Dunmore and local sports scene mourning iconic Guy Valvano

Posted on November 6, 2024 by The Dunmorean

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.)

A Legacy of Stories: Celebrating 96 years and the life of Guy Valvano

Posted on October 2, 2024 by The Dunmorean

By Jenna Macciocco-Urban

What would it be like to reach 96? That’s the question we posed to our grandfather, Guy Valvano, who reflected, “It went by so quickly.” This month, we are deeply grateful to celebrate both his 96th birthday and the release of his autobiography—a project we worked on as a family.

Over the years, my grandfather would often encourage my cousins, our children, and me to write down stories. It was something he wished he had done throughout his life, almost like keeping a journal. However, he never fully embraced the practice.

Ironically, despite this wish, he authored 12 books and countless articles during his illustrious 40-year career as a sports writer. His stories about the people he met and the experiences he had were captivating to all of us. But what intrigued us even more were the stories of his childhood and how he met our grandmother.

One evening at dinner, I decided to ask him about those early days for my own memory. It turned into a heartwarming conversation about his journey into sports writing. I couldn’t help but ask if he felt fulfilled by his career choice.

Reflecting on this, my grandfather revealed that the joy he experienced as a 10-year-old creating his first paper collage mirrored the fulfillment he felt every day as a sports writer. That sense of purpose stayed with him throughout his remarkable career.

Guy Valvano of Dunmore is shown working recently on a book.

This conversation sparked an idea—why not capture his stories for future generations? We knew time was of the essence, so we enlisted the help of writer Tom Robinson to help us bring the project to life. Each family member played a role: we crafted questions, recorded Pop’s answers, and transcribed them for Tom. Even during Pop’s hospital stays this summer, we worked on the book, determined to complete it. The project became a labor of love for our entire family.

Through this journey, we revisited familiar characters and learned new things about our grandfather. Why is our family so close-knit? I believe this project brought us even closer, giving Pop the opportunity to share his wisdom while allowing us to understand him in a deeper way.

We’re excited to share his story with you and encourage others to do the same with their loved ones. Even if it’s not in the form of a book, recording conversations or keeping journals can create priceless memories for future generations. There are even apps that make it easier to document stories.

For our family, this book will always be a treasured keepsake, something we can pass down to our children and their children. Everyone has a story worth sharing, and we’re honored to share Pop’s with the world. For more information on his book visit www.guyvalvano.com

Guy Valvano is shown during his early days as a sportswriter and editor.

***

Guy Valvano became fascinated with high school athletics while an elementary student in the Dunmore School District. When he moved on to high school he became a member of the Dunmore High School basketball team and kept close to other sports by keeping score for the baseball teams and serving as the statistician of the football team.

Valvano started his newspaper career late in the summer of 1946, a few months after his graduation from high school. He was hired as a copy boy by The Scranton Tribune, a morning daily, and its sister newspaper, The Scrantonian, a Sunday publication. After six months, he was promoted to correspondent, a position he held for 2 1/2 years, before his appointment to the general news staff of the two newspapers.

Valvano covered high school, college, and amateur athletics during his 43 years as an employee of the newspapers. At the time of his retirement in 1990, he was sports editor of The Scrantonian and assistant sports editor of The Scranton Tribune. Two years after his retirement, he resurfaced as sports information director at Lackawanna Junior College, retiring after 11 years to follow the athletic pursuits of his grandchildren. Books written by Guy Valvano are “The Dream Lives On,” a history of the football Dream Game; “State Champions,” which chronicles the Scranton area teams that won state basketball titles, and “Royals of Renown,” a tribute to the men’s and women’s basketball teams at the University of Scranton that captured national championships.

He lives in Dunmore with his wife of 71 years, Marie.. He has 4 children, 5 grandchildren and 9 great-grand children.

Well Dun: Dunmore’s Guy Valvano remembers Jack Seitzinger

Posted on February 7, 2024 by The Dunmorean

By Steve Svetovich

There was a time back in the day when Guy Valvano and Jack Seitzinger were the biggest duo on the forefront of the local sports scene.

The duo were both editors in the sports department of the old Scranton Tribune.

Seitzinger was the sports editor of the Scranton Tribune. Valvano was sports editor of the Sunday Scrantonian.

The duo worked efficiently late into evenings covering all of the local sports in Northeast PA.

It was a small sports department, but these two made it a big one.

Now only Dunmore’s Valvano, 95, remains to tell the stories of the sports department in the old newsroom.

Seitzinger died Saturday, January 20, after being stricken ill at home. He was 82.

All of the other sports reporters at the old Scranton Tribune, namely Jimmy Calpin, Paul Krupski and Dave Williams, have passed. The Scrantonian-Tribune folded in 1989.

That leaves Valvano to tell the story of his former colleague.

“It was a pleasure to work with Jack all those years,” Valvano said. “He loved what he was doing.”

Seitzinger and Valvano had that in common.

“Jack was highly energetic,” Valvano said. “That was the first thing that stood out about him. He knew what he wanted to do and he did it.

“You knew what he was all about just by watching him. He was very important to the success of that department.

“His work was second to none. He could work any place and produce.

“He was a big help when we switched from typewriters to computers. He picked up on it quick and helped all the other reporters.

“He was a great part of the camaraderie. He really loved his work.

“Jack was very quick to help others in the department or in the entire new room. He would volunteer to take calls on results from swimming or track meets. He didn’t have to be the one answering the phones, but he would just do it. He would just take calls for other reporters. He had no problem with it. I never saw anyone in my life put the time in that he did.

“A lot of people thought we had the best sports department. Most of the events were late in the day or at night, so we had the advantage there.”

Valvano was not only impressed with his former partner as a sports editor, but also as a person and friend.

“Jack was a gregarious person and had an impact on a lot of people. That was clearly seen at his viewing and funeral. What a turnout!

“He just liked being around people and really loved his work. He liked helping people.

“I saw him at church just a couple weeks before he died. He came over to me as I was coming out. He would always come over when seeing me. And his last words would always be to say hello to Marie, my wife. And those were his final words to me.

“I read in his obituary that he played minor league baseball. You know, I worked with him all those years and never knew that about him. He never mentioned it.”

Seitzinger, married for close to 60 years to the former Geraldine “Geri” Halaburda, graduated from Frackville High School, but lived in the Green Ridge section of Scranton for most of his adult life. The couple raised five children and were proud grandparents of numerous grandchildren. Seitzinger kept active in his later years attending various sporting events, including those of his grandchildren, and keeping up on the local sports scene.

He attended Bloomsburg University before playing minor league baseball in the Detroit Tigers organization. He played both semi-pro baseball and basketball.

He began his journalism career at the Shenandoah Evening Herald as a news writer and then moved on to The Pottsville Republican, where he became a sportswriter.

He then joined Valvano at The Scrantonian Tribune covering local sports. He eventually became the sports editor working alongside Valvano.

Seitzinger wrote a sports column, “Seitz on Sports,” and was a tireless promoter of both men’s and women’s athletics. His aim was to cover all of the sports equally and give every possible athlete recognition. And that meant from youth leagues through high school and college and beyond.

After the closure of the Scrantonian Tribune, Seitzinger became the first sports information director at Marywood College.

He expanded his career in 1990 by working in public relations with the Pennsylvania Democratic Caucus. He was then hired in a similar role by Senator Robert Mellow, with whom he remained a dear friend until his final day.

For his accomplishments as an athlete, Seitzinger was inducted into the Northern Anthracite Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame.

For his work as a journalist, he was inducted into the Northeastern Chapter of the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame and the University of Scranton Wall of Fame.

For his work in sports information, he was inducted into the Marywood University Sports Hall of Fame.

An icon in local sports, his career at the Scrantonian Tribune spanned four decades. His passion for local sports never wavered.

Valvano described his former colleague as “energetic, efficient and enthusiastic.”

In his role at Marywood, Seitzinger, true to his nature, would do double duty as a part time employee. He would work the scoreboard and the desk duties at a basketball game while compiling game statistics in real time. And he would do it by hand.

Then he would write a report and send it to local newspapers, television, and radio stations for publication.

Always confident and thorough, Seitzinger never complained of his long work hours and still found time to become a fixture in the community and beloved family man.

Former Scrantonian Tribune reporter/columnist Lew Marcus said it best. “I loved Jack. Who didn’t?”