Stephen Scott Hershey (1938 - 2016)

Stephen Scott Hershey, age 77, of Ormond Beach, passed away on Wednesday May 11, 2016. Steve was born on June 22, 1938 in New York city, and was a long time resident of Ormond Beach, Florida. Steve was a devout Catholic, a dedicated veteran of the Marine reserves, a lover of life, travel, and all things sports.
He was the life of every party, with a personality that was boisterous and was always ready with a story to tell about his unique and well traveled life. His career as a sports writer for USA Today took him to every corner of the globe, and his countless published articles, and book, "The Senior Tour," will be steadfast reminders of his true passion for and connection to the sporting world. Steve himself, was an avid golfer for many years, and was a past member of Ocean Side Country Club, where he served on many executive committees.

Attribution: Legacy.com

Kevin A. Tatum, 64, former Inquirer sportswriter

Kevin A. Tatum, 64, of Voorhees, N.J., an Inquirer sportswriter for almost three decades, died Friday at Cooper University Hospital in Camden of throat cancer.

Before joining the Inquirer's sports staff, where he covered college teams, Mr. Tatum worked for several other newspapers, including the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and the now-defunct Washington Star in Washington, D.C.

Mr. Tatum was one of the first African Americans to become an Inquirer sportswriter, and wrote more than 4,000 article for the newspaper.

Mr. Tatum retired five years ago. He did so after the sports website Deadspin reported that he appeared to have plagiarized five paragraphs from a fan site and used them in a blog item.

His colleagues recalled him as a versatile beat writer whose main game was hoops.

"Kevin was a great basketball player himself, and he wound up being closely connected with a sport that he loved," recalled Jim Swan, the Inquirer's deputy sports editor. "He spent years on the college basketball beat in a town where that was a premier assignment, covering the game night in and night out. He was able to make a career out of covering a sport that he treasured."

On and off the job, Mr. Tatum was a shy man who nonetheless cherished camaraderie and friendship. "Kevin has a plethora of friends, all of whom I adopted as my own brothers," older sister Joyce Brown said.

With his brother Rodney, Mr. Tatum for 32 years hosted an annual Father's Day picnic in Washington, D.C., where he was born and raised.

"He was just open, welcoming, and had an awesome sense of humor," Brown said. "He never forgot anybody."

Mr. Tatum excelled in sports while attending Taft Junior High School and McKinley High School in Washington. Under the tutelage of his father - an athlete himself - Mr. Tatum first played baseball, but later became a star basketball player and a noted playmaker in high school.

Mr. Tatum studied journalism at Indian River Junior College in Florida and Minot State University in North Dakota.

Attribution: Sofiya Ballin, philly.com
Full article: Kevin Tatum