Former Free Press sportswriter dies on eve of Vermont Sports Hall of Fame induction
Former Burlington Free Press sportswriter Andy Gardiner died last weekend, days before he is due to be inducted into the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame.
Gardiner, 72, a four-time winner of the Vermont Sportswriter of the Year Award, died following a long illness. He is part of a class that will be inducted Saturday into the state’s Sports Hall of Fame.
Representatives of the hall’s board, including former Free Press sportswriter Mike Donoghue, visited Gardiner at his South Burlington home last Saturday as his health worsened to present him with his Hall of Fame plaque.
“We will not forget the twinkle in Andy’s eye when he awoke and saw us in his home,” the hall’s board chairman, John Maley, said in remarks on the organization’s website. At Gardiner’s home, the board members played a video message from Vermont Gov. Phil Scott thanking Gardiner for his work. Board member Nini Anger, a former Vermont Athlete of the Year, delivered remarks “as Andy hugged the Vermont granite plaque,” according to Maley.
“Your words wove together the stories that allowed athletes, teams, and coaches to celebrate the joy of that winning game all over again the next morning on the pages of The Burlington Free Press,” Anger said in remarks quoted on the Vermont Sports Hall of Fame website. “You saw beyond the talent, the points, the scores, and portrayed the very human side of the athlete. You touch the lives of so many, and your words will live on, Andy, for generations to come.”
Began working for the Burlington Free Press in 1975
A native of Tennessee, Gardiner came to the University of Vermont to pursue a master’s degree and began working for the Free Press in 1975. He covered college and high-school sports and was named Vermont Sportswriter of the Year in 1977 and 1981.
Gardiner spent a few years with the new USA Today newspaper before returning to the Free Press, where he was again selected as the state’s top sportswriter in 1987 and 1988. He covered multiple Olympic Games during his two stints at USA Today and the Free Press.
In the Free Press newsroom, Gardiner stood out for his calm, even-keel approach, a dry sense of humor and his keen sense of observation. His knowledge and enthusiasm for collecting antiques rivaled his passion for writing about sports.
Gardiner’s writing style was clear and to-the-point, putting readers at the scene of major sporting events or one of hundreds of regular-season games.
“The University of Maine has taken its lumps in the America East conference over the last couple of years. But the Black Bears announced Monday night that this could be a season of payback,” Gardiner wrote in a 1998 article for the Free Press. “Maine called on an arsenal of weapons to overtake Vermont, 86-84, in the conference opener for both schools at Patrick Gymnasium. The Bears wiped out a 12-point halftime deficit and then survived a pair of UVM 3-pointers in the final seconds.”
"’This was heartbreaking," said Catamount senior forward Matt Chotkowski, who scored a career-best 18 points. "We played our hearts out and should have won. This is one of those losses that really hurts.’"
Contact Brent Hallenbeck at bhallenbeck@freepressmedia.com.
This article originally appeared on Burlington Free Press: Former Free Press sportswriter dies just before Hall of Fame ceremony
