Remembering alumnus with passion for Western sports

By Hank Daniszewski

He knew everyone who was anyone in amateur sports in the London area, from high school athletics to the Olympics.

A passionate sports reporter, he was also a fan who often wore the green and yellow of his beloved Green Bay Packers and even the Red Devils colours of his old high school, Woodstock Collegiate Institute.

Steve Coad, BA'74, a longtime Free Press reporter and copy editor, is remembered for his dedication to sports in a career that spanned three and a half decades at three Southwestern Ontario newspapers.

Coad died after a brief illness last week at age 64.

He spent most of his career in sports, but had covered education and worked as a copy editor in recent years.

Growing up in Woodstock, he played for the championship Red Devils football team, winning memories and friendships he cherished. He graduated from Western University, was sports editor of the Woodstock Sentinel-Review and a sports editor at the Windsor Star before joining The Free Press in 1984.

Coad was inspired by legendary Free Press sports reporter Bob Gage, who was one of his mentors, said Darwin Semotiuk, former head coach of the Western Mustangs football team.