Dick Flavin (poet)
   HOME

TheInfoList



OR:

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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
", as well the team's public address announcer and a journalist, television 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 Archbishop Williams High School is a coeducation, co-educational Catholicism, Catholic school in Braintree, Massachusetts, Braintree, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1949 by the Sisters of Charity of Nazareth. Archbishop William ...
in Braintree, and
Stonehill College Stonehill College is a private Catholic college in Easton, Massachusetts, United States. It was founded in 1948 by the Congregation of Holy Cross and is located on the original estate of Frederick Lothrop Ames Jr., with 29 buildings that compl ...
. He took graduate courses in radio and television at
New York University New York University (NYU) is a private university, private research university in New York City, New York, United States. Chartered in 1831 by the New York State Legislature, NYU was founded in 1832 by Albert Gallatin as a Nondenominational ...
. 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 from Massachusetts who served as a member of the United States Senate from 1962 to his death in 2009. A member of the Democratic Party and ...
. 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 is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...
. In 1970, Flavin left politics for political reporting. He became political editor and reporter for the
WNAC-TV WNAC-TV (channel 64), branded Fox Providence, is a television station in Providence, Rhode Island, United States, affiliated with Fox Broadcasting Company, Fox and The CW. It is owned by Mission Broadcasting, which maintains a local marketing ...
in Boston before moving to
WBZ-TV WBZ-TV (channel 4) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, serving as the market's CBS outlet. It is owned and operated by the network's CBS News and Stations division alongside independent WSBK-TV (channel 38). Bo ...
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 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'' (1972) and as high school basketball coach and former Chicago Bulls player Ken Reeves in the televisi ...
. It received generally favorable reviews for capturing both the public and private life of
Tip O'Neill Thomas Phillip "Tip" O'Neill Jr. (December 9, 1912 – January 5, 1994) was an American Democratic Party politician from Massachusetts who served as the 47th speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 1977 to 1987, the third-l ...
, 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) American League East, East Division. Founded in as one of the Ameri ...
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 wa ...
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 in Major League Baseball (MLB). He was a shorts ...
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 193 ...
, who was gravely ill. In order to justify his presence with three heroes from his boyhood, Flavin rewrote "
Casey at the Bat Casey may refer to: Places Antarctica * Casey Station * Casey Range Australia * Casey, Australian Capital Territory * City of Casey, Melbourne * Division of Casey, electoral district for the House of Representatives Canada * Casey, Ontari ...
" 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 The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the year, each with their own set of rules and award categor ...
. Flavin was inspired to write more poems about the Red Sox, and was named their ' poet laureate', 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 journalism, sports journalist, and political commentator. She has written biographies of numerous U.S. presidents. Goodwin's book ''No Ordinary ...
and
Michael Dukakis Michael Stanley Dukakis ( ; born November 3, 1933) is an American politician and lawyer who served as governor of Massachusetts from 1975 to 1979 and from 1983 to 1991. He is the longest-serving governor in Massachusetts history and only the s ...
. 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 Weymouth is a city in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States. It is one of 13 municipalities in the state to have city forms of government while retaining "town of" in their official names. It is named after Weymouth, Dorset, a coastal town ...
, 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 Poets 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