Acclaimed sports writer and ex-Herald journo Les Everett shares a touching story about iconic sports commentator Dennis Cometti, who sadly died on Wednesday aged 76 after battling illness.

One day in 2003 I got a call from Dennis Cometti.

He’d commissioned a local artist to paint a footy scene and thought it would make a good story for the Fremantle Herald.

Cometti wasn’t after self promotion, he was prominent enough, but wanted the artist Jocelyn Gregson to get some recognition.

The subject of the painting had a Fremantle connection too.

• WA artist Jocelyn Gregson and Dennis Cometti in 2003.

Despite his connection to West Perth as player and coach, Cometti grew up as an East Fremantle supporter.

His favourite player was Big Bob Johnson who coached Old East to a premiership in 1965 after crossing from the VFL where he played in five premierships for Melbourne.

Big Bob Johnson was Dennis Cometti’s magnificent footy obsession. “My father had told me about Bob but we rarely saw any film or TV footage of VFL games,” Cometti said, “But I embraced him quickly when he came to East Fremantle. He was funny to watch – Bob was just a character and that’s something that’s lost on the current generation.” Gregson created the painting from a small photo from Cometti’s collection of Big Bob memorabilia – it’s action from the 1961 VFL preliminary final between Melbourne and Footscray.

Johnson’s jumper number 16 is prominent and the scene also includes Bob Spargo (Cometti’s first coach at West Perth) along with Australian Football Legends Ted Whitten and Ron Barassi.

“I wrote a newspaper column after Bob died and there were tears streaming down my face as I wrote. They read some of what I wrote at Bob’s funeral, we were more linked in death than in life in many ways,” Cometti said.