Will McDonough

For the American businessman, see Will McDonough (businessman).

William "Will" McDonough (July 6, 1935–January 9, 2003) was an American sportswriter for the Boston Globe.[1]


Biography

The youngest of nine children of Irish immigrants, McDonough grew up in working-class South Boston.[1] He attended The English High School, where he starred in baseball as a pitcher and in High school football|football]] as a quarterback. After graduating from Northeastern University, McDonough started at the Boston Globe as an intern / copy boy in 1955 and was promoted to sportswriter in 1960, working for many years with other legendary Globe sportswriters such as Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan, and Leigh Montville.

McDonough became a hero among Boston sportswriters after a 1979 altercation with Patriots cornerback Raymond Clayborn, in which the 44-year-old McDonough leveled Clayborn in the locker room after the third-year cornerback had poked him in the eye.[2][3][4][5]

His appearances included stints as part of NBC's NFL Live pregame show from 1991-1993.

He regularly referred to Roger Clemens as the "Texas Con Man" during Clemens' tenure with the Boston Red Sox.[6][7]

Known for his dedication to objectivity and accuracy, he was still accused of chauvinism when he brought into question the legitimacy of allegations by then Boston Herald sportswriter Lisa Olson against New England Patriots players in the team locker room in 1990; two years later multiple prominent local sportswriters acknowledged the presence of gaping holes in Olson's credibility that were overlooked or ignored at the time.[8]

For one season, he served as an analyst for New England Patriots preseason games.

Death

He died of a heart attack at his home in Hingham at age 67.[1]

Family

One of his sons, Sean McDonough, is a sportscaster for ESPN. His son, Terry McDonough, was director of player personnel for the NFL's Arizona Cardinals. Another son, Ryan McDonough, is general manager of the Phoenix Suns.

Notes and references

  1. 1 2 3 Lavoie, Denise (January 11, 2003). "'Ultimate' sportswriter dies at 67". The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida). Associated Press. p. c3.
  2. ↑ Loss of a legend Boston Globe. Accessed 20 October 2007
  3. ↑ "Fight breaks out in locker roon". Lakeland Ledger (Florida). Associated Press. September 10, 1979. p. 3D.
  4. ↑ "They put up their dukes". St. Petersburg Independent (Florida). Associated Press. September 10, 1979. p. 5C.
  5. ↑ "Rozelle fines Patriots' Clayborn". The Ledger (Lakeland, Florida). Associated Press. October 3, 1979. p. 1D.
  6. ↑ Boston Globe 10 - 28 - 2000
  7. ↑ Boston Globe 11 - 03 - 2002
  8. ↑

See also

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia - version of the Thursday, March 10, 2016. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike but additional terms may apply for the media files.