Last week, I, along with other local sports writers and media members, lost a colleague.
Gary Ogle, who spent over 20 years in Crawford County sports and news media, passed away in North Carolina at 65.
Gary came to the Telegraph-Forum as a sports stringer sometime in the early-to-mid 1990s, where I was stringing sports. He had a bent for writing and was born to be a sportswriter.
When Rob McCurdy left the T-F in 1998 for the Mansfield News Journal, Gary was the obvious replacement if he was willing to give up his previous occupation of insurance and investments. He was and the community benefited. Gary became a giant in local media.
After a decade at the T-F, broadcast media beckoned in 2008 and with the newspaper business heading into its current state of flux, Gary was ready for a change. He began a nine-year career at WQEL as the news director and eventually expanded to sports as well.
Gary delivered the daily news on the half-hour as had previous WQEL/WBCO news directors. But his legacy with the North Central Ohio Media Group was in the major part he played in the development of Crawford County Now, the online news and sports forum that has become ultra successful.
Growing up in Leesville, Gary was immersed in sports from an early age. I was privileged to hear the stories of his exploits on the baseball sandlots of Leesville, with a little football mixed in.
His love of sports carried over to his athletic career at Colonel Crawford High School, from which he graduated in 1975. Gary played football, basketball, and baseball, and ran cross country and track. He went on to Malone College, where he played baseball and soccer.
Upon graduation from college, Gary married the love of his life, Sandy Hepner — both of whom attended Malone. They began married life in Canton before returning to Bucyrus to start their family.
Sandy and Gary had two daughters — Anna and Becky — who both followed dad’s footsteps in graduating from Colonel Crawford High, which was walking distance down Route 602 from their home in North Robinson.
While Gary supported his daughters in their sports endeavors — primarily swimming — and had a soft spot in his heart for his alma mater, as a sportswriter, he covered all local teams fairly and professionally, never allowing his personal feelings to color his coverage.
At the T-F, Gary took the job seriously. After taking the full-time position, he became the coordinator of the sports department, working with the other full-time writer, Dan Clutter.
As a stringer, and especially when Gary brought me on as a part-timer, I was never in the dark as to what my assignments were. He would lay out the schedule a month at a time during peak prep sports coverage (August-May) on a calendar that he had affixed to the wall behind his desk.
On Friday nights especially, he oversaw the sports part of the zoo that was the newsroom. Making print deadline for the Saturday morning edition became increasingly difficult as the years progressed. But Gary managed, working to 1 a.m. and beyond to finish the task.
After transitioning to the radio station, he took on news with the same vigor he had for sports. In addition, he expanded sports coverage with the aid of his new tool, Crawford County Now, and eventually became both news and sports director. Knowing now what both jobs involve — I only have sports — I have no comprehension as to how he managed both.
His daughters eventually moved to North Carolina to teach and start their families. Gary was first and foremost a family man and being separated from his daughters and the grandkids became too much for him, so he left his beloved Crawford County for North Carolina as well (which created the opening for me to become part of the radio family, at Gary’s suggestion).
While journalism was not his main source of income down south, Gary was able to jump in and write sports part-time for the Hickory Daily Record, maintaining his connection to the sports world. His other work included, fittingly, a job in a sporting goods store.
Gary was widely recognized as an accomplished journalist, particularly by his peers. He was named writer of the year by the Ohio Prep Sports Writers Association multiple times. He had a good working relationship with other media outlets and those who worked with him and for him on a weekly basis.
Besides Sandy, his wife of almost 45 years, Gary leaves behind his mother Carolyn, his daughters, grandchildren, and his brother, Steve. We can only offer our condolences.
Gary will be buried Saturday in North Carolina, but he will live on in the memories of those who knew and worked with him.
We will miss you, Gary.