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Hal
McCoy (BA, '62), long-time sportswriter for the Dayton Daily
News, was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in late
July as the 2002 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award "for
meritorious contributions to baseball writing."
Chosen
by the Baseball Writer's Association of America, McCoy received
the award during the induction ceremony held at the National
Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, N.Y.
"It's
the top honor that any baseball writer can receive,"
McCoy said in a recent interview. "It's sort of like
the Pulitzer Prize of baseball."
An
honors graduate of the school of journalism, McCoy has covered
the Cincinnati Reds for 32 years as a sports writer for the
Daily News. His coverage of the Reds is the longest of any
current beat writer on one team. McCoy has covered more than
5,560 games, 900 spring training games and 500 post-season
games, which average out to three stories per game.
"I
write not only to inform, but to entertain," McCoy said.
"I try to think of what the reader might enjoy."
McCoy
writes for the reader. Instead of filling his column with
statistics, he fills it with stories about the game.
"I
get a lot of e-mail from women who enjoy my writing because
they say I don't clutter up my stories with a lot of numbers
and statistics," McCoy said. "They appreciate that
I write about people."
McCoy
also writes a Sunday notebook, a daily notebook, another column
three times a week and a weekly "Ask Hal" column
that answers reader's baseball questions. McCoy says he's
lucky in that his job combines his passions
"I
love baseball, I love to write and I love to travel,"
McCoy said. "It's great that I get paid to do all three."
McCoy
received his first taste of journalism in high school.
"My
tenth grade English teacher was also the adviser for the school
paper, The East High Caravan, in Akron," McCoy said.
"As I was a member of the basketball team, she asked
me to write a story about it. She liked my first effort so
much she suggested I pursue writing."
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McCoy
in 2003. And
in 1962 Burr
McCoy
entered Kent State on a baseball scholarship. He knew his
baseball skills would not be enough to take him far, so
he decided to become a sports writer.
"Professor
Bill Fisher taught many of my JMC classes and had the biggest
influence on me while at Kent State," McCoy said. "I
remember Mr. Fisher telling us funny stories of his journalism
days in class. He would often sit in the lounge and hang
out with us. I thought of him as a friend rather than an
instructor."
McCoy
covered wrestling and swimming as a sports writer for the
Daily Kent Stater. When he became sports editor of the Stater,
he wrote a column called "The Real McCoy," in
which he covered major campus sports such as basketball
and football. He was the first recipient of the Kent Stater's
Lincoln Hackim Award for Excellence in Sports Writing.
"I
spent some of the most pleasant times at the offices of
The Daily Kent Stater, and at Merrill Hall," McCoy
said. "Kent State provided me with a great education
that has helped me become a great writer."
After
graduation, McCoy went to work for the Journal Herald in
Dayton and also spent one year with the Detroit Free Press.
Having been with The Dayton Daily News for 32 years, McCoy
says he still loves his job.
"I
don't consider it a job," McCoy said. "It's too
much fun. I will probably do it until my head hits my lap
top."
--By
Melissa Heestand
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