By Zach Sampson, News Staff
With the simple drop of a large black curtain in Matthews Arena Saturday, Northeastern immortalized its sports information director of 59 years with the newly named Jack Grinold Media Center.
The dedication of the facility’s press box served as the big reveal during a celebratory gala that featured a few hours of hors d’oeuvres and reminiscing. The athletics department organized the event to properly honor Sports Information Director (SID) Jack Grinold, a man who has served as the university’s ambassador for sportswriters and fanatics across New England for more than half a century.
Throughout the night, speakers praised Grinold for his loyalty and devotion to everything he did, from serving on the Massachusetts Historical Society to shepherding every student-athlete through the Northeastern sports scene since 1962.
“Sports, words, art and history – you loved it all. You’re interests are boundless, as is your circle of friends,” Northeastern history professor Bill Fowler said in his address. “You’re a great person to have at any gathering – who else could talk about the careers of Cy Young and Smokey Joe Wood and then turn around and discuss Cotton Mather’s views on predestination?”
Grinold’s longtime colleagues explained the SID’s unique ability to do right by everyone around him, describing him as a friend and ally to sports writers across the region.
“Jack showed us that you can answer to your employer, be a good servant to the people signing your check and at the same time serve the greater good,” Hockey East Commissioner Joe Bertagna said.
To many of his acquaintances, Grinold seemed to be more than human. He was instead an idol – a deity in the sports world.
“There’s no greater sports information individual that I respect more than Jack Grinold,” former Terriers’ SID Ed Carpenter said in his address. “His loyalty to the Northeastern student athletes, coaches, administrators and to the entire university community was a quality that I tried to emulate during my career at Boston University. More than once, I’ve asked myself, ‘WWJD: What would Jack do?’”
During his time at the podium, Grinold emphasized his commitment and respect for Northeastern. A Bowdoin College graduate, Grinold said he first entered Matthews Arena on a Sunday afternoon in 1946 to watch the Celtics for 25 cents from the balcony. But since 1962, he said the building has served as his home.
“I’ve had the opportunity to watch a great university grow to be a far greater university – physically, from an asphalt parking lot to a beautiful urban oasis,” Grinold said.
Having personally known six of Northeastern’s seven presidents and having worked with every athletic director, Grinold had a significant impact on the school’s developement. Masters of Ceremonies for the gala, Husky radio announcers Rob Rudnick and Bill Doherty, frequently reminded the audience about Grinold’s firm character and constant presence during the university’s expansion.
“He’s not a sheriff, he’s not a coach. He’s just a giant beyond reproach,” Doherty said while reciting a poem he prepared about Grinold. “Huskies alighting from the train, green with envy for an old refrain. They’ve heard of a man in red and black, his name is John but they call him Jack. As the legend goes he’s yet to speak a single word that sprung a leak. His aim is honor, his word is gold – he’s Gary Cooper as Jack Grinold.”
