The Gifts His Dad Gave Jim Nantz

For the past two decades, Jim Nantz has been living his dream as a leading announcer for CBS Sports.

But for all his success, his father's battle with Alzheimer's disease has been his greatest challenge.

Nantz writes about it in his new book, "Always By My Side: A Father's Grace and a Sports Journey Unlike Any Other."

In the book, Nantz honors his father -- always his biggest fan.

He recounts how his dad inspired him to pursue his dream -- and was with him every step of the way, until a stroke in 1995 and the onset of Alzheimer's changed everything forever.

"I'm going to focus on honoring my father's life on Father's Day: the very full life he had for years before he fell victim to Alzheimer's, and the values he stood for," Nantz told CBS News. "My father taught me to look for the good in people, and to properly nurture my relationships. This has helped me immensely as a sportscaster, and beyond. Since Alzheimer's has taken him from us, many great men have stepped into his place -- not his shoes, but his place -- and have served as surrogate father figures to me" -- men such as the first President Bush, and Arnold Palmer.

"My most memorable moment with (Palmer)," Nantz says, "was on the occasion of the historic 2002 Masters in Augusta, which at the time appeared to be his farewell round. ... As he walked out of the clubhouse, with thousands of people jostling for his attention, he pointed at me, walked over, and gave me a big handshake and hug. He had heard that I was on the brink of making a professional decision that he didn't agree with -- and before teeing off, he wanted to make sure he'd heard wrong. I told him not to worry, that I wasn't going to leave my post as a sportscaster. And then I admitted to him, and to myself, that the hardest part about the decision was not having my dad around to ask for advice."

In the book, Nantz recalls, "Arnold gently tapped me on the heart and said softly, 'Jimmy, he's right there! What you must understand is that he prepared you your whole life to make this decision. You heard his voice, you just didn't realize it.' "

"When I was writing the book," Nantz also told CBS News, "I thought about how it would give me a chance to tell my daughter about the grandfather she never knew. She was just a year old when he suffered the stroke, and his life took the turn that unfortunately there was no recourse for. When she visits him, it's, 'Hi Granddaddy. How are you today?' She puts her arms around him, kisses him on the cheek, and talks to him. I'm so proud of her, because none of that love's ever really been transferred back. Oh, it would've been -- his arms would've been around her, and he'd have showered her with kisses and praise and all the love in the world."

In a moving, gripping interview with co-anchor Harry Smith on The Early Show Wednesday, Nantz describes the devastating toll Alzheimer's has taken on the entire family -- as well as the warm, loving times with and memories of his dad before Alzheimer's hit.

What was the most enduring lesson his dad taught him?

"Just kindness, integrity and the goodness. I mean, it just came through every pore. I have so many people through the years ... the tributes still come in about what a great man, Jim Nantz -- that's my father. I was named after my father and grandfather. That would be it."

Later, Nantz told Smith, "My father was my hero and inspiration, and really made me believe that always this life of working for CBS would one day be obtainable. But my mother and sister ... people reading this say, 'Wow! I thought this would be a sports book!' The women are really relating to it so heavily."

Nantz recalled having to ultimately make the "wrenching" decision to move his dad "out of his own home" and into a nursing facility.

To see the entire interview, click on the arrow in the image below: