[Congressional Record Volume 155, Number 138 (Tuesday, September 29, 2009)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E2390]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




              HALL OF FAMER HAL McCOY LEAVES THE PRESS BOX

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                         HON. MICHAEL R. TURNER

                                of ohio

                    in the house of representatives

                      Tuesday, September 29, 2009

  Mr. TURNER. Madam Speaker, as the Cincinnati Reds wind down their 
2009 season, many in Dayton and southwest Ohio are feeling a sense of 
loss for the departure of the Reds' best known sports writer, Hal 
McCoy, who retires next week.
  To call Hal McCoy an institution in sports journalism is somehow not 
giving him due credit. Hal McCoy is the Reds to the readers of the 
Dayton Daily News. He's been on the Reds' beat for 37 years--longer 
than any other sports reporter following a single team.
  His ``Real McCoy'' blog on the Dayton Daily News site notes ``McCoy 
has covered more than 7,000 major-league baseball games, written close 
to 18,000 baseball stories and eaten enough hot dogs to give Babe Ruth 
indigestion.''
  An honors graduate from Kent State University's School of Journalism, 
Hal McCoy has 43 Ohio and national writing awards. Most appropriately, 
he is also a member of the writer's wing of the National Baseball Hall 
of Fame in Cooperstown, NY.
  Hal McCoy's retirement comes as the Dayton Daily News ceases its 
special reporting on the Cincinnati Reds due to budget limitations. As 
McCoy put it, ``I'll finish the season covering the Reds and baseball, 
the last hurrah, then say my final goodbyes. They're putting me out to 
pasture. I only wish it was center field.''
  While he notes retirement is not something he looks forward to, Hal 
McCoy admits he may still do some writing for the Dayton Daily News. We 
hope so. Good luck and thanks for everything, Hal.

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