The great Mike Cherry

For those of you who haven’t heard, our business lost one of its biggest stars and brightest personalities early yesterday when Mike Cherry lost his long battle with cancer. He was just 54. A lot of you probably shared a press box with him — at a Southern Conference or West Virginia football game.

Mike spent his entire career at 3 papers — the Charleston Gazette, the Charleston Daily Mail and Florida Today. He was as talented a writer as I’ve ever known; he and the late Jody Jividen — Mike’s best friend and a fellow Charleston vet who also died way too young — were exhibits A and B of absolute treasures working at smaller dailies. If ever there was proof of circulation size having nothing to do with how good you are, it was those two. I was embarrassed to have my crummy stories in the same section as theirs.

Mike was also the best friend a guy could have. No one could make you laugh like him — he could have just has easily been a humor columnist as a sportswriter. He was the classic sportswriter — before getting married in his 40s, he lived in a $250-a-month bandbox apartment with piles of old newspapers … and no stove. He lived off Wendy’s.

He leaves behind a beautiful wife and a 3-year-old daughter. It’s just tragic.

Didn’t want anyone who knew Mike to miss the news or the nice tributes to him today:

Charleston Daily Mail:
http://www.dailymail.com/Sports/201006070901

Florida Today:
http://www.floridatoday.com/article/20100608/COLUMNISTS0313/6080324/1148/sports/We+lost+a+friend

Jeff D’Alessio, Sporting News