Late last week, nationally-respected sports columnist Dave Perkins penned his last-ever column for the Toronto Star, titled 'This is the business for me.'
In his final column, Perkins, a friend of the Canadian horse-racing industry that has covered no less than 10 Olympics over the course of his career, modestly opted to shift the spotlight to others instead of taking center stage. Instead of waxing poetic about himself and his stellar career in the Canadian sports journalism scene, Perkins paid homage to those that provided him with his early breaks in what would turn out to be a four-decade career.
In his column, Perkins spoke about the story angle he had pitched to Toronto papers in 1973. Before he knew it, one of the dailies gave him a shot, and Perkins, 20 years of age at the time, found himself interviewing hurler Dave Pagan, a native of Saskatchewan, in the hallowed confines of the original Yankee Stadium.
"The credit, or the blame, if you’re leaning that way, for this career would go to a hard-throwing right-handed pitcher from Nipawin, Sask., named Dave Pagan," Perkins wrote last week.
Perkins reminisced further about the Yankee Stadium experience, stating how an eager, yet green 20-year-old somehow found himself accompanied by the great Whitey Ford and baseball icon Yogi Berra.
“This,” Perkins thought to himself, “is the business for me. It looks like fun.’
To read Perkins' final Toronto Star column in its entirety, click here.
(With files from the Toronto Star)
