Terry Boers, former Sun-Timesman, host at The Score, dies at 75

The Terry Boers experience began well before he became a talk-show host.

As a sports writer and columnist at the Sun-Times, Boers displayed humor and wit that turned press rooms into comedy clubs. When the Illinois basketball team played at Indiana in the 1980s, sports-information assistants would make sure they were in the press room when Boers arrived to see the show.

“They said he would just blast through the doors and work the room with the best insult comedy,” said Dan Bernstein, Boers’ longtime co-host at The Score. “And you could just imagine him walking in and laying waste to the room.”

Boers died Friday from liver failure at his home in Florida, surrounded by family. Boers, who was 75, also had been battling cancer since he retired from The Score in 2017.

Though his media career began in newspapers, Boers became a radio star at The Score, where he spent 25 years. He was among its original hosts, teaming with Dan McNeil to form the “Heavy Fuel Crew” when the station launched in 1992. In 1999, management paired Boers with Bernstein on what became the longest-running sports-talk show in Chicago at the time of Boers’ retirement. Boers’ limited radio experience before The Score belied his talent.

“All he had to do was talk into the microphone when the red light went on,” Bernstein said. “He didn’t really have to know radio; he just had to be Terry.”

“The Score is not The Score without people like Terry Boers,” station vice president Mitch Rosen said.

The “Boers and Bernstein” show began in the 8 a.m.-noon slot, but upon arriving in 2005, Rosen moved it to the afternoon, where it became legendary. Segments such as “Friday Fung,” “Second Hand News” and “Who You Crappin’?” became must-listens. Both co-hosts pushed the envelope with callers and each other, often making for great radio but at times causing consternation with listeners.

“Every day was an adventure; every day was something different,” McNeil said. “Always on his toes, always the wittiest guy there.”

Boers often left colleagues in stitches on the air, such as former anchor and reporter George Ofman.

“There were times when he’d start going into his shtick when I was doing the updates,” Ofman said, “I would laugh so hard I couldn't breathe. I was in tears.”

Boers was a sports columnist for the Sun-Times when he joined The Score. He began at the newspaper in 1980 on the sports copy desk, then took the Bulls beat in 1982. He was clever with his prose there, as well.

“I remember great lines, and he wrote one of the best,” Ofman said. “When the Bulls finally beat the Pistons in the playoffs [in 1991], he wrote, ‘May the Pistons rest in pieces.’ That was one of Terry’s great lines.”

Boers’ last media appearance was on Bernstein’s podcast on Sept. 3. They had an emotional, reflective and wide-ranging conversation, even covering Boers’ ailments.

“In hindsight, it means so much more than when we were doing it,” Bernstein said. “There were obviously some concerns for him at the time, but nothing urgent. I think in retrospect, it means a lot more to me to have that time with him.”

Next week, The Score plans to celebrate Boers, who had kept a home in Mokena, with current and former hosts on the air. Details will be announced later.