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Nick Cafardo

Nick Cafardo
A man sitting in the stands at a baseball stadium
Cafardo at Fenway Park
Born(1956-05-08)May 8, 1956
Weymouth, Massachusetts, U.S.
DiedFebruary 21, 2019(2019-02-21) (aged 62)
Fort Myers, Florida, U.S.
Alma materSuffolk University
Occupation(s)Sportswriter, author
Years active1981–2019
Known forBoston Red Sox coverage
Spouse
Leeanne
​
​
(m. 1979)​
Children2
AwardsJ. G. Taylor Spink Award (2020)

Nicholas Dominic Cafardo (May 8, 1956 – February 21, 2019)[1] was an American sportswriter and sports author. A longtime columnist and beat reporter for The Boston Globe, he primarily covered the Boston Red Sox.[2][3] In December 2019, Cafardo was named the J. G. Taylor Spink Award recipient for 2020.

Early life

Cafardo was born in Weymouth, Massachusetts; his parents were immigrants from Italy.[2] He grew up in Hanson, Massachusetts, and graduated from Whitman-Hanson Regional High School.[2] Cafardo attended Northeastern University before graduating from Suffolk University.[2] He was inducted into the Whitman-Hanson hall of fame in 1993.[4]

Career

Cafardo got his start covering local news for The Enterprise of Brockton, Massachusetts, and sports for The Patriot Ledger of Quincy, Massachusetts, before moving to The Boston Globe in 1989.[4] He was hired at the Globe at the suggestion of Will McDonough.[4] Cafardo covered the New England Patriots for the Globe when he wasn't covering the Red Sox.[5] His "Sunday Baseball Notes" column in the Globe was nationally read.[2][5]

Cafardo was the author of several books on sports.[2] He wrote The Impossible Team: The Worst to First Patriots’ Super Bowl Season (2002),[5] Boston Red Sox: Yesterday and Today (2007), and 100 Things Red Sox Fans Should Know and Do Before They Die (2008).[6] With Tom Glavine, he wrote None But the Braves: A Pitcher, a Team, a Champion (1996) and Inside Pitch: Playing and Broadcasting the Game I Love (2016),[2] while with Jerry Remy, he wrote If These Walls Could Talk (2019).[5]

In 2001, Cafardo joined New England Sports Network (NESN) as an analyst for the Red Sox,[7] and contributed to NESN reports covering the team.[3]

Cafardo was co-recipient of the Massachusetts Sportswriter of the Year award in 2014, shared with colleague Kevin Dupont of the Globe.[8] In January 2017, Cafardo received the Dave O'Hara Award from the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA), recognizing his long and meritorious service to BBWAA Boston.[9]

On December 10, 2019, Cafardo was posthumously named the recipient of the 2020 J. G. Taylor Spink Award, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America, for "meritorious contributions to baseball writing."[10]

Personal life

Cafardo and his wife, Leeanne, were married in 1979 and lived in Plymouth, Massachusetts.[2][5] The couple had two children. His son, Ben, has worked as a senior communications director for ESPN. Cafardo died on February 21, 2019.[2] He apparently suffered an embolism at JetBlue Park, and died at Gulf Coast Medical Center; both are in Fort Myers, Florida.[2] In August 2019, the Red Sox honored Cafardo in a pregame ceremony at Fenway Park, which included his two grandchildren throwing out ceremonial first pitches.[11]

References

  1. ^ "Obituary for Nicholas D. Cafardo". The Magoun-Biggins Funeral Home. February 2019. Retrieved August 29, 2019 – via tributes.com.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g h i j Marquard, Bryan (February 22, 2019). "Nick Cafardo, baseball writer of uncommon grace and dedication, dies at 62". The Boston Globe. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  3. ^ a b "Nick Cafardo, Longtime Boston Globe Red Sox Reporter, Dies At 62". NESN. February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  4. ^ a b c "Death of Globe baseball writer Nick Cafardo stuns friends and colleagues". The Enterprise. February 21, 2019. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  5. ^ a b c d e Frias, Jordan (February 21, 2019). "Nick Cafardo, longtime Globe baseball writer, at 62". Boston Herald. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  6. ^ Cafardo, Nick (2014). 100 Things Red Sox Fans Should Know & Do Before They Die. Triumph Books. ISBN 9781623688899. Retrieved February 23, 2019.
  7. ^ Bowers, Rachel G. (February 22, 2019). "Watch NESN's tribute to Nick Cafardo". BostonGlobe.com. Retrieved February 22, 2019.
  8. ^ "Massachusetts Awards". National Sports Media Association. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  9. ^ Smith, Christopher (January 5, 2017). "Mookie Betts, Boston Red Sox RF, to be honored as team MVP at Boston Dinner; Pete Frates to receive Lifetime Achievement Award". masslive.com. Retrieved February 21, 2019.
  10. ^ "Nick Cafardo Wins 2020 Spink Award". National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. December 10, 2019. Retrieved December 10, 2019.
  11. ^ Porter, Matt (August 16, 2019). "Red Sox honor family of late Globe baseball writer Nick Cafardo". The Boston Globe. Retrieved August 29, 2019.

Further reading
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