“The Real McCoy” Stepping Down After 37 Years
The economy has hit baseball already this season, smaller contracts, lower attendance, etc. But now, Reds reporter Hal McCoy is having to step down after 37 years of writing for the home town Redlegs, he said in a blog post mid evening last night. I started to get hooked on Cincinnati in the late 90s, especially with Griffey Jr, and that gang. But I really enjoyed reading Hal’s column. He always told it like it was, sort of like that great guy up in the broadcasting booth for 30+ years also, in Marty Brennaman.
Hal wrote for the Dayton Daily News since 1972, when the Big Red Machine was just starting. He covered the Pete Rose story in 1989, and the World Champions in 1990. In 2003, he won the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, being the third from the DDN to recieve the award. “I feel as if my fingers have been cut off, but the economic times are harsh and I understand and I’m not angry. I just feel as if something good has ended prematurely, something I’m not completely ready to accept, but must,” McCoy said of his retirement at the end of the year.
He closed the article in traditional Hal McCoy form, going on to say,
“So many times over the year, I’ve dealt with surly ballplayers who never saw hello until it’s time to say goodbye.
I’ll finish the season covering the Reds and baseball, the last hurrah, then say my final goodbyes. They’re putting me out to pasture. I only wish it was center field.”
Thanks for the memories Hal, you will be dearly missed. (To read his full blog post, click on the picture at the top)
