I was in the presence of greatness yesterday.
There are not many people in this business I respect more than Ray Didinger.
First, I'm a die-hard Eagles fan. I can admit that as soon as the Eagles game is over I turn on "Eagles Post-Game Live" on Comcast SportsNet. I don't do that to hear Michael Barkann, although I admire the way he runs the show. I don't do it to hear former Gov. Ed Rendell, the voice of the fans. I don't do it to hear the insight of Brian Westbrook, a fairly adroit former player.
I do it to hear Ray Didinger break down the game.
No one knows more about the Eagles, or football in general.
I was a guest speaker at the monthly luncheon of the Delaware County Press Club. Actually I was second fiddle. I'm sure most of the people in the packed room came to hear Ray.
As I mentioned in the blog yesterday, Ray and I have one thing in common. We're both Daily Times veterans. That's right, Ray started what would be a Hall of Fame career at the Daily Times.
Yesterday he kicked off his comments with a great anecdote about his year at the Daily Times that kickstarted a career that would take him to the Evening Bulletin, Daily News, NFL Films and the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Ray, just out of Temple, actually was hired by Art Mayhew for an opening on the news side. That didn't dull his dream of being a sports writer, so he would cover high school football games on the weekends.
As Ray explained it, he was covering some of the lesser games of the weekend for a few weeks when he thought he would push his luck and seek a bit more high-profile game.
He approached then sports editor Ed Gebhart (who still pens a Sunday column for the Daily Times) and asked if he might not be assigned a Ridley game, one of the best teams in the county.
Gebhart peered up and in his best crusty editor's voice intoned, "You're not ready for Ridley."
Some four decades later, after he entered the sports writer's wing of the Pro Football Hall of Fame, he got home to a stack of congratulatory mail. The first letter he saw caught his attention because it had a Chester postmark.
Inside the card was this quote: "OK, I guess you're ready for Ridley."
It was from Ed Gebhart.
Thanks for a great afternoon, Ray.
The Daily Times is immensely proud of one of our finest alums.
CLICK HERE to get a piece of Ray's analysis of last week's Eagles fiasco vs. the Packers.
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