BUCYRUS (Crawford County Now) — Dan Messerschmidt has covered local sports for nearly four decades and in that time he has written about Hall of Fame athletes and coaches.

Recently, the North Central Ohio Media Group Sports Director became one himself, voted to The Ohio Prep Sports Media Association’s Class of 2026 Hall of Fame.

“It was pretty surreal actually. I never thought in my wildest dreams, when I started doing this 39 years ago, that anything like this would ever happen,” Messerschmidt said. “I joined the then-Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association just because I liked to hob-nob with the other guys and see what was going on. I was in awe of the others who were in it.”

Randy Heath was president of the group then. Ironically, Heath presented Messerschmidt with his plaque at the ceremony during the OHSAA boys state basketball tournament in Dayton last Saturday night.

“It was kind of a lark that I was doing this. I was just a part-timer helping out,” Messerschmidt said.

Dawning of a second career

He started his sportswriting career in the fall of 1987 as a stringer for the Bucyrus Telegraph-Forum and is still writing here 39 years later.

“Don Tudor, who was the T-F sports editor at the time, asked my cousin Rob Jenney, who was the circulation manager at the newspaper, if he knew anybody that wanted to help cover sports,” he recalled.

“I sent him stuff — and he might have thought it was a little goofy — but he gave me my start.”

Messerschmidt won several awards from the OPSMA and was also named the Associated Press Columnist of the Year. He covered sports for the Telegraph-Forum for 30 years while also working in purchasing for a local manufacturer.

“I started out just covering 3 or 4 football games a year and maybe half a dozen basketball games. I kind of became the Buckeye Central beat writer.”

At the time Tudor covered Bucyrus while Dan Clutter handled Wynford and Colonel Crawford high schools.

Building relationships

Messerschmidt knows fans, coaches and alumni at nearly every school in north central Ohio. Nearly four decades of being in gymnasiums and fields delivers familiarity.

“I’ve gotten along with just about all the administrators, who typically are appreciative of our coverage, both at the radio station and back in the old T-F days,” he said.

As an example, current Athletic Director Phil Loy was a player at Buckeye Central shortly before Messerschmidt started writing. He then covered him as basketball coach and now works with him as the AD.

“I covered Buckeye Central so much and got to know the folks up there. For almost 30 years I played pick-up basketball up there.”

In 2017, he transitioned to the NCOMG where he oversees sports coverage for the Crawford County Now website and radio stations WQEL and WBCO.

‘When I first got there, we covered the ‘fringe schools’ as we call them, Mohawk, Upper Sandusky, Seneca East by broadcasting games. As far as covering games and getting details we just didn’t have the staff to do that,” Messerschmidt said.

The late Gary Ogle served as both news director and sports director prior to Messerschmidt joining the station.

“When I came in, James Massara took over news duties, and they split the job up and I took over sports.”

It was Massara who asked Messerschmidt if he knew of “any of his old newspaper buddies” who might want to work here. Tudor was already on board taking photographs. Clutter joined shortly afterward, and another veteran writer came aboard four years ago.

“If I had to do this myself, there is no way that I could stretch myself that thin.”

Fond memories

“My first game was a football game that I covered. Don kind of negotiated with me. He knew I was a Bucyrus fan. He said if you’ll cover Colonel Crawford at Elgin this week, I’ll give you Bucyrus at Galion next week.”

At the time Brian Seybert, now the Lady Red basketball coach, was the quarterback for Colonel Crawford.

“It kind of comes full circle sometimes,” Messerschmidt said. “I was kidding with Doug Ute, who is the executive director of the OHSAA, that he was the basketball coach at Buckeye Central back in my formative years. I covered his first basketball game as a coach over at Tiffin Calvert.”

Messerschmidt bought into the philosophy that small communities support high school sports. As a result, coverage of these schools has expanded.

Corporate support at various media companies often wanes when budgets need trimmed. That’s not been the case at NCOMG and its parent company, Saga Communications.

“When Wayne Leland, chief financial officer, comes down to visit the station, he looks at me and says, ‘I don’t know how you do this with sports. But keep doing it.'”

The secret sauce is building a network of writers and photographers, who don’t mind working nights and weekends.

“Amazing as it seems, we have four people available to take photos for us. Maria Winemiller, Tim Klontz, Don Tudor and Gorman Garland. All are good photographers,” Messerschmidt said.

Readers notice the effort, as does his boss.

“Since Dan started at North Central Ohio Media Group, he has been a joy to work with. His dedication to going above and beyond — especially in supporting and covering local sports —does not go unnoticed,” said General Manager Claudia Spiegel.

“I feel incredibly blessed and thankful to work beside him.”

Challenges await

The work involves long hours, including post-game duties.

“A lot of times people say to me, we’re going up to Baker’s after a game. I can’t go. I’d love to, but I have to go home and get things ready that night (maybe 2 a.m.) and the rest the next morning.”

That includes posting photo galleries, inputting box scores, writing and editing copy for CrawfordCountyNow.com.

In 2020 a pandemic hit the nation — and local high school sports weren’t exempt.

“Covid hit and Colonel Crawford was in the basketball regional semifinal. Unfortunately, they got beat that night. But so did everyone else because that was the end of it.

“There were a limited number of fans allowed into the Stroh Center at Bowling Green. It was very, very strange to see a game of that magnitude with hardly anybody there. We almost had as much press there as we had fans,” Messerschmidt said.

He also recalled covering the Lady Eagles basketball team when they played at St. John Arena in Columbus.

“That was kind of neat because I had been there for Ohio State games, but never for a high school game. Kyle Fenner’s team was down there.

“And regional games with Buckeye Central girls a few years ago over to Massillon Perry. We’ve had Wynford teams, Mohawk softball last year and Seneca East basketball this year.”

Changes in technology means teams no longer fax box scores to local media outlets. Most coaches use digital platforms to post their results.

“I tell all the ADs, whatever the sports season, to tell their coaches to email their box scores. I’ll make every effort to get them in. Some do it religiously and others are occasional.”

Bucyrus roots

Messerschmidt is a proud 1969 graduate of Bucyrus High School. His sportswriting career has afforded him many opportunities to cover his alma mater.

“I do consider it to be a privilege. It’s not about getting into the games free. It’s bittersweet in the case of Bucyrus.”

His granddaughter Maci, a freshman athlete at Bucyrus, represents the fifth generation to attend the school.

“We’ve been around for a hundred years in the system.”

Messerschmidt has covered his son Zac, as well as Maci, in several sports.

He covered the hoops team in 2002-2003 that featured Joey Clime.

“That was an exciting time for me. They shared the NCC championship and that was the first one since 1968, when I was a junior in high school,” he said.

Despite his allegiance to BHS, Messerschmidt understands his role.

“I’m an observer, not a fan. Don told me when I first started, ‘You can’t be a fan when you’re at the scorer’s table. You’re now a journalist.'”

Birth of The Box Score Editor

His love of numbers gave Messerschmidt another purpose. Back in the T-F days he would often cover a game and then spend the rest of the night rounding up scores and statistics from games that the paper hadn’t covered with a writer.

Messerschmidt often exchanged information with the Daily Chief-Union and the (Tiffin) Advertiser-Tribune. But calls to the Toledo Blade, Findlay Courier, Mansfield News Journal and other papers were commonplace in his quest for information.

“That gave our other guys more time to write. We exchanged information with them, and it helped all of the papers,” he noted.

“It’s labor intensive, but it gets kids’ names in there.”

Nearly four decades

“When you look back, I think about some of the players and games … Wow, that was 10 years ago, 15 years ago, 20 years ago,” Messerschmidt said. “I just enjoy the games, particularly basketball. That’s my passion, but I like football as well.

“My granddaughter plays softball and basketball. So that’s extra motivation.”

His enthusiasm is as strong as ever, despite the effects of aging.

“As you get older you kind of slow down. It gets a little harder to get into some press boxes. But I’ll do it as long as I’m physically able. I’ve got at least three more years with Maci being a freshman.”

Coaches outside the region often marvel at the coverage Crawford County and surrounding schools receive, he said.

“We know sports coverage drives people to our sites and everything is free. No paywalls to impede the readership,” Messerschmidt said. “You can be at the game live and go home and listen to it online under podcasts.”

His commitment to high school sports truly is unmatched.

“We’ve traveled to a lot of different gyms and ball diamonds around the state. I learned a lot from Rob McCurdy, who was sharp as a young guy and is sharp now.”

Helping young writers along like Jake Furr, who began at the T-F and is now at the News Journal, also is rewarding.

“Randy Heath told me when he presented me the OPSMA plaque that, ‘You helped keep us going.’ We went to the annual meetings and for a while it got lean. But Tom Metters, Odie O’Donnell, Hobart Wilson, Dick Zunt. I read them and those guys are legends.”

Now the man known to some as “Schmidt” has joined that elite writers’ club.

“It’s been a great run. We’ve evolved and now we write game stories with less play-by-play and more perspective.”

The paycheck has improved from 1987.

“My first year we got $10 for a game in Bucyrus, $12 for one in the county, and $15 if I went out of the county. And you’re working 5 or 6 hours,” he said.

“I credit the people who read our stuff. If they weren’t reading, it would just be into the wind. I’m thankful for those communities.”

Messerschmidt said he’s “grateful for the support from my late wife Sherry for her tolerance” as he traveled to various venues.