Legendary Sports Journalist Dies at 88
Bob Hammel, longtime sports editor of the Bloomington Herald-Times, passed away Saturday night. He was 88.
Hammel's sports journalism career spanned five decades, including 40 as a columnist. He also served as the sports editor of the Herald-Times from 1966 to 1996, covering over 1,000 Indiana University football and basketball games, including the entire tenure of legendary head coach Bob Knight.
The Herald-Times first reported news of Hammel's passing, with IU confirming it a short time later.
"Indiana Athletics mourns the loss of Bob Hammel, legendary journalist & member of the IU Athletics Hall of Fame," the Hoosiers announced on social media.
A member of the IU Athletics, Indiana Basketball and Indiana Journalism Halls of Fame, Hammel was a 16-time winner of the Indiana Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association.
In 1995, he won the Curt Gowdy Award, the the highest honor presented to a basketball writer, from the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
"He was the hardest worker I was ever around, he was tireless," said former Herald-Times editor Bob Zaltsberg of Hammel. "He wanted to make sure the kids who were playing the sports got the coverage they deserved. He would work whatever the hours it took to get that done.”
Tributes to Hammel have been pouring in from around the sports world on Sunday.
"The great Bob Hammel: Supremely talented writer, work ethic of a Marine; warm, welcoming, gracious, humble, intelligent & curious man," said Peegs.com editor Jeff Rabjohns. "His presence was a gift to all who knew him, his writing a gift to us all. We were graced by such a gifted writer & kind gentleman."
"They are deeply inadequate, but I tried to put into words not just what Bob Hammel’s friendship meant to me, but what he represented to IU, college basketball and our little corner of the world. He was connective tissue for all of us across generations," added Indy Star's Zach Osterman.
Our prayers and condolences are with Hammel's family during this difficult time. May he rest in peace.