Leo Monahan | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Born | (1926-12-13)December 13, 1926 Boston, Massachusetts, US |
| Died | March 27, 2013(2013-03-27) (aged 86) Belmont, Massachusetts, US |
| Alma mater | Boston College |
| Occupation | Journalist |
| Awards | Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award |
Daniel Leo Monahan (December 13, 1926 – March 27, 2013) was an American sportswriter. He became a full-time journalist in 1950, and had a career which lasted 30 years combined with theDaily Record, theRecord American, and theHerald American which then merged into theBoston Herald. He later contributed toSports Illustrated and theSporting News, and served as the director of information at theUniversity of Massachusetts Boston. He traveled with and reported on theBoston Bruins, and was recognized with theElmer Ferguson Memorial Award from theHockey Hall of Fame for his journalism.
Daniel Leo Monahan was born on December 13, 1926, inBoston, Massachusetts.[1] His father Daniel Monahan was a printer for theBoston Evening Transcript, and died when Monahan was 11 years old. He grew up inSouth Boston, started delivering a paper route at age 14, and worked a 20-hour shift on weekends as acopy boy at theDaily Record. He enlisted in theUnited States Navy at age 17, and served for two years duringWorld War II. After the war, he attendedBoston College supported byG.I. Bill. He met his future wife Stella Frechette while dancing atHarvard Square in 1947. He graduated in 1950, and the couple married later in the same year.[2]
Monahan became a full-time journalist in 1950. He adopted the name "D. Leo Monahan" to distinguish himself from similarly named writers, and jokingly said the initial "D" stood for "dazzling".[2] Monahan's career as a journalist lasted 30 years combined with theDaily Record, theRecord American, and theHerald American which then merged into theBoston Herald. His younger brother Bob Monahan wrote on college hockey forThe Boston Globe.[2] In 1958, he andLynn Patrick co-published the bookLet's Play Hockey![2][3] Monahan also contributed toSports Illustrated as a correspondent for Boston,[2] and recommended fellowBoston Globr journalistMark Mulvoy as a columnist atSports Illustrated.[4] Monahan was later a columnist for theSporting News, and served as the director of information at theUniversity of Massachusetts Boston from December 1980 onwards.[2]
Monahan traveled with theBoston Bruins on overnight train trips between games, and the younger writers were given the upper bunk for sleeping. He became friends with Bruins' playerMilt Schmidt who said that, Monahan "was fair and he did not interrupt his writing with our friendship".[2] One train ride Schmidt recalled that, "Leo was in the berth above me and I was down below. Throughout the night, he told me, he did not move for fear he would do something that would keep me awake".[2]
Monahan described himself as a person who wrote his own opinions instead of just good publicity for any team he covered. He received theElmer Ferguson Memorial Award from theHockey Hall of Fame in 1986, in recognition of his hockey journalism as chosen by theProfessional Hockey Writers' Association.[5][6] Fellow sports journalistBob Ryan described Monahan by saying, "His deep love for the sport resonated in every sentence and paragraph. He was a very strong personality, for sure, and extremely opinionated".[2] According to Monahan's daughter, he used a manual typewriter for his career and frequently stated he did not like to use electronic typewriters or computers.[2]
Monahan retired from journalism in the mid-1990s then lived inBelmont, Massachusetts. He was married for 49 years and had four daughters. He died at his home on March 27, 2013, due to complications fromParkinson's disease.[2] He was interred at St. Patrick's Cemetery inWatertown, Massachusetts.[1][7]