Baseball umpire killed in Va. plane crash first identified in sports story

Yesterday was a heck of a day, to say the least.

I'm posting this not so much to pat myself on the back, but just in an effort to share my experience. I've never quite stacked quotes like this, but it was written on a tight deadline after lots of reporting and, honestly, what was I supposed to do? Paraphrase? That didn't seem the way to go.

The Richmond Times-Dispatch, a sister paper, used quotes from this story in its news account today and credited my paper with first identifying the pilot. Calling the pilot's wife was difficult. I tried twice, and part of me is disappointed I couldn't get ahold of her. At the same time, another part of me is thrilled she didn't pick up.

http://www2.godanriver.com/gdr/sports/sports/article/baseball_umpire_killed_in_plane_crash_while_on_the_way_to_danville/18635/

 

Good job. But that's not a sports story. That's a news story written by a sports writer.

 

No doubt. But it ran in the sports section. It's partly a story about umpires and the fraternity they share, a spin I tried to give it since I knew it was appearing in sports and not news.

One of the umpires I talked to last night said he looked more like 40, and that baseball must have kept him young.

 

I wondered if the photo was 20 years old.

 

``The journalistic principles are the same for covering a pennant race or a race riot. You use your eyes, your ears, and, as Jimmy Breslin has always preached, your legs. You go to the scene. You talk to the people involved. You ask questions. You look for the small details that reinforce credibility, and then, using those details, using quotes, using the richness of the English language, you tell the story as vividly, as honestly, as compellingly as you can.''

- Dick Schaap

 

I figured he had been traveling to Canada to visit Dr. Anthony Galea.