Stan Hochman, Daily News Icon, Has Passed
DN front page for Friday. Complete coverage of Stan Hochman's passing. #PhillyDNSports pic.twitter.com/5LT9RxZUZg
— Philly Daily News (@PhillyDailyNews) April 10, 2015
Stan Hochman, who covered Philly sports for more than half a century as a Daily News writer and local broadcaster, has passed away at age 86. He started at the paper in 1959, covering the Phillies.
The tributes have been pouring forth. At the Daily News, Rich Hoffman writes:
He has been the face of Philadelphia sportswriting for the last 55 years. He entered the hospital 2 months ago as the same vibrant, energetic guy we had always known, even at age 86. Visiting him one day, he couldn’t talk, but he smiled and his eyes brightened when he was told that his column on Dick Allen’s failed Hall of Fame bid was one of the best-read columns of the week.
He loved the work, right to the end. He loved the writing, the radio, the television, the cameo on the “Rocky” movie, all of it. Stan was multimedia and multiplatform before multimedia and multiplatform were words. He did radio and television and newspaper writing in the 1960s and he did them in the 2010s. And sitting next to him on a set at Comcast SportsNet, he was still carrying the same little notebook with the same scrawled list of topics.
At Comcast Sports Net, Ray Didinger:
He was a great interviewer, the best I’ve ever seen. He was able to get even the toughest subjects to open up. I remember Kareem Abdul-Jabbar waving everyone away from his locker after a tough game at the Spectrum. A few minutes later, I looked over and there was Abdul-Jabbar talking and Stan taking notes.
Later, I asked Stan how he got Abdul-Jabbar to open up.
“I asked about his record collection,” Stan said. “He loves jazz. We started talking about Miles Davis.”
Stan smiled. “Then we started talking about basketball,” he said.
His reach spread beyond his word on the page. Hochman made several appearances on television in Philadelphia and also contributed to the 94 WIP airwaves as a host for some time and more recently has served as the “Grand Imperial Poobah,” on the WIP Morning Show as he shared his vast wisdom about Philadelphia sports with the listening audience.
CSN posted this tribute:
I grew up reading Stan Hochman every day in the Philadelphia Daily News, one of the best old school journalists to grace the industry.
— billyhaze (@billyhaze) April 10, 2015
My sincere condolences to the family of Stan Hochman. He influenced my career in many different ways. A great journalist and a great man.
— Mike Missanelli (@MikeMiss25) April 10, 2015
.@Phillies held a moment of silence for Stan Hochman. He will be missed. pic.twitter.com/qSwN28xKds
— Cindy Webster (@CindyWeb94) April 9, 2015
RIP, Stan Hochman, Philadelphia Daily News. One of my many heroes at that paper.
— Ken Rosenthal (@Ken_Rosenthal) April 9, 2015
Devastated by the passing of Stan Hochman. My first sportswriting hero. I used to write him letters as a kid – & he actually wrote back #rip
— Jayson Stark (@jaysonst) April 9, 2015
I'll treasure Stan Hochman for two things: A tough no-BS newspaper man. And a rare journalist unafraid to show his heart.
— Glen Macnow (@RealGlenMacnow) April 9, 2015
