WELD — The Weld Library Association is hosting a casual conversation with Bob Ryan 4 p.m. Saturday, Sept. 9, at the Weld Town Hall, 17 School Street [Route 156].
“Ryan comes to Weld in the summer part-time,” Association Treasurer Nancy Stowell told The Franklin Journal in a phone interview Wednesday, Sept. 6. “He rents a camp a couple of times a summer.”
There is no charge, but donations will be accepted, Stowell said. Water will be available during the presentation expected to last about an hour to an hour and a half, she noted.
“It is more of a conversational event as opposed to lecturing,” Stowell stated. “A time for recollections, questions and answers.”
Active board member Maddie Bujold and Dan and Brenda Smith [who are neighbors of the Ryans when they come to Weld] helped organize the presentation, Stowell said.
According to Wikipedia, “Ryan is an American sportswriter, formerly with The Boston Globe, and author. He has been described as “the quintessential American sportswriter” and a basketball guru, and is well known for his coverage of the sport including his famous stories covering the Boston Celtics in the 1970s. After graduating from Boston College, Ryan started as a sports intern for the Globe on the same day as Peter Gammons and later worked with other notable Globe sportswriters Will McDonough and Leigh Montville. In early 2012, Ryan announced his retirement from sports writing after 44 years, effective at the conclusion of the 2012 Summer Olympics. His final column in the Globe was published August 12, 2012.”
In the fall of 1969, a vacancy on the Celtics beat of The Boston Globe was created, and Ryan got the job, Wikipedia notes. “Ryan was hired by the paper’s morning sports editor Francis Rosa. While covering the Celtics, Ryan developed a close relationship with the Celtics organization. Ryan would even go out to dinner with the team. Ryan sat at the press table eight seats from the Celtics’ bench, where colleagues referred to him as the “Commissioner”, not unlike Peter Gammons’ nickname. Boston Sports Media critic Bruce Allen has said, “His passion is not faked.”,” Wikipedia continues.
In 1982 Ryan took a two-year break from covering the Celtics for the Globe, was promoted to general sports columnist in 1989, according to Wikipedia. Ryan covered “20 NBA finals, 20 Final Fours, nine World Series, five Super Bowls, the last seven Olympics and many other events,” Wikipedia notes.. “Later, Ryan became less basketball-oriented and more general sports-oriented. He continues to write for Basketball Times. Ryan is a voter for the Baseball Hall of Fame.”
Ryan has received numerous awards, including National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association National Sportswriter of the Year four times [2000, 2007, 2008, 2009], 2000 Associated Press “National Sportswriter of the Year”, and 2015 PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing, according to Wikipedia.
“It is just amazing that such a New England sports celebrity is spending his time in Weld, is willing to do this on his vacation,” Stowell said.
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