Andrew William O'Brien (February 11, 1910April 19, 1987) was a Canadian sports journalist. O'Brien spent 42 years covering sports for the ''

Montreal Standard The ''Montreal Standard'', later known as ''The Standard'', was a national weekly pictorial newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, founded by Hugh Graham. It operated from 1905 to 1951. History The Standard began publishing in 1905 as a Saturda ...

'', the ''

Montreal Star ''The Montreal Star'' was an English-language Canadian newspaper published in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. It closed in 1979 in the wake of an eight-month pressmen's strike. It was Canada's largest newspaper until the 1950s and remained the dominan ...

'', and ''

Weekend Magazine ''Weekend Magazine'' was a long-running television show, shown by the Australian Broadcasting Corporation. Its original producer was Rex Clayton, with subsequent producers including Ivan Chapman. This short format show was typically filmed by t ...

'', during which he covered 12

Olympic Games The modern Olympic Games or Olympics (french: link=no, Jeux olympiques) are the leading international sporting events featuring summer and winter sports competitions in which thousands of athletes from around the world participate in a var ...

, six

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games, often referred to as the Friendly Games or simply the Comm Games, are a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations. The event was first held in 1930, and, with the exce ...

, 45

Stanley Cups The Stanley Cup (french: La Coupe Stanley) is the championship trophy awarded annually to the National Hockey League (NHL) playoff champion. It is the oldest existing trophy to be awarded to a professional sports franchise in North America, an ...

, and 31

Grey Cups The Grey Cup (french: Coupe Grey) is both the championship game of the Canadian Football League (CFL) and the trophy awarded to the victorious team playing in the namesake championship of professional Canadian football. The game is contested be ...

Early life

O'Brien was born in Renfrew, Ontario, on February 11, 1910, to a major league hockey trainer father. When his family moved to Montreal for his father's job, he worked as a stick boy for the Montreal Maroons during their 1926 Stanley Cup run and the Montreal Maroons Professional Lacrosse Club. O'Brien attended Loyola College, where he played on the football and heavyweight boxing teams. When he graduated with a

Bachelor of Arts Bachelor of arts (BA or AB; from the Latin ', ', or ') is a bachelor's degree awarded for an undergraduate program in the arts, or, in some cases, other disciplines. A Bachelor of Arts degree course is generally completed in three or four years ...

degree in 1931, Canada was in the midst of the

Great Depression The Great Depression (19291939) was an economic shock that impacted most countries across the world. It was a period of economic depression that became evident after a major fall in stock prices in the United States. The economic contagio ...

and the only work he could find was at

Eaton's The T. Eaton Company Limited, later known as Eaton's, was a Canadian department store chain that was once the largest in the country. It was founded in 1869 in Toronto by Timothy Eaton, an immigrant from what is now Northern Ireland. Eaton's grew ...

selling hats.

Career

While working at Eaton's department store, O'Brien came in contact with sports editor Jimmy McDonagh, who hired him to cover amateur baseball games for the ''

''. During his first game, a riot broke out over an umpire's call, and O'Brien's coverage of the event appeared on the front page of the paper the following day. As a result, the ''Montreal Standard'' hired O'Brien as one of their full-time reporters by the following week. As a sports editor for the ''Standard'', covering hockey, O'Brien was sued by

Detroit Red Wings The Detroit Red Wings (colloquially referred to as the Wings) are a professional ice hockey team based in Detroit. The Red Wings compete in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Atlantic Division (NHL), Atlantic Division in the East ...

defenceman Jack Stewart for libel after calling him a "ruffian". While working for the ''Montreal Star'', O'Brien was sent to cover the

1954 British Empire and Commonwealth Games Events January * January 1 – The Soviet Union ceases to demand war reparations from West Germany. * January 3 – The Italian broadcaster RAI officially begins transmitting. * January 7 – Georgetown-IBM experiment: The fi ...

, specifically the "Miracle Mile" between

Roger Bannister Sir Roger Gilbert Bannister (23 March 1929 – 3 March 2018) was an English neurologist and middle-distance athlete who ran the first sub-4-minute mile. At the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki, Bannister set a British record in the 1500 metres and ...

and John Landy. Prior to the event, Landy cut the sole of his right foot stepping on a broken beer bottle while showering, or stepping on and breaking a discarded photographer's glass flash bulb leaving the shower or while walking outdoors, but kept the injury hidden. O'Brien discovered the injury and subsequent stitches after the athlete admitted him to his guarded room, before he competed. O'Brien saw blood where Landy, lying covered with a blanket on a cot, had walked. Landy swore him to secrecy for fear of it coming off as an alibi, and then showed O'Brien the stitched wound. After Landy's loss to Bannister, O'Brien broke the story while also apologizing to Landy for spreading the news. His story was later confirmed by the doctor who had treated Landy, but the manager of the Australian team called the reports "pure bunk". Landy refused to communicate with O'Brien when the two met again at the Melbourne 1956 Olympic Games, although Landy later invited O'Brien and his wife to dinner in 1976 during the Montreal Olympic Games. Neither discussed the 1954 incident at the meal. O'Brien spent 42 years covering sports for the ''Montreal Standard'', the ''Montreal Star'', and ''Weekend Magazine'', during which he covered 12 Olympic Games, six Commonwealth Games, 45 Stanley Cups, and 31 Grey Cups. O'Brien was inducted into the Football Reporters of Canada section of the

Canadian Football Hall of Fame The Canadian Football Hall of Fame (CFHOF) is a not-for-profit corporation, located in Hamilton, Ontario, that celebrates great achievements in Canadian football. It is maintained by the Canadian Football League (CFL). It includes displays about t ...

in 1980. In 1985, he was awarded the

Hockey Hall of Fame , logo = Hockey Hall of Fame Logo.svg , logo_upright = 0.5 , image = Hockey Hall of Fame, Toronto.jpg , caption = The Hall's present location on Yonge Street since 1992 , map_type = , former_name = , established = 1943 , location = 30 Y ...

's Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, given "in recognition of distinguished members of the newspaper profession whose words have brought honour to journalism and to hockey." He eventually died on April 19, 1987, due to illness.

Selected publications

The following is a list of selected publications: *''Rocket Richard'' (1961) *''Headline hockey'' (1963) *''Les Canadiens. The story of the Montreal Canadiens'' (1967) *''Hockey wingman: a novel'' (1967) *''Fire-wagon hockey; the story of Montreal Canadiens'' (1967) *''Young hockey champions'' (1969) *''The Jacques Plante story'' (1972) *''Superstars; hockey's greatest players'' (1973)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Obrien, Andy 1910 births 1987 deaths Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award recipients Canadian sports journalists Canadian sportswriters People from Renfrew County