Robert L. Nold, 78, died unexpectedly Dec. 20, 2009.
inducted into the Akron Baseball Hall of Fame for his contributions in support of amateur sports. Bob was a member of the American Baseball Writers Association and a voting member for the Hall of Fame inductees. He retired from the Akron Beacon Journal in 1996 and during his retirement he enjoyed traveling, spending time with his grandchildren and socializing with friends. He was a member of Woodland United Methodist Church.Mr. Nold is survived by his loving wife of 53 years, Autumn Delight; sons, Robert B. (Donna), Philip C. (Deborah) and Michael J. (Vivien); grandchildren, Brian, Laura, Alyssa, Kimberly, David, Sarah and Anna; and brother, John R. Nold.
A memorial service will be held 1 p.m. Wednesday at Woodland United Methodist Church, with Rev. Debbie Gibbons officiating. Friends may call at the church one hour before services. In lieu of flowers, memorials may be made to Woodland United Methodist Church, 444 N. Hawkins Ave., Akron 44313 or the Special Olympics, 1133 19th St. NW, 12th Floor, Washington, D.C. 20036-3604.
[Beacon Journal, Akron, OH,Tuesday, December 22, 2009, page B5, col. 3]
Bob was one of the good guys. He was quiet, but effective. When Bob got tired of all the traveling, he turned coverage of the Cleveland Indians over to Sheldon Ocker.
ReplyDeleteBob Nold was as solid a pro as you'll find. He was a very knowledgeable baseball man and well respected by those in the game, and by his colleagues on the baseball beat. And as was noted in Bill Lilley's obituary, Bob was a meticulous reporter.
ReplyDeleteBack in the late 1970s, as a young ABJ part-timer, I would occasionally work in the Cleveland Stadium press box, faxing reporters' copy to the newsroom.
Reading over the next page of Bob's copy as the telecopier spun, I would marvel at his detailed description of the action on the field, much of which had escaped my untrained eye.
Later, Bob displayed his fair and accurate brand of reporting on the University of Akron beat, ever mixing in his flair for detail. I still remember a delightful feature Bob wrote on one of the most fascinating and compelling Zips athletes of that or any era, basketball star Joe Jakubick, the one-time NCAA scoring champion whose unorthodox style on the court often defied description. Bob captured it to a T, and also got the quiet Jakubick to open up about himself and his game (Bob also was an excellent interviewer).
For a time Bob also covered amateur tennis and, true to his baseball roots, he conceived a tennis "box score" that summarized all the key match statistics, a concept that was copied by others in the media and now is the industry standard for major tennis coverage. Bob never got much credit for this innovation, but then again, he never sought it.
Toward the end of his ABJ career, Bob was the primary reporter for the weekly Amateur Sports Page, and he approached this job with his usual vigor. Cleveland Indians or West Akron Indians, it didn't matter. Bob was committed to his craft: thorough, fair, accurate. (I honestly don't ever remember a correction running in the paper on a Bob Nold article. When it as "Told by Nold," as his column early in his career was called, you could take it to the bank.)
It was only too bad that Bob retired before the age of the Internet; he would have loved the unlimited news hole, as he forever tried to cram as much news as possible onto the Amateur Page's precious six columns a week.
Bob was also a great person, husband and father, quiet, unassuming, presumably without ego.
It was a privilege to be his colleague.