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The Old Sportswriter in Hospice
Submitted by Dan Coughlin on Wed, 12/30/2009 - 12:31pm
Our old pal Dick Zunt, 77, who covered high school sports for half a century at The Plain Dealer, has moved from Fairview Hospital to the Hospice of the Western Reserve. It's located at the north end of E. 185th Street on the lake behind Villa Angela-St. Joe High School where Dick covered many basketball games. The move was made Tuesday night by ambulance.
The cancer has hold of him and won't let go. Pass along the word to his old newspaper pals, coaching friends and St. Ignatius chums. They'll need a new usher at the 12 o'clock Mass at St. Pat's West Park where Dick has taken up the collection for 40 years.
He's in Room 124. Phone 216-383-2222. Mailing address is 300 E. 185th St., Cleveland OH 44119-1330. You can visit him 24 hours a day, seven days a week. No restrictions.
He smiled and even chuckled earlier today when his daughter, Mary Cal, and I reminisced with him about our trip to Orlando for the 1974 Tangerine Bowl.
Dick always took his family to Orlando for Christmas. That year I took Dennis Lustig, the world's shortest sportswriter, to the game with me. While there, Dennis and I joined the Zunt family for a trip to Disney World. The four Zunt kids and Dennis were all about the same size. Dennis did not like children. In their innocence, they would approach him directly and say, "Do you want to play?" Dennis would snarl and growl at them and they would run to their parents. It was a small world, after all.
By the way, Miami, coached by Dick Crum, soundly spanked Georgia in the Tangerine Bowl and wound up ranked 10th in the country, highest final football ranking ever for a Mid-American Conference team.
One of the nicest men - in sports or anywhere else
Thanks for the alert, Dan. I went to see Dick this morning and found him sitting in a chair next to his bed talking to another visitor. Despite his weakened condition, "Zip" is still giving you that warm smile.