David G. Fay Sr. (March 5, 1940 – July 17, 2007) was an American sports journalist. He was posthumously awarded the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 2007 after dying of cancer. Prior to his death, Fay worked for ''

The Washington Times ''The Washington Times'' is an American conservative daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C., that covers general interest topics with a particular emphasis on national politics. Its broadsheet daily edition is distributed throughout ...

'' covering the

Washington Capitals The Washington Capitals (colloquially known as the Caps) are a professional ice hockey team based in Washington, D.C. The team competes in the National Hockey League (NHL) as a member of the Metropolitan Division in the Eastern Conference, a ...

and

Washington Redskins The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) ...

. In his honor, a charity hockey game was formed to raise funds for

Hockey Fights Cancer Hockey Fights Cancer is a charitable initiative of the US and Canadian National Hockey League (NHL) and the National Hockey League Players Association (NHLPA) dedicated to raising money and awareness toward cancer research. It was founded in 1998 a ...

and the Capitals media dedicated an award in his name.

Early life

Fay was born on March 5, 1940, to parents Leo and Mary Fay and one brother. After graduating from public school, Fay served in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

before beginning his journalism career after an honorably discharge.

Career

In 1961, Warren Times-Mirror hired Fay as a journalist. While working for the Mirror, Fay toured Canada, the

Soviet Union The Soviet Union,. officially the Union of Soviet Socialist Republics. (USSR),. was a List of former transcontinental countries#Since 1700, transcontinental country that spanned much of Eurasia from 1922 to 1991. A flagship communist state, ...

, and other parts of Europe. From there, he worked for various newspapers before joining ''

'' as an assistant sports editor in 1982. However, Fay shortlythereafter began working as the Capitals beat reporter due to a lack of interest from other journalists. Until his death, Fay covered the Capitals for the Times in all but two years. He was named a life member of the

Professional Hockey Writers Association The Professional Hockey Writers Association (PHWA) is a North American professional association for ice hockey journalists writing for newspapers, magazines and websites. The PHWA was founded in 1967 and has approximately 180 voting members. The as ...

and the

Professional Football Writers Association The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve t ...

. In May 2007, the Hockey Hall of Fame announced that Fay was the winner of the 2007 Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award, however, he died of cancer before being able to receive the award.

Personal life and legacy

After his first wife, Mary, died, Fay remarried to Patricia Delaney Fay. At the time of his death, Fay had four sons. In October of the season following his death, the Washington Capitals announced they had donated $10,000 to charity in his honor. In his honor,

Rob Keaton Rob or ROB may refer to: Places * Rob, Velike Lašče, a settlement in Slovenia * Roberts International Airport (IATA code ROB), in Monrovia, Liberia People * Rob (given name), a given name or nickname, e.g., for Robert(o), Robin/Robyn * Rob (s ...

and

Gavin Toner Gavin is a male given name originating from Scotland. It is a variation on the medieval name Gawain, meaning "God send" or "white hawk" (or falcon). Sir Gawain was a knight of King Arthur's Round Table. ''Sir Gawain and the Green Knight'' is an ep ...

began a charity hockey game to raise funds for

. Starting in the 2015–16 season, the Washington Capitals media awarded the Dave Fay Award for a player who best cooperates with the media. The first award was given to Karl Alzner. In the same year, the Capitals honored Fay in their Washington Capitals Media Wall of Fame.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Fay, Dave 2007 deaths 1940 births Deaths from cancer in Maryland Elmer Ferguson Award winners Sportspeople from Boston The Washington Times people Male non-fiction writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers American sports journalists United States Navy sailors Writers from Boston