“He was a man, take him for all in all,

I shall not look upon his like again.”

- Hamlet, Act I, Scene II

Legend. Icon. Giant.

These are titles applied to way too many athletes, entertainers, politicians and others these days. The words are bandied about with such casualness that they tend to lose their awe — inspiring intentions as they are used in today’s lingo. But when you ferret out the real from the unreal, the great from the not — great and the truth from the lie, you can still use these words to describe certain individuals whose worth and accomplishment within society are without comparison.

An individual who truly met the standards of these words passed away a few days ago and in the hoopla of other passings in the last week, this man’s death was not trumpeted or ballyhooed on the internet, the television or the globe, But in the world of sports and sports journalism, his death brought shockwaves.

The man: Ernie Salvatore, longtime sportswriter, sports columnist and Huntington Herald Dispatch sports editor.

This quite, unassuming man who, as a young man, left New England for the hills of West Virginia and the halls of Marshall University and chose to spend the remainder of his life as one of us will leave a void that may never be filled.

To the Marshall fan, Ernie WAS the source for Thundering Herd athletic news. He covered Marshall sports for more than 60 years, first with the Parthenon and then, with the Herald Advertiser and Herald Dispatch. He was the writer who voiced MU fans emotions during the darkest days of the University’s sports history after the crash of the 1970 football team.

To the general sports fan, he was the writer who was just like us...always enjoying everything from boxing to racing and every sport in between. He was opinionated...and didn’t care to share them as he felt necessary.

To journalists, he was one of the last of the old school writers...one who never was afraid to call a spade a spade, speak his mind, counsel and help young journalists and remain an impartial beacon of journalistic integrity in all he said and wrote.

I had the privilege last fall of meeting Ernie when I became sports editor here at WDN. I will never forget the first time I walked into the Ernie Salvatore press box at Joan C. Edwards stadium, walking over to the seat line and realizing I was standing next to the legend, Ernie Salvatore.

Ernie looked over at me and said “New are you?” I said “Yes...first game up here as a new sports editor.” Ernie replied “Enjoy it...these are the greatest jobs in the world.” And with those words, all apprehension left.

Sometimes, you just know when you are in the presence of greatness. That day and each time I saw Ernie Salvatore, I was.

That’s how I see it from the other side of the desk...farewell to Ernie, a true sports icon.