RIP Neil Hohlfeld

[SnoopyBoy]

Neil Hohlfeld, who covered the Astros and other sports with grace and distinction during a 29-year career with the Houston Chronicle, died Saturday morning of an apparent heart attack while vacationing with his family in New Mexico. He was 56.


http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/front/5897137.html

 

[Moderator1]

Jesus. RIP. We had our mandatory CPR training the other day at work and one of the young folks wondered, "What are the odds?" Unfortunately, better than you might think.
Sad news. Way, way, way too young.

 

[GuessWho]

Holy crap. Knew him well, and really liked him. He was a smoker and I worried about that, but he seemed to be in pretty decent shape. I thought he was older than 56. Damn. RIP. I'll always remember that laugh.

 

[steveu]

Ah ****. Had the pleasure to speak with Neil a couple years ago when I was stringing for the Chron, and I felt like saying "I'm not worthy". Now I wish I had.

RIP.

 

[Hillman]

Neil was a great guy. I used to see him while covering Big 12 basketball.

He really enjoyed working the crossword puzzle.

We're the same age, and learning of his passing makes me grateful I still visit the gym and weight room regularly.

 

[Finger]

One of the most likable, most genuine guys I've met in this business. He didn't have a phony bone in his body, and not an ounce of ego, even though he'd done more than enough to merit one. Not only did he tolerate young punks like me on the road, he'd take us to dinner (never any place too pretentious), and by the time we'd have our first bite of food, Neil was already lifelong friends with the bellman, the cab driver, the waitress and the guy busing tables. He'd make them all laugh, and he laughed right along with them.

He had tons of stories about his Astros days, but my favorite one was this: One night on the first road trip of the season, he went down to the hotel bar and saw Dave Smith, the relief pitcher, a couple of stools down. Smith, Neil said, came from a wealthy family and never cared too much about money. When Smith got up to leave, he left $500 on the bar. The bartender, sure that this was a mistake, gave the change to Neil. When Neil tried to give it back to Smith in the clubhouse the next day, Smith told him to keep it.

So reluctantly Neil did keep it, but he stuffed it in an envelope. Turns out, all summer long this same scene kept repeating himself. And at the end of September, Neil took the envelope, gave it to the Boys and Girls Club or some such charity, and presented Smith with a receipt for a donation of several thousand dollars. I never asked Neil the natural question, but if you knew him, you didn't have to.

There was no way he even kept a dime.

 

[Colton]

Finger: That's a tremendous story. Thanks for sharing.

RIP...

 

[Stone Cane]

very sad

RIP

Finger ... thanks for the wonderful story

 

[Hillman]

Finger's story sums up Neil as a total class act. He will be greatly missed.

 

[Joe Williams]

RIP. News like this stinks. So few of us getting out of this without getting our hearts broken first, but I hope Neil was one who did.

(Funny how 56 is "way, way, way too young" for something like this, but 50 is way "too old" according to some of our bosses and snot-nosed readers. Guess the ideal is to give up our jobs in our 40s and live into our 80s, living off -- I don't know -- some long-banked expense account skim or something. Or if it had been me, Dave Smith's drinkin' change. )

 

[healingman]

During my stint on the Chron sports desk ... I had a number of dealings with Neil. Truly a class act, took his profession seriously and did his job. I feel sad that he's no longer around, yet his words (and stories) will remain forever. RIP Neil ... God bless. Thanks for the story, too, Finger.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Wow, this is a punch in the gut.

Neil was a great guy who had fun on the beat. He had great rapport with the players, but he wasn't a pushover.

Condolences to his family.

 

[Scoop returns]

I've gotten to know Neil well the last few years as one of his co-workers. He was just great guy and yes, he had great stories to tell. This is hard to take and I will definitely him. RIP my Friend.

 

[Smasher_Sloan]

Richard Justice comments:

http://blogs.chron.com/sportsjustice/archives/2008/07/in_memory_of_ne.html

 

[SlickWillie71]

A class act who was one of a kind. I grew up reading his work, and to be able to say I not only worked alongside him, but also be able to call him a true friend, is a priceless gift I will always hold with me. To have him compliment my work was a badge of honor because you knew he knew great work, because he put together 29 years of it at the Chronicle.

There's a hole in my heart knowing I'll never see him again, but what I learned from listening and talking to him will be priceless from this day forth. God bless him and his family, whom I know he loved passionately.

 

[casty33]

This is hard to believe. And what a terrible week for our baseball writers group -- Red Foley, Matt McHale and Neil Hohlfeld. I knew Neil when he covered the Astros and he was an outstanding reporter and, most importantly to me, a heckuva guy. And yes, 56, is far too young for this to happen, makes a 61-year old like me live under the covers in fear.

RIP RIP RIP but it's not enough.

 

[Tracy Ringolsby]

Neil was a wonderful man and leaves a loving legacy.
To know he won't be around is a true loss for any who had known him. Professionally, he wasn't concerned about writing for his peers. His concern was serving the readers and being their link between the game and the public. He didn't have to write about himself to tell the story.
Unfortunately for Neil, the business broke his heart more than once. To think back to the day that upper management decided to shake things up, and took him off the Astros beat, and his empty feeling at the time. The pro and person he was, however, when he went to cover Texas A&M he showed the same commitment and excitement about his work. When they put him on auto racing, again he went ahead full speed. It was almost like they kept looking for something he would hate, but Neil cared about people and his profession too much to let personal disappointments interfer with his ethics and values.

 

[Some Guy]

Wow. Just wow.

Never knew Neil personally, but knew an awful lot of people who did. This is a tough loss, for sure.

RIP.

 

[Joe Williams]

Unfortunately for Neil, the business broke his heart more than once. To think back to the day that upper management decided to shake things up, and took him off the Astros beat, and his empty feeling at the time. The pro and person he was, however, when he went to cover Texas A&M he showed the same commitment and excitement about his work. When they put him on auto racing, again he went ahead full speed. It was almost like they kept looking for something he would hate, but Neil cared about people and his profession too much to let personal disappointments interfer with his ethics and values.

I should have known better than my Pollyanna-ish hope that a pro's pro and a real vet as a beat guy might be treated with dignity right to the end. The subjectivity and arbitrariness with which people can get jerked around in their roles in this business would drive the suits nuts if it happened to them.

Neil was a better guy than me or many I know for handling it so gracefully. Miss him already, and barely knew him.

 

[Jesus_Muscatel]

Thanks for that background Tracy.

I knew Neil a little bit. A great guy.

RIP.