from Catholic Community Services in Salt Lake City on Thursday, Oct. 24, 2013. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News \"\"Utah Starzz coach Frank Layden is pictured after a game at the Delta Center. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden questions a call while Darrell Griffith and John Drew intercede during a 1984 NBA game. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz owner Larry H. Miller, right, and\u00a0Jazz coach Frank Layden smile in this undated photo. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden is pictured in 1984. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Starzz coach Frank Layden tries to hear an official’s call during a game at the Delta Center on Thursday, Aug. 6, 1998. Layden was dressed up for \u201970s night. | Chuck Wing, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz head coach Frank Layden plays golf in 1987. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Starzz coach Frank Layden is pictured after a game in the Delta Center. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden is pictured in 1985. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Starzz coach Frank Layden cheers and slaps the hands of Tammi Reiss as players are introduced at the beginning of a game against Phoenix on July 27, 1998. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden is pictured during a game. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden confers with a referee during a game in May 1987. | Deseret News archives \"\"Frank Layden is pictured in his office in the Delta Center in 1997. | Kristan Jacobsen, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden is pictured during an NBA draft night in the 1980s. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden, center. | Deseret News archives \"\"New Utah Starzz coach Frank Layden hopes his player will make a foul shot near the end of the game against Phoenix on July 27, 1998. At right is trainer Leanne Stockton. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Scott and Frank Layden sit in Frank’s office, surrounded by memorabilia Frank acquired since coming on with the Utah Jazz in 1979. | Don Grayston, Deseret News \"\"Utah Jazz head coach Frank Layden is pictured during a game in May 1987. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden, second from left, greets Westminster’s Ralph Backman, far right, as\u00a0Westminster President Charles Dicks, left, businessman Spencer Eccles, third from left, and President Gordon B. Hinckley, first counselor in the First Presidency of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saint, look on at a 1986 graduation ceremony. Westminster presented Layden with an honorary degree during the ceremony. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden gets a kiss from Morganna Roberts, aka \u201cThe Kissing Bandit,\u201d during a 1988 game. | Deseret News archives \"\"Utah Jazz coach Frank Layden visits Primary Children’s Medical Center during the holidays in 1986. | Deseret News archives \"\"Frank Layden in his office in the Delta Center in 1997. | Kristan Jacobsen, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden sings along with fans during the seventh-inning stretch at a baseball game between the Salt Lake Buzz and Phoenix Firebirds on Aug. 5, 1997. | Kristan Jacobsen, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden instructs the Utah Starzz during a timeout during a WNBA game against Houston in 1998. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Current Utah Jazz coach Quin Snyder, left, is joined by former coaches Jerry Sloan, center, and Frank Layden following the formal announcement on\u00a0Oct. 26, 2015, that the EnergySolutions Arena in Salt Lake City will now be called the Vivint Smart Home Arena. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News \"\"Former Utah Jazz coaches Jerry Sloan and Frank Layden pose in Salt Lake City on Saturday, Dec. 31, 2016. | Jeffrey D. Allred, Deseret News \"\"Steve Brown, left, and Frank Layden comment on an NBA D-League basketball game between the Salt Lake City Stars and Northern Arizona Suns in Taylorsville on Friday, Nov. 18, 2016. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden instructs the Utah Starzz during a timeout against Houston on Aug. 4, 1998. | Ravell Call, Deseret News \"\"Starzz players Debbie Black, left, and Natalie Williams, right, with coach Frank Layden. | Chuck Wing, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden, former coach and president of the Utah Jazz, motions to the crowd during a halftime ceremony for the 1997 Western Conference champion Jazz team at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. | Scott G Winterton, Deseret News \"\"Frank Layden, former coach and president of the Utah Jazz, right, motions to the crowd during a halftime ceremony for the 1997 Western Conference champion Jazz team at Vivint Arena in Salt Lake City on Wednesday, March 22, 2017. | Alex Goodlett, Deseret News <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"I got a call from Jerry Howarth a couple of weeks ago. 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