The late Chuck Ridenour elected to Hall of Fame
The 2024 induction class into the Ohio Prep Sportswriters Association includes the late Chuck Ridenour from the Shelby Daily Globe, the association announced Tuesday.
Ridenour was a 40-year veteran of the Shelby Daily Globe and was loved by the Shelby community for his tireless dedication to local sports coverage, from T-ball and YMCA sports to Shelby High School competing for state championships. He devoted his life to promoting kids and telling their stories through sports.
Ridenour was a newspaper delivery boy for the Daily Globe when he was growing up. He then worked in the composing room during the summers for five years before becoming sports editor at the newspaper in April of 1981.
He was honored with the OHSAA Media Service Award in 2020 and the Charles C.W. Williams Sixth Man Award by the Shelby basketball team 2017.
Ridenour passed away on Dec. 23, 2022, after a battle with various health issues. He was 61.
The OPSWA Hall of Fame induction ceremony will take place during the OHSAA boys basketball state tournament at the University of Dayton Arena on Sunday, March 24, during the 5:15 p.m. game. They will join 73 sports writing greats previously enshrined in the OPSWA Hall of Fame.
His family, including wife, Pam, and children, Charlie and Brooke, will accept Chuck’s Hall of Fame plaque during a ceremony, a news release stated.
The 2024 induction class into the OPSWA Hall of Fame also includes Rick Cassano from Southwest Ohio Sports Daily.
Cassano started covering sports for his local newspaper when he was a high school senior more than 40 years ago. He was part of the Southwest District football and basketball all-district panel for many years and served as district chairman.
Cassano has won numerous OPSWA writing awards and has been named Writer of the Year three times. He graduated from Badin High School in Hamilton in 1982 and played football and baseball for the Rams, kicking a field goal in the 1980 Division III state championship football game.
Cassano earned a journalism degree from Ohio University in 1986, then worked for 14 months at the Watertown (N.Y.) Daily Times, covering high schools, colleges and a Mike Tyson boxing match.
He returned home to work for
the Hamilton Journalnews in 1987, focusing on high school sports while also contributing to Miami University coverage, including NCAA Tournament events in basketball and hockey.
He stayed with the Journalnews, which was purchased by Cox Media, until June of 2019, when he founded the Southwest Ohio Sports Daily website that covers high school sports in Butler and Warren counties. Cassano was inducted into the Badin High School Athletic Hall of Fame in 2016.
In addition, the OPSWA will present a Media Service Award to Gary Baumgartner, who has coordinated statewide tournament data for several sports at Baumspage.com since 1999.