By Steve Svetovich
The circle of life has some interesting bounces.
There was a 16-year-old kid back in the day who had a love of sports, baseball in particular, and journalism.
Somehow the word got out to an old school scribe about the kid’s yearning.
The old school scribe pounded out his sports stories on an old school typewriter in a dingy newsroom for The Scranton Times. He was the man about town when I came to local sports.
In those days, the only local sports guy who could compare to him was Dunmore’s Guy Valvano.
He was so old school that he looked like a news man who popped right out of a black and white film, “The Paper.”
And he had a presence at Dunmore’s Schautz Stadium which in the early to late 70’s was the place to watch a summer baseball game. After all, the Scranton Red Soxx of the old Atlantic Collegiate Baseball League (ACBL) played an exciting brand of baseball. And the crowd was always buzzing, old-school style.
The old school scribe was John McCormick, the sports editor of the Scranton Times at the time. And he played the part well.
He heard about this young kid who loved sports and wanted to write. So he gave the kid a summer job as team statistician and official scorer for the Scranton Red Soxx of the ACBL. After the kid became acclimated to the job, even traveling with the team, the old school scribe even let the kid submit a few of the game stories along with box scores to the two local newspapers in town.
It was a great learning experience for the kid who marveled at the managing and coaching of local legends Gary Ruby, Jerry Valonis and the late Bill Howerton.
And what a group of talented collegiate players such as Phil and Bob Rossi, Al Ottinger, Johnny DeRichie, Rich Piger, Joe Carroll, Jerry Dempsey, Bob Francis, John DiVincenzo, Dean Rick, Ken “Bovine” Veenema and Rick Lancellotti who later played for the San Diego Padres and SanFrancisco Giants.
Dr. Stanley Chickson, an older gentleman, was always there too. He threw silver dollars out at players who homered, made nice fielding plays or had a clutch hit.
The kid learned a bit about the media and he had a pretty good tutor.
And despite his many duties as a sports editor, McCormick, old-school style puffing away on a cigar with a beanie type cap, was there for every game at Schautz. He was a co-founder of the Scranton Red Soxx summer team and served as its president.
The older scribe also helped the kid pick up some extra summer cash as an official scorer for the Scranton Tavern League.
When the kid turned 18, the long time sports editor gave him a part time role as a “stringer” for the Scranton Times covering and writing about local football games. Thanks to the master scribe, the cub reporter was able to get a byline for some of his published stories.
Now the kid was pounding out stories on an old type writer in a dingy newsroom.
The long time sports editor tried to get the kid a full time job in the newsroom of the sports department, but the higher ups had other plans and it wasn’t meant to be.
So the kid took a job in a local hospital, continued to write freelance sports stories and eventually ended up writing for the competiting local newspaper, The Scranton Tribune, until it folded in 1989.
The kid, now a young man, went back to college to become an occupational therapist while working in a local nursing home, but continued to write latching on to a new Dunmore newspaper.
And he maintained a friendship with that old school sports editor who had left his newspaper and was now covering sports as a sportscaster for a local radio station.
The old school sports writer eventually became involved as president for many years of the local chapter for Northeast PA Sports Hall of Fame.
And the young scribe began covering the annual Hall of Fame induction events for him, with the stories published in the Dunmore newspaper, The Dunmorean run by former Scranton Tribune editor/reporter, John Hart.
As time went by, the older scribe turned over the reigns to Bob Walsh who is now president of the Northeastern Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame.
About a decade ago, the aging but still mentally sharp scribe called his younger student of journalism, now in mid life, and asked if he would like to someday be a part of the committee for the Northeastern Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame.
“We are getting up in years and we need some younger, but experienced guys with fresh ideas,” he said.
So, the idea was implanted.
And just last year the former cub scribe, now older, was asked by Walsh to join the committee that ironically Valonis, the former Scranton Red Soxx coach and manager, serves on as one of the committee members.
And just a few months after the scribe proudly joined this committee, his former journalism mentor and the past president of the committee, John McCormick died. He passed away this past Oct. 2 just a couple weeks shy of his 90th birthday.
And in his honor, this scribe, will proudly continue to serve on the committee for the Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.
And so goes the circle of life.
Thank you Mr. McCormick, for providing this scribe with a beginning.
(Editor’s note: John McCormick was a Korean War veteran who served with the Seventh Army, V Corps in Germany. He received the Commissioner of Baseball Award for his contributions to college baseball, the Scranton Wilkes-Barre Red Barons Media Award, Catholic League Coaches’ Association Service Award, 1973 University of Scranton Journalism Award, 1973 ACBL Media Award, 1982 ACBL Service Award, University of Scranton Media Award, PIAA Service Award for contributions to high school sports. He was inducted into the University of Scranton Athletics Wall of Fame, received the PA Sports Hall of Fame Meritorious Award and the Northeast PA Sports Hall of Fame Service Award. Past president for many years of the Northeastern Chapter of the PA Sports Hall of Fame, he also served as Regional Vice-President of the State Sports Hall of Fame and as president of the Babe Ruth Senior League. He was a committee member of the University of Scranton Wall of Fame.)