Hal McCoy

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Hal McCoy is a Cincinnati Reds beat writer for the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio). He was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 as the winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which is awarded annually "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing." He gained national attention in 2003 when he continued to cover the Reds despite a stroke in his left eye that left him legally blind.

[edit] Writing career

McCoy has covered the Cincinnati Reds since 1972 and is currently the longest-tenured beat writer for one team in all of Major League Baseball. He was in the forefront of the Pete Rose investigation, breaking many stories during the 1989 season while also covering the Reds on a daily basis. He has also covered the Big Red Machine, the imfamous reign of former Reds CEO Marge Schott, the 1990 World Champion Reds, multiple baseball strikes and Reds' ownership changes.

He has won 43 Ohio and national writing awards and was the first non-Cincinnati newsperson elected to the Cincinnati Journalists Hall of Fame. McCoy has been the Cincinnati BBWAA Chapter Chair 22 times and was the BBWAA national president in 1997. He is the third writer from the Dayton Daily News to win the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, joining Si Burick (1982) and Ritter Collett (1991).

He is an honors graduate from Kent State University School of Journalism. He played first base at Kent on a partial baseball scholarship.

[edit] Eye Condition

In 2001, McCoy's eyesight started to fail and the vision in his right eye blurred. Doctors diagnosed an eye condition that affects perhaps five percent of the population. He had a stroke in the optic nerve that left him with a permanent blurry spot.

Although there was only a 15 percent chance he'd have a stroke in the left eye, he awoke in 2003 to find the vision in his left eye had blurred even worse because of another stroke.

Tests determined that he has two small spots in his vision where he can see clearly. He has no peripheral vision.

With his vision severely impaired, McCoy struggled during his trip to spring training in 2003. He considered retiring but cites a pep talk by then-Reds Manager Bob Boone ("You can still do it. We'll help you.") as a reason he kept working.

McCoy learned to adapt to the condition. He had his scorebook enlarged, uses a magnifying glass for small print, follows the game by TV monitor, and writes on a large-screen laptop with enlarged print.

[edit] External links

• National Baseball Hall of Fame - Hal McCoy
• Dayton Daily News - Hal McCoy
• Cincinnati Post - "Baseball writer finds way around blindness"