Quinlan retires as 4th sports editor in Daily Herald history
Tom Quinlan, the Daily Herald's assistant managing editor for sports, retired recently after 40 years with the newspaper.
Quinlan headed the sports department for 22 years, overseeing its evolution into the 24/7 digital and social-media environment and transforming the coverage into a personality-oriented approach that emphasizes analysis and enterprise rather than game coverage.
During his tenure, the paper covered the last three Bulls championships, the resurgence of the Blackhawks and its three recent championships, the Fire's championship in its inaugural year, the White Sox historic championship in 2005 and the Cubs epic championship in 2016. The Bears did not win a championship during Quinlan's years at the helm of the sports department, but they did make it to Super Bowl XLI in 2007.
"For me, the memories revolve not around the games," Quinlan said, "but the special sections we put together, the work by the writers, columnists, photographers, editors, designers and graphic artists."
A recipient of the company's Stuart R. Paddock Jr. Manager Excellence Award in 2015, Quinlan was only the fourth sports editor in the 146-year history of the newspaper, following in the footsteps of Robert Paddock Sr., Bob Frisk and Jim Cook.
"Tom blended a talented staff with an award-winning heritage to provide our readers with the best in sports coverage from the preps to the pros," Editor John Lampinen said. "He's been a selfless teammate with those who work for him and those who work with him."