With a few kind words for Rocky, Tamika and Friday night lights, our sports editor says so long
Tom Quinlan, the Daily Herald's assistant managing editor for sports, retired recently after 40 years with the newspaper.
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.
Q. In your career as sports editor, who is the one player whose signing by a Chicago pro team signaled the most promise to you?
A. I don't like playing the “rank-me” game. The White Sox signing of Albert Belle was huge, and it didn't lead to a championship.
That was no more disappointing than any Bears quarterback signing in the Brett Favre-era, the Cubs letting Greg Maddux sign with the Braves, or the Bulls going through so many coaches after parting ways with Phil Jackson. When you don't win, disappointment follows.
Q. Does the Daily Herald favor the Cubs over the White Sox?
A. Well, perception is reality, and we've been accused of favoring every team. Even at the high school level. Passion is a big part of sports, and you're not a fan unless you are passionate about your team. When someone complained about bias, I always looked at it as they just want more coverage.
Q. Which one of Chicago's sports stars would you love to have as a friend?
A. Which fan base would you like me to alienate? In my job, you don't get to know the true person behind the athlete's image. You deal with writers and editors, readers and photographers, deadlines and space constraints.
I was told it was the writer's job to get close, and the editor's job to give them the proper perspective at a distance. But everyone likes a winner, and the biggest winner in this town is Rocky Wirtz, who hired good people and gave them the resources to be the best.
Q. What's the worst Chicago-related sports debate?
A. Anytime you want to compare different eras. It's a debate that never ends.
Q. Which sports' athletes are the best to work with?
A. It's difficult for writers today to get something different because teams limit the time.
The NFL and NBA have the most constraints, but other sports are right behind. Still, people like Jonathan Toews, Anthony Rizzo, Akiem Hicks, Elena Delle Donne, Joakim Noah and others are special people away from the game because they do so much for others.
Q. What's the most compelling sports story — high school, college or pros — that the Daily Herald covered while you were sports editor?
A. I think we made our mark with big-event coverage: the Ryder Cup, the three-peats, the baseball championships, the Solheim Cup, the Blackhawks rebuild, the Breeders' Cup, etc. To me, the most compelling story is always the event up next, and how we can cover it better than the last time. The Super Bowl is exciting, but so is Friday night football.
And so is hearing Candace Parker or Jalen Brunson talk about their state titles or watching Maine West dedicate its season to a late coach, or Geneva win back-to-back titles on a game-winning shot by the same player. That's the things with sports — it never gets old, and you can always be surprised.
Q. What is the biggest Chicago sports story during your tenure that nobody knows about or remembers?
A. We'll, it's not the 1985 Bears because they've never gone away. We don't know enough about brain injuries and the impact of concussions.
We don't know enough about how Jerry Reinsdorf thinks and works, because we're not inside that tight circle. We don't know where college sports are headed. We don't know how to protect our young athletes from people who abuse their power and control.
We don't know if the Bears will ever win another Super Bowl.
Q. Why couldn't Ozzie and Ken get along?
A. They got along well enough to win a World Series. Why didn't they win more? Because it's not easy, and power easily can corrupt.
Q. Bears town? Cubs town? Or Blackhawks town?
A. By ratings, the Bears are No. 1 because the NFL is so huge and baseball has to split its fan base here. The NBA seems to be closing the gap on the NFL in the digital age with social media, but both the Bulls and the Blackhawks still draw sellouts in down years, and that's impressive.
Q. Who's better — Theo Epstein or John McDonough?
A. I'm told Theo is much better on the guitar, but I think John has some killer dance moves.
Q. The following players associated with Chicago teams were inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame while you were sports editor: Roberto Alomar, Cristobal Torriente, George Davis, Andre Dawson, Larry Doby, Dennis Eckersley, Carlton Fisk, Nellie Fox, Rich Gossage, Ken Griffey Jr., Pete Hill, Greg Maddux, Frank Thomas, Jim Thome, Tim Raines, Ryne Sandberg, Ron Santo, Bruce Sutter. Which one would be your favorite?
A. I'll go with Tamika Catchings in 2021. State championships, NCAA titles, WNBA championship, Olympic gold medals, and a heart of gold with her charitable foundation doing great work in education.