In leaving us, Dennis Cometti has left behind a precious trove of pithy, witty descriptions of the sporting action he called.

The one-liners were his calling card, so to speak. Everyone who followed the AFL – and possibly cricket or Olympics – had a favourite Cometti-ism.

One of the most memorable was the sentence Cometti deployed when Bulldogs terrier Tony Liberatore emerged from a scrimmage wiping his muddied eyes: “Liberatore went into that last pack optimistically and came out misty optically.”

The legendary Dennis Cometti died aged 76.Credit: Simon Schluter

The description of Ben Cousins evading Josh Carr, now Port Adelaide’s coach, was another that will endure. It followed the West Coast champion’s notorious decision to jump from his car and swim across the river. “Cousins runs away from Carr - not for the first time.”

These witticisms – Australian sports commentary’s answer to the quips of Oscar Wilde or Mark Twain – were not necessarily off the cuff. Many were devised beforehand as part of his precise preparation, as colleagues recalled, and then inserted at the right moment.

And, to borrow a word from his long-time co-caller and peer Bruce McAvaney, this was what made Cometti special. As with the great callers of any sport, he found the words for the moment.

“His timing was exceptional,” said David Barham, the television executive and ex-Essendon president, who worked with Cometti, McAvaney, Tim Lane, Ricky Ponting, rugby’s Gordon Bray and many of the best callers across AFL, cricket et al.

“He didn’t overdo it.”

© The Age