RIP, Larry Whiteside

This is Scott Bordow from the East Valley Tribune using a co-worker's sign-on. (I don't have one. I know. Shame on me).
Anyway, my Larry Whiteside story.
I'm on a first date with my future wife. We had met the night before at the tennis tournament in town. Anyway, after dinner we decide to see the movie Glory. We sit down, and she excuses herself to go to the restroom. Like any guy on a first date, I'm wondering how the date is going and what she thinks of me. A few minutes later she returns with another guy and says, "Do you mind if he sits with us?"
As you can imagine, I'm thinking I'm never getting a second date with the woman.
As it turns out, it was Larry. She had met him at the tennis tournament earlier in the day, and when he saw her at the theatre, he asked if he could join us, seeing how he had been alone all day. My wife, being the nice person she is, said that would be no problem.
Well, the next year I see Larry at the tournament, we say hello and he asks how long I dated that girl. We're still dating, I say. The next year, we see each other, and I tell him she's my financee.
This goes on for several years, through our marriage and our two kids. Each year, Larry is genuinely interested to hear how we're doing. I couldn't say I knew him well, but from our interaction, I could tell what a truly nice man he was. My sympathies and prayers are with his family, friends and co-workers.

 

Did a search and couldn't find a thread about this anywhere ...

http://www.editorandpublisher.com/eandp/news/article_display.jsp?vnu_content_id=1003599778

 

http://www.sportsjournalists.com/forum/threads/43057/

 

I hope it's not unseemly to post about this, but I did have the thought on Friday that I wish the passing of esteemed colleagues would be noted on the professional board (here) where people would most likely see it.

 

I wholeheartedly -- and then some -- agree.

An obituary looking back on a great writer's career certainly is a worthy journalism topic.

And I'm sure I'm not alone in that the journalism board is the only one I visit. I just glanced over there because of the above link ... Whiteside's obit next to a Michael Phelps thread and a no-hitter advisory thread is ridiculous.

 

I was lucky enough to get to know Larry as an undergrad when he was on a Knight fellowship, and he was generous with his time and encouragement.....plus, he told great stories and had a wicked sense of humor.

Larry has been greatly missed in baseball press boxes the past few years. To his friends and family members, my deepest condolences.

 

See I always thought it should be on sports/news, since that's where most of the RIPs go...

 

Given he was a journalist, it is appropriate for this board. I didn't see it on the other one, I will merge the threads.

 

Was privileged to work with Sides for a few years in the '80s. A nicer man you would never meet. Nor a funnier one.

I didn't hear this story until long after I had left the Globe, so I never got a chance to ask him if it was true. Perhaps other SportsJournalists.commers might know.

Sides and George Kimball of the Herald are seated together on a plane sometime in the '70s. Kimball gets up to go to the restroom and somehow manages to get hold of the microphone the stewardesses use to make announcements. There's no stewardess around, so he decides to play a joke on Sides.

In a very professional voice, he says over the cabin intercom something like this: "Ladies and gentlemen, this is your pilot speaking. We hope you're enjoying the flight. We do not wish to alrm you, but there is something we feel you need to know. Again, we do not wish to alarm you, and there is no danger, BUT THERE IS A NEGRO ON THE PLANE. REPEAT, THERE IS A NEGRO ON THE PLANE. We hope you enjoy the rest of your flight."

I still have to make sure I'm not trying to drink something when I think about that story. If someone tried a stunt like that today, they'd probably take him straight to Guantanamo. No passing Go, no collecting $200 . . .

Whatever, Sides was one of the best. It's sad how many people from that '80s-era Globe are no longer with us -- Ray Fitzgerald, Bob Monaghan, John Ahern, Barry Cadigan, Joe Concannon, Steve Rice, Dick Lisherness, Walter Haynes. Apologies if I've missed anyone else.

 

If this has been posted before, I apologize:

In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to the National Association of Black Journalists scholarship fund on behalf of Larry Whiteside and the NABJ Sports Task Force. NABJ 8701-A Adelphi Road, Adelphi, Md., 20783-1716.

 

great guy. True pro.

 

Have a great anecdote on an outstanding gentleman.
Year's ago, Big Daddy Reuschel had pitched a gem of a game, a two hitter. and Big Daddy never gave answers to questions. It was always, yes, no and uh huh. Well this young whipper snapper was pissed at his answers and walked away from one of Big Daddy's sessions not knowing what to write.
Larry said "boots, Big Daddy is the worst interview in baseball history." Then Larry told me an angle to take on the story that wound up being one of my best game stories.
Even Big Daddy read and complimented me on it, which totally shocked me.
RIP Mr. Larry Whiteside. The game misses you already.