Hal McCoy is a former beat writer for the Dayton Daily News (Dayton, Ohio), covering the Cincinnati Reds baseball team. He was honored by the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2002 as the winner of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, which is awarded annually "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing." He has won 52 Ohio and national writing awards and was the first non-Cincinnati newsperson elected to the Cincinnati Journalists Hall of Fame. He also was inducted into the National Sports Media Association Hall of Fame and the Irish-American Baseball Hall of Fame. He has a stone on Dayton's Walk of Fame and the press box at Dayton's Howell Field is named the Hal McCoy Press Box. McCoy has been the Cincinnati BBWAA Chapter Chair 22 times and was the BBWAA national president in 1997. He is the third writer from the Dayton Daily News to win the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, joining Si Burick (1982) and Ritter Collett (1991). Residing in Englewood, Ohio, McCoy is an honors graduate in journalism from Kent State University.
With only two games remaining in the regular season, the University of Dayton Flyers need to win both games to solidify their position as a NCAA tournament mid-level seed and it begins Tuesday night in St. Louis when the Flyers meet the lowly Saint Louis Billikens, who like nothing better to spoil UD's plans.
With second place in the Atlantic 10 conference on the line, two players from the Columbus area were major thorns in the sides of the University of Dayton Flyers, leading Loyola of Chicago to a 77-72 win in Chicago, dropping UD to third place in the A-10 at 12-4. JaVon Bennett (pictured) sat out the second half with a hand injury.
The University of Dayton Flyers scored the first five points of the second half to take an 11-point lead on road at George Mason, only to see the Patriots explode on a 24-2 run that gave them an 11-point lead. The Flyers, though didn't pack their gear and cry in their duffel bags. They went on an 11-point run of their own to tie it, but fell victim down the stretch and fell, 71-67, knocking them down to third place in the Atlantic 10.
It seems as if every team that comes to UD Arena to play the University of Dayton Flyers, they bring their 'A' team and force UD to stave off upsets. Such was the case Saturday afternoon when a forlorn Fordham team put the Flyers to a tough test before UD prevailed, 7-70, their 13th straight win this season in the Arena and 21st win this season.