[Congressional Record Volume 165, Number 108 (Wednesday, June 26, 2019)]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Page E846]
From the Congressional Record Online through the Government Publishing Office [www.gpo.gov]




             HONORING JOHN McNAMARA OF THE CAPITAL GAZETTE

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                         HON. JOHN P. SARBANES

                              of maryland

                    in the house of representatives

                        Wednesday, June 26, 2019

  Mr. SARBANES. Madam Speaker, I include in the Record an obituary of 
John McNamara, a reporter for the Capital Gazette in Annapolis 
Maryland.

                        [From the Baltimore Sun]

 John McNamara, Capital Gazette Sports Reporter, Recalled for His Vast 
                    Knowledge and Love of the Terps

                           (By Jacques Kelly)

        John McNamara, an editor and sports reporter for The 
     Capital Gazette who covered the University of Maryland 
     Terrapins and was a high school basketball history 
     specialist, died June 28 at the attack at the Annapolis 
     newspaper's office.
       The Silver Spring resident was 56.
       ``Basketball was a love of his and he had a great feel for 
     the game,'' said former Maryland men's basketball coach Gary 
     Williams. ``He could have made a lot more money elsewhere, 
     but he had the job he wanted and it was what he wanted to be. 
     I gave him a lot of credit for that.''
       Born in Washington and raised in Bethesda, he was the son 
     of Thomas McNamara Sr., a federal Department of Education 
     financial analyst, and his wife, Elizabeth Lynch.
       He was a 1979 graduate of St. John's College High School in 
     Washington and obtained a journalism degree from the 
     University of Maryland College Park, where he had reported 
     sports for campus newspaper, The Diamondback.
       ``John was one of the most honest and fairest reporters I 
     have ever met,'' said Johnny Holliday, sportscaster and 
     longtime radio personality. ``I enjoyed being around him.
       ``He was of the mindset that he was going to pick out the 
     positive aspects of an individual player. He told me he 
     understood the greatest thrill for a 9- or 10-year-old was 
     seeing their name in print.''
       Mr. McNamara played softball and basketball informally in 
     school and had delivered newspapers for the old Washington 
     Evening Star. He retained childhood memories of watching the 
     old Washington Senators play at RFK Stadium. He was also a 
     Bullets basketball fan. While at Maryland, he covered high 
     school sports for The Washington Post.
       ``He had two job offers right out of college,'' said his 
     wife, Andrea Chamblee, whom he met while both were Maryland 
     students. ``One was for $15,000 a year as an agate-type clerk 
     doing box scores for USA Today. The other was writing sports 
     for $13,000 at the Hagerstown Herald-Mail. He took [the 
     Herald-Mail] because it allowed him to do what he wanted to 
     do--and in that first year [1983] he covered the Orioles, who 
     were in the World Series.
       ``He felt he made the right choice. His first year out of 
     the college and he was covering a World Series. He was 
     exhilarated.''
       She said they married in 1985 because by then he was making 
     $15,000--they had agreed to delay their wedding until he had 
     passed that financial milepost.
       ``He could talk sports to someone who knew plenty and he 
     could talk to someone who knew almost nothing.'' his wife 
     said. ``And both parties would leave feeling they understood 
     the game better.''
       ``Coaches were always impressed by his insight and 
     knowledge of the game, but John was a good enough storyteller 
     that he could give a casual fan great insight,'' said Doug 
     Dull, a friend and colleague at the Hagerstown paper.
       ``He'd hang out at the local grocery store when the Street 
     & Smith's college basketball yearbook came out and he would 
     pull out a highlighter as if he were doing homework. He knew 
     more about Pepperdine and Fresno State than anyone in 
     Maryland.''
       In 1987 Mr. McNamara joined The Capital as a copy editor, 
     then worked as sports editor for the old Prince George's 
     Journal from 1989 to 1994. He then rejoined the Annapolis 
     paper.
       ``John never changed,'' said David Elfin, a freelance 
     journalist and friend who lives in Bethesda. ``He always 
     loved sports and he was very passionate about the University 
     of Maryland. I can't tell you how many games he had covered 
     at Maryland for all the papers where he'd worked.''
       He was particularly fond of the university's Cole Field 
     House.
       ``No matter if I met him at a Nationals game or at the 
     Capitals or Redskins, Maryland was his comfort level,'' Mr. 
     Elfin said. ``It was almost as if he were walking into 
     Cheers.''
       In 2001 Mr. McNamara and Mr. Elfin wrote ``Cole Classics: 
     Maryland Basketball's Greatest Men and Moments.''
       Eric Prisbell, who previously covered college sports for 
     The Washington Post and is now a Dallas sports freelance 
     writer, said: ``John's basketball knowledge was second to 
     none. He had a sharp eye and everyone respected him.
       ``He was an old-school journalist. He valued the 
     relationships he'd established with coaches. John could be 
     very funny. With just a look he could make a whole table roar 
     with laughter.''
       In 2014 his editors at The Capital Gazette changed his 
     assignment and named him editor and reporter of the Bowie 
     Blade-News and Crofton-West County Gazette.
       ``He took the job change as gracefully as any sportswriter 
     can,'' said his wife.
       He had been completing research and conducting interviews 
     for a book on the history and roots of high school basketball 
     in the District of Columbia and its suburbs. As part of the 
     project he had visited former NBA and college players who 
     grew up in the area.
       A memorial service for Mr. McNamara will be held from 10 
     a.m. to noon Tuesday at the chapel at the University of 
     Maryland, College Park.
       In addition to his wife of 33 years, a Food and Drug 
     Administration attorney, survivors include two brothers, 
     Charles McNamara of Bethesda and Danny McNamara of Amsterdam, 
     N.Y.; and three sisters, Jane McNamara of Mercer Island, 
     Wash., Mary McNamara of Washington and Peggy Pyles of 
     Bethesda.

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