By Steve Svetovich
He was the dean of local sports writers.
Old school family values and old school sports journalism were a part of his many positive traits.
It can easily be stated that no one knew more about the history of the local sports scene than Dunmore’s Guy Valvano who died last month at 96.
The legendary sports reporter wrote 12 books on the local sports scene after retiring from a lengthy career as Sunday Scrantonian Sports Editor at the defunct Scrantonian Tribune and his later position as sports information director at Lackawanna College. And he was a wealth of sports information.
Guy is the last of a dying breed of old school reporters and editors who cranked out stories until the wee hours of the morning on old typewriters on creaky old floors at the old Scrantonian Tribune in downtown Scranton. It was a day and age when there were two newspapers in town.
Following the demise of the Scrantonian Tribune, Guy wrote sports for the Sunday Sun for a year until that newspaper folded. He then became a major contributor to the sports pages of The Dunmorean. He especially enjoyed writing stories for the annual pigskin issue of The Dunmorean.
He was the last surviving sports writer of the Scrantonian Tribune, a group that filled a small area in back of the old newsroom with the likes of Chic Feldman, Jimmy Calpin, Jack Seitzinger, Paul Krupski, and Dave Williams.
“He always arrived ready and early for his shift,” said former Scrantonian Tribune printer/reporter Jimmy Maloney. “I would arrive a half hour after him everyday. He was dedicated to his work and a great person.”
There are only about 10 living reporters left from the old Scrantonian Tribune.
“Guy grew up in a sports world dominated by Chic Feldman,” said former Scrantonian Tribune reporter Lew Marcus. “Chic was the sports guru who seemed to have a personal connection to every major sports organization. To read Feldman was an insight into what was happening in pro ball.
“Guy Valvano had the opposite interest. He was all about finding that developing talent and celebrating it. He wasn’t as interested in the Mickey Mantles. He was interested in that young emerging athlete who could become the next Mickey Mantle.”
Marty Myers, recently retired from the Times-Tribune, covered sports for the competing newspaper but had great admiration for Valvano.
“I always had the utmost respect for Guy,” he said. “In addition to admiring him personally, I marveled at the quality and volume of work that he produced, the hours he committed to honing his craft, and the memories and scrapbook clippings he created for generations of area athletes.
“I hope he understood just how many families’ lives he touched in a positive way, including my own. He was a mentor and I tried to fashion my own Sunday column after his example – an impossible task.
“Always encouraging, quick to praise when he felt I wrote something of value, and until my retirement, a font of information and story ideas. How blessed I was that he touched my life.”
Tim Wagner, owner and operator of Wagner’s Sporting Goods, Green Ridge, was the subject of Valvano’s many stories as a standout basketball player for Scranton Central and William and Mary College. Valvano stayed in touch with him over the years, often visiting his store.
“Guy was a walking encyclopedia on local sports information,” Wagner said. “Guy was the best in the area at promoting local athletes. This will never be matched again in our area, He was the go-to guy, the guru of local sports.
“What was even more impressive to me, was how he lived his life every single day and who he was as a person.
“When God said, ‘I created man in my image and likeness,’ Mr. Valvano was the measuring stick. There was no one better.”
Former Scrantonian Tribune staffer Mike McLane simply stated, “He was a legend. Everyone knew Guy Valvano. What a great life.”
A diligent newsman from a bygone era, Guy had a tireless work ethic. He wrote for the Scrantonian Tribune for 40 years, starting as a copy boy. Prior to his passing, Guy wrote his final book, “Covering a Lifetime in Sports,” his biography.
Guy was a basketball standout at Dunmore High School. As a member of the Dunmore baseball team, he became the scorekeeper, calling in the results and box scores to the two local newspapers.
A legendary sports historian, Guy saved local sports clippings, statistics and box scores. His basement was filled with a wealth of well organized sports information dating back to close to a century.
A tireless writer, his column, “Guylines,” at the old Scrantonian Tribune covered the lives of graduated athletes and was a must-read.
Following the close of The Scrantonian Tribune, Guy spent 13 years as sports information director at Lackawanna College. Following his retirement there, Guy never stopped writing or promoting local sports. He wrote a dozen books, contributed sports stories to The Dunmorean and spent countless hours promoting and organizing the annual Scranton Lions Club Dream Game. One of his books focused on the history of the Dream Game.
Guy had great attention to detail and precise writing with a focus on the local athlete, particularly high school athletics covering every sport.
His many honors include the PIAA District 2 Service Award, the District II American Legion Baseball Service Award, the PIAA District 12 Media Award and inaugural winner of Northeast Athletic Conference Sports Media Award in 1988.
He was inducted into the Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame in 1990 and the University of Scranton Wall of Fame in 1996. He received the James A. Calpin Media Award presented by the Chic Feldman Foundation in 1995. He received the Joseph M. Butler Award by the Scranton Times in 2007 and was honored by the Scranton Chapter of PIAA Football Officials in 1991.
Dunmore Borough Council presented Guy with the Appreciation Award for his service to the borough, and he received the Key to the City of Binghamton from the Boxing Old-Timers Club.
Guy was so legendary that even the late Brooks Robinson visited his Dunmore home once.
A devoted family man, Guy was married to his wife Marie for 71 years. The couple raised four children and took great pride in numerous grandchildren and great-grandchildren. A proponent of old-fashioned values, Guy always attended weekly church services and enjoyed weekly Sunday dinners with his family. During his retirement years, he was always in the stands rooting for the athletic achievements of his grandchildren.
He remained an astute follower and supporter of the local athletic scene.
(Columnist note: This scribe had the pleasure of starting a four decade friendship with Guy Valvano as a rookie reporter for the Scrantonian Tribune in 1985. Guy knew of my love for sports writing and quickly became one of my mentors. He was a stickler on spelling, punctuation, precise writing, and getting accurate sources for correct facts. He constantly corrected me on the apostrophe in King’s College every single time until I got it right. He believed in short, precise, accurate stories.
He continued to serve as a mentor to me during the past 35 years as I continued to write for The Dunmorean and assisted with the annual pigskin issue for many years. Always supportive, I was sure to get a call from him if he spotted any type of slight inaccuracy in a story I wrote. It would be a simple call, with positive reinforcement. It made me a better writer and the calls would become more infrequent the more accurate I became. He often called or mailed me a note on story ideas on Dunmore athletes. It was a badge of honor if Guy told you you were doing a good job or liked a story you wrote. It is with great pleasure and honor, I was able to call Guy Valvano a colleague, mentor and friend over the past 40 years. He was a true legend in the world of local sports journalism.)
