RIP Jay Greenberg

Every member of the Philadelphia Daily News sports staff who covered a major sport in the 1980s has been inducted to that sport's hall of fame.

 

Paul Hagen went to my high school and graduated with my older brother, he played on the varsity baseball team when I played JV. I'm proud to be the No. 2 sports writer in Blue Devil history, by a wide, wide margin.

 

Terrible news. Jay was a mentor, but more importantly a friend.

We enjoyed talking hockey, including his growing up in Johnstown, Pa. watching games at the Cambria County War Memorial in the years prior to "Slap Shot." As Matt alluded to above, Jay was honored by the Hockey Hall of Fame. In recent years, he wrote a great deal about Princeton athletics.

A graduate of the University of Missouri, Jay was hired by the Kansas City Star and Times straight out of school. His first day on the job, Kansas City was granted a National Hockey League expansion franchise. No one else on the staff wanted anything to do with the team that became known as the Scouts (now New Jersey Devils by way of Denver). Jay jumped on the beat, covered the two-year creation of the franchise and its first season on the ice. From there, it was on to the Philadelphia Bulletin ... and the rest is history.

RIP, my friend.

 

Always enjoyed running into him on the hockey circuit and his writing for The Hockey News. RIP, sir.

 

Pretty impressive to be a titan in one city, never mind two. He had a helluva run at the New York Post after his Philly days. The tributes today are heartwarming and speak to someone who was clearly a terrific guy. RIP.