advertisement

Prolific sportswriter loved 'everyday people'

John Leptich ~ 1949-2010

Newspaper reporters can toil for years before they break a story that stands out, and even captures national interest.

Former sports writer John Leptich experienced just that, when in 1990 he wrote the story of the 12-year old Addison boy who was mistakenly charged only $12 for a Nolan Ryan rookie card, when it was worth more like $1,200.

The clerk at the collectible store apparently misread the price tag, and in the aftermath, the store owner sued the child to get it back. They ultimately settled out of court, by auctioning off the card for charity.

Mr. Leptich, who was a sports writer with the Chicago Tribune at the time - and a knowledgeable baseball card collector - covered the story.

The former Schaumburg and Streamwood resident, most recently of Glendale, Az. passed away on July 5, after a five-year battle with cancer. He was 60.

"In the memorabilia and collectibles world, John was second to none," says Rich Strom, the Tribune's assistant copy editor for sports. "He was an expert. And whether he was covering professional soccer or high school sports, he was always on top of his beat. Just an all-around good guy to have on the Tribune sports staff."

Strom recalls a source in the collectibles world contacted Mr. Leptich about the Nolan Ryan card story.

"The deputy sports editor at the time was very interested in it," Strom adds, "others, not so much. But it came during a time when sports collecting was huge."

Interest in the story exploded, as water cooler discussions broke out about whether the youngster should return the card after realizing the mistake, or whether the store owner had any claims to get it back, after his clerk charged the wrong price.

ABC News picked up the story, and drew Mr. Leptich to be interviewed on its late night show, "Nightline." In 1991, the story went on to be selected by Associated Press sports editors as one of the top 10 sports stories in the country.

George Knue, now in the Tribune's breaking news division, hired Mr. Leptich in 1979, to cover high school sports for the Suburban Trib.

"John was very personable," Knue says. "He was a good reporter who had a great ability to talk to people and get to know them, and he parlayed that into a lot of good stories."

Family members said his love of reporting continued after they moved to Arizona in the mid-1990s, and he worked for the East Valley Tribune as a reporter and copy editor, and also wrote community columns, including "Our Scottsdale" and "Everyday People."

"He really enjoyed writing those," says his wife, Rosa. "He had this ability to find the most incredible stories from meeting everyday people. They just confided in him."

Besides his wife, Mr. Leptich is survived by his two daughters, Arielle, and Amanda (Marc) Blagg, and grandson, Jameson Blagg.

Services have been held.