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I have a Billy Packer story that most people have never heard.
While the (social) media is filled with memorial tributes to the Hall of Fame basketball broadcaster, the great majority of them are about Billy’s controversial calls and opinions rankling fans and coaches, like claiming that Gerald Henderson’s elbow to Tyler Hansbrough’s nose was not intentional.
But my story supports Packer’s claim that he was “never a sports fan.” He signed with NBC, and six years later with CBS, because the money was better than he was making on ACC telecasts and he could influence scheduling of regular season matchups. And it gave Packer time for his other loves such as his family, gardening and quirky news stories.
One he followed closely was the arrest and case of former Panthers wide receiver Rae Carruth, who was eventually convicted for plotting the murder of his pregnant girlfriend. In the high-profile trial, Carruth was defended by Charlotte attorney David Rudolf, who began his practice in Chapel Hill. Rudolf went on to even greater fame by representing Durham novelist and columnist Michael Peterson, whose “Staircase” conviction for killing his wife led to books, documentaries and movies.
Rudolf and I were friends for years, and David said he often heard from Packer with opinions on the Carruth case since the shooting occurred near the swanky Piper Glen neighborhood in Charlotte where Billy lived.
“He had all kinds of theories on what happened,” Rudolf said. “Billy had a lot of free time and spent hours studying the case and watching on TV.”
Packer knew Rudolf and I were buddies, and he spotted me on press row when he was calling the game between No. 15 UNC and unranked UCLA in Pauley Pavilion on December 23, 2000, early in Carolina’s 15-game winning streak that took Matt Doherty’s first team all the way to No. 1 in the country.
Immediately after the Tar Heels’ 80-70 victory, Packer found me in the press room before the coaches came in to speak. He handed me two sheets of notebook paper filled with handwriting.
“I saw you were at the game, and I wrote down some things I want you to give to Rudolf,” he said.
Two sheets filled on both sides with his theory about the traffic pattern on REA Road and why the assault could not have happened as Charlotte police and the district attorney were claiming. TV time-outs were not as long in those days, so Packer had to spend some time DURING the game writing.
I wondered how he could analyze the action and craft theories on the case at the same time. But it was another example of Billy Packer’s brilliance.
Featured image via Associated Press/Michael Conroy
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Nice story, if a bit unusual 🙂
I’m hoping there is basketball in heaven, and that Thacker and Packer are calling the games now.