Dick Flavin (poet)
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Dick Flavin (December 7, 1936 – December 28, 2022) was an American poet known as the "poet laureate of the
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
", as well the team's public address announcer and a journalist, TV commentator, and playwright.


Life and early career

Flavin was born on December 7, 1936, in Boston and grew up in neighboring Quincy, Mass. He attended Archbishop Williams High School in Braintree, and Stonehill College. He took graduate courses in radio and television at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private research university in New York City. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded by a group of New Yorkers led by then- Secretary of the Treasury Albert Gallatin. In 1832, th ...
. Flavin became the press spokesman for the Massachusetts State Democratic Committee in 1963, and a speechwriter for several Democratic politicians, including
Ted Kennedy Edward Moore Kennedy (February 22, 1932 – August 25, 2009) was an American lawyer and politician who served as a United States senator from Massachusetts for almost 47 years, from 1962 until his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic ...
. He went on to become press secretary for the president of the Massachusetts Senate and, in 1967, for the successful campaign of Kevin White for Mayor of
Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
. In 1970, Flavin left politics for political reporting. He became political editor and reporter for the WNAC-TV in Boston before moving to
WBZ-TV WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, airing programming from the CBS network. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent station WSBK-TV (ch ...
in 1973, where he spent 14 years as a commentator. It was while at WBZ that he was nominated for 14 New England Regional Emmy Awards, winning seven times. In 1987, Flavin left television to spend all his time on the lecture circuit. His work as a broadcaster was honored in 2011 with his induction into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.


Creative work

Flavin's one-man play, ''According to Tip'', was produced at Boston's
New Repertory Theatre The New Repertory Theatre (New Rep) is a Boston-area regional theater A regional theater or resident theater in the United States is a professional or semi-professional theater company that produces its own seasons. The term ''regional theater'' ...
in 2008, starring
Ken Howard Kenneth Joseph Howard Jr. (March 28, 1944 – March 23, 2016) was an American actor. He was known for his roles as Thomas Jefferson in '' 1776'' and as basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the television show '' The Wh ...
. It received generally favorable reviews for capturing both the public and private life of Tip O'Neill, the Democratic speaker of the US House of Representatives. It was awarded “Best New Play of the Year” by the critics and writers that make up the Independent Reviewers of New England. Flavin himself performed in the role on several occasions, and was quoted as saying "It was a challenge to write about, and will be a challenge to portray, such a unique character." In 2001, Flavin took the road trip of a lifetime for a baseball fan when he drove by automobile from Massachusetts to Florida with
Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eigh ...
greats
Dom DiMaggio Dominic Paul DiMaggio (February 12, 1917 – May 8, 2009), nicknamed "The Little Professor", was an American Major League Baseball center fielder. He played his entire 11-year baseball career for the Boston Red Sox (1940–1953). DiMaggio ...
and
Johnny Pesky John Michael Pesky (born John Michael Paveskovich; February 27, 1919 – August 13, 2012), nicknamed "The Needle" and "Mr. Red Sox", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He was a shortstop and third baseman during a ...
to visit with
Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1 ...
, who was gravely ill. In order to justify his presence with three heroes from his boyhood, Flavin rewrote "
Casey at the Bat Casey at the Bat is a poem written in 1888 by Ernest Thayer. Casey at the Bat may also refer to: * ''Casey at the Bat'' (1916 film), a film based on the poem * ''Casey at the Bat'' (1927 film), a film based on the poem * ''Casey at the Bat'', a ...
" and converted it into "Teddy at the Bat", tweaking the poem's plot line so that Ted did not disappoint the fans. Flavin recited it in front of the three old players for what he thought would be the only time, but word of the reconfigured poem got out back in Boston. He was asked to reprise the recitation at Fenway Park several months later at a memorial when Williams died. He has since performed it all over the country, including at the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York, and with the Boston Pops Orchestra at Boston’s Symphony Hall.
David Halberstam David Halberstam (April 10, 1934 April 23, 2007) was an American writer, journalist, and historian, known for his work on the Vietnam War, politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, Korean War, and late ...
, the Pulitzer Prize-winning author, heard about the road trip that Flavin, DiMaggio and Pesky made to see Williams and wrote a book about it, ''The Teammates'', which became the most successful book of Halberstam’s career. Later ESPN produced a documentary based on the book. Narrated by Flavin, it was nominated for a national Emmy award. Flavin was inspired to write more poems about the Red Sox, and was named their '
poet laureate A poet laureate (plural: poets laureate) is a poet officially appointed by a government or conferring institution, typically expected to compose poems for special events and occasions. Albertino Mussato of Padua and Francesco Petrarca (Petrarch ...
', as well as becoming, in 2013, the public address announcer for day games at Fenway Park. He said he got the job because "the guy before me died". He made appearances for the team where he recited his verses, at events like Truck Day. In 2015, he compiled his poems into a book, ''Red Sox Rhymes: Verses and Curses'', which was praised by notable Red Sox fans including
Doris Kearns Goodwin Doris Helen Kearns Goodwin (born January 4, 1943) is an American biographer, historian, former sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of several U.S. presidents, including ''Lyndon Johnson and the American Drea ...
and
Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis (; born November 3, 1933) is an American retired lawyer and politician who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and again from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history a ...
. In a promotional video, Flavin says the book can teach "everything you want to know about the Red Sox, and it does it all in verse." The book appeared on the ''New York Times'' sports bestseller list in August and September 2015.


Death

Flavin died in
Weymouth, Massachusetts ("To Work Is to Conquer") , image_map = Norfolk County Massachusetts incorporated and unincorporated areas Weymouth highlighted.svg , mapsize = 250px , map_caption = Location in Norfolk County in Massa ...
, on December 28, 2022, at the age of 86.


Bibliography

* 2015 ''Red Sox Rhymes: Verses and Curses'' New York: William Morrow ()


References


External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Flavin, Dick 1936 births 2022 deaths 21st-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American poets Stonehill College alumni Writers from Boston Writers from Quincy, Massachusetts Boston Red Sox personnel New York University alumni American political journalists American speechwriters American press secretaries Archbishop Williams High School alumni Massachusetts Democrats