Editor's Note - This is a republished story from Thursday, July 22, 2010 when Terry Sisisky, a decorated broadcaster known for his devotion to calling VCU Men's Basketball and Petersburg High School athletic events, passed away after battling inoperable stomach cancer.

Terry also called VHSL State Basketball Tournament games on television and the inaugural VirginiaPreps.com Basketball Classic online.

Passion, dedication, energy and enthusiasm, all words that fit in the description of one of the best as well as most respected broadcasters the state of Virginia has ever seen or will see. Terry R. Sisisky died at the age of 58 on Thursday, July 22, 2010.

Sisisky battled a severe bout of stomach cancer since March. He is survived by his wife, Sandra Sisisky, and his daughter, Samantha Sisisky.

Born on July 15, 1952, Sisisky started in radio at age 14 at WHAP in Hopewell, VA. Sisisky began broadcasting Central District High School Basketball in 1975-76.

Nicknamed the ‘T-Man,’ Sisisky put his stamp on sports broadcasting in the Commonwealth of Virginia. He was the voice of Virginia Commonwealth University Rams Men’s College Basketball for 28 years and also spent 15 years calling VCU Women’s College Basketball and VCU College Baseball.

“Terry and I had known each other since 1984, my first year in radio,” recalls Robert Fish, Sisisky’s television broadcast partner during the VHSL State Basketball Championships the past three years.

“I was working at Hopewell and he was over at Petersburg at the time. In fact, I think it was actually a Hopewell vs. Dinwiddie baseball game and Kevin Morgan was playing in it. We met back then, were friends ever since and worked together on a lot of different projects, did a lot of work together at VCU and Terry was always prepared. You couldn’t ask for a better human being. He was one of the good guys. It’s a sad day for Richmond broadcasting.”

Sisisky was inducted into the Richmond Broadcasters Hall of Fame in May 2006, receiving the Frank Soden Lifetime Achievement Award, and was inducted into the VCU Baseball Hall of Fame in October 2006.

“Without question, there won’t be another one like him,” Fish added. “He would come to the game about four or five hours ahead of time, while most of us would get there later. He was there early, was prepared, had his own notes, own way of doing things, a distinct style, knew what he was doing, how to deliver in the information and we would just laugh, talk and I’d get him going on the St. Louis Cardinals and that’s all I needed to do.”

Sisisky also broadcasted Randolph-Macon College Football games in the fall as well as the Boys Invitational Baseball Tournament, Petersburg Generals collegiate baseball and American Legion Baseball during the summer.

In the fall and winter, the T-Man was known for his trademark, exciting calls of the Petersburg Crimson Wave football and basketball teams for over the past decade on AM 1240 and AMEN 820 WGGM radio, most recently alongside Jimmy Tynes.

“Any game that we had, wherever it was, Terry made sure he was there. He was a tremendous supporter of the program and the school, and as an alumnus of Petersburg, his heart was with us and our heart goes out to his family. This year at our banquet we honored him with a plaque for his dedication to Petersburg sports. I’m not exactly sure what we will do, but we definitely will be doing some things next year and we have some things in the years to come that we had talked about,” stated Petersburg Head Basketball Coach Bill Lawson III.

“I’ll never forget about two, maybe three years ago when the schedules came out and the times for the regionals. I think we were matched up against Highland Springs in the regional semifinals, and whoever won had the automatic berth to the State Tournament. That was one of the times where we had a real good in-depth conversation, and I talked about how we were ready to play them. He knew the game, knew my kids and knew all about sports. Not to mention, he showed up to the games before I did. He was truly one of the greats, and always willing to help anyone that came his way.”

As the broadcaster for the Rams, Sisisky had countless memorable calls, maybe none more that will live on than the game-winning shot by guard Eric Maynor to propel VCU past Duke in the opening round of the 2007 NCAA Men’s Basketball Tournament.

So beloved by the fans and his peers, it was no surprise that the media room at the Siegel Center would eventually be named the ‘Terry Sisisky Media Room,’ for the press to gather and ask questions to players and coaches following games.

In June 2008, Sisisky launched a new venture with the creation of his own Internet sports broadcasting website - - www.terrysisisky.com - - which was devoted primarily to airing live play-by-play of High School Sports. The T-Man made his presence felt at showcase events, such as the VirginiaPreps.com Invitational and William Lawson Jr. Mid-Season Classic, where he would do several hours of broadcast coverage, including pre and post-game.

“It showed that he was willing to change and adapt to the times by him doing radio all those years and then moving to Internet,” added Lawson, whose team has gone 59-2 over the past two seasons.

The final game Sisisky called came on March 13, 2010 from the Siegel Center when Potomac Falls outlasted Broadway 69-64 in a double-overtime thriller to win the Group AA Division 4 State Basketball Championship.

“I wish I had one more game at least that I could do with him,” Fish noted. “He’s been a great friend, talked with him over the years about a lot of stuff and while we didn’t work together a whole lot on broadcasts, when we did, he was a great partner. We looked out for each other. I would like to be half the person he is as far as caring about people, the way he did things and I’m just glad I was his friend.”

While the T-Man won’t be calling any more games here on Earth, his legacy lives on forever. He’s been called to a bigger game, up high in the sky.

Rest assured, he will be there plenty early.

Matthew Hatfield serves as Publisher for VirginiaPreps.com, part of the Rivals.com Network, and is a regular contributor to the ACC Sports Journal. Check out Hatfield’s Twitter page for more sports related updates, and you can also read his work in the Suffolk News Herald. To contact Matthew, please e-mail hatfieldsports2k4@yahoo.com, and don’t forget to listen to him weeknights from 6-7 PM on The 757 at 6 on ESPN Radio 94.1.