RIP, Larry Whiteside

Just saw these release from the Red Sox.

For Immediate Release

June 15, 2007



STATEMENT FROM THE BOSTON RED SOX ON THE PASSING OF LARRY WHITESIDE



We are deeply saddened to learn of the passing of Larry Whiteside. For more than 30 years, Mr. Whiteside covered baseball and the Red Sox for the Boston Globe with integrity, professionalism, and excellence. He was held in high regard and greatly respected by front office executives, managers, coaches, and players alike.



Mr. Whiteside was a pioneer as one of the first African-Americans to cover a major league baseball beat and was a mentor to many young baseball writers who followed him.



The Red Sox express their heartfelt condolences to Mr. Whiteside’s family and friends. He will be missed in the press box and clubhouse at Fenway Park.



NOTE: The Red Sox will observe a moment of silence in the memory of Larry Whiteside prior to Friday night’s game at Fenway Park.



--- RED SOX ---

 

Wow, that is terrible news. Larry was a heck of a good guy. I always looked forward to seeing and talking to him at playoffs, World Series and winter meetings back when I covered baseball. I didn't know he was sick and I have no idea how old he was.

RIP, Sides ...

 

Sad news. Larry was a great guy.

 

BOSTON (AP) -Larry Whiteside, a baseball writer in Boston, Kansas City and Milwaukee for almost half a century who was a pioneer for blacks in journalism and a mentor for reporters, died Friday after a long illness. He was 69.
Whiteside had worked for The Boston Globe from 1973 until he was sidelined by Parkinson's disease in the past decade. The paper reported his death on its Web site.
"I am truly saddened by the news of his passing, as he was an extraordinary person," said baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who was the Milwaukee Brewers' owner when Whiteside covered their first four seasons. "He was one of the finest journalists and finest friends that I have ever encountered. I will certainly miss him."
Whiteside, known to friends as "Sides," was a member of the expert panel that selected baseball's all-century team. He was the three-time chairman of the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, which awarded him its Dave O'Hara Award for long and meritorious service and nominated him this year for the Hall of Fame's J.G. Taylor Spink Award.
Whiteside covered the Boston Red Sox in the 1975 and 1986 World Series and memorably left in the middle of Roger Clemens' record-setting 20-strikeout game in '86 to cover a Celtics playoff game. The Red Sox asked fans to observe a moment of silence before Friday night's game against the San Francisco Giants in his memory.
"For more than 30 years, Mr. Whiteside covered baseball and the Red Sox for The Boston Globe with integrity, professionalism, and excellence," the team said in a statement. "He was held in high regard and greatly respected by front office executives, managers, coaches, and players alike."
Whiteside began his career with Kansas City Kansan in 1959 and worked at The Milwaukee Journal from 1963-1973, where he covered the Braves of Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn. He was also recruited to cover the civil rights movement.
After the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee in 1970 and became the Brewers, Selig offered him a public relations job with the team. Whiteside turned it down to continue covering the sport.
"Larry Whiteside and I literally started in baseball together," Selig said Friday.
In 1971, Whiteside created "The Black List" to aid sports editors in helping hire qualified black journalists. There were only nine names on the list when he started, but by 1983 it had expanded to more than 90.
When he was hired by the Globe in 1973, Whiteside was the only black reporter in America covering major league baseball on a daily basis for a major newspaper. An expert on the Negro Leagues, he also was among the first to pay close attention to baseball in Japan and Australia.
"He deserves to be honored by the Baseball Hall of Fame for his work as a writer but also for his efforts to create opportunities for other African-American writers," Globe sports editor Joe Sullivan said. "He was a true trailblazer for African-American sports journalists."
Whiteside was honored in 1999 by the National Association of Black Journalists for his work in advancing the careers of black sports writers. He was the recipient in 1987 of the Stanford University John S. Knight Professional Journalism Fellowship, where he studied international affairs and labor law.
He is survived by his wife, Elaine, and son, Tony.

 

One of the most delightful people I met in the business. I knew his health wasn't the best, but this is a surprise, a very bad one.
So long, Sides. We'll be missing some laughs back here.

 

The lights grow dim in a number of American League taverns tonight.
Go in peace, friend.

 

Liked Shaughnessy's column about Whitesides. Nailed exactly what you want to read in something like that.

 

Yes, Shaughnessy's column was quite good. I did not know Larry was 69 and I didn't know he suffered from Parkinson's.
Again, I repeat, we lost a heck of a good guy who always had a smile on his face and a funny story to tell.

 

I never knew him but I cannot help but respect the use of "mentor" to describe him. I've been blessed by caring mentors and it's meant more to me than those people could possibly know. Sounds like Mr. Whitesides left a legacy and an example we should all follow.

 

'Sides was the Journal's Brewers beat man during my entire tenure in the Paris on the Menomonee.
The summer I graduated, he went to the Globe.
That's a lot of his game stories that I read.
He also covered the riots in Milwaukee in the mid-1960's because he was about the only black reporter the Journal had. Had some great stories about that, too.