Philadelphia News' longtime 76ers beat writer Phil Jasner died Friday from complications due to cancer at the age of 68. Jasner, a Daily News employee since 1972 and full-time Sixers beat writer since 1981, is remembered fondly by Philly sports fans who have followed the team, and his articles, for years.
Longtime Sixers Beat Writer Phil Jasner Remembered Fondly
A lifelong Philadelphian, Jasner attended Temple University where he first plied his trade as a color commentator for Owl basketball as well as a reporter for the Temple News.
Fellow News writer Rich Hoffman penned an eloquent obituary for the paper. In it, those of us who are not from Philadelphia get to understand what kind of a reporter, and man, Jasner was.
The stories about Jasner’s work ethic are legend around the Daily News. The number of times he called in with the offer of one more sidebar story are beyond calculation. Thousands of his bylines filled the pages of the newspaper over 38 years, as did his humor and a variety of column head shots, all of them dominated by a full head of curly hair.
Thirty-eight years. As Daily News editor Michael Days said: “Phil really gave us a blueprint on how to live a rich life, how to have a magnificent career. He was a smart, elegant man who cared deeply about this paper and his colleagues. His passion and his distinctive reporting and writing on the Sixers and the NBA brought him many accolades, and each one was richly deserved.
“To be honest, I’m having a very difficult time imagining this place without him,” Days said.
Do yourself a favor and read the entire article.
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