Class of 2010
Ned Frear
Ned Frear, a 2010 inductee to the Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame, covered many members of the county Hall in a career at the Bedford Gazette that spanned 1962 to 2000, including nearly 20 years covering sports. His sports writing took him from the sidelines at Bison Stadium and every field and gym in the county to the championship locker rooms of Pittsburgh.
He covered Bedford wrestling, football and basketball for more than 10 years, and most other sports as well, regularly speaking with now-legendary coaches from around the county, Ed Clark, Royce Waltman, John Keller, Dean McGee, Bill Creps, Dale Batzel, Smoke Andrews, Dan Shaffer, Dick Fisher, and many others.
What made his work stand out, according to the coaches and athletes he covered, wasn't just the breadth of his work but the vivid detail of each piece.
"Nobody wrote feature stories like he did, sports in particular," said John Topper of Hyndman. "The way he described things, he just painted a picture. When I used to see his byline in the paper, I would stop right there. I looked forward to it every week. I could hardly wait to read what he had to say."
"He just had a special gift for the way he dealt with athletes," said Hyndman's Topper, a standout local athlete and coach.
"Two things made his sports writing special," said Royce Waltman, Hall of Fame basketball coach at Bedford. "One, he wasn't just a sports writer, he was a very gifted writer. He had a way of telling the story behind the story, as was evidenced when he moved on to doing other writing, editorials, news articles. Two, he had a real grasp and understanding of Bedford County. He understood the county and the position of high school athletics in the county and the importance of it. Those made him stand out way above any other sports writers."
Coaches recall favorite articles instantly.
Bill Creps, Hall of Fame wrestling coach from Bedford, said, "He wrote one article about Sam Beegle (a Bedford wrestler in the 1960s). The way he described it was just right. He said he was like a bull entering the ring. When Sam wrestled, the fans would just go wild. Ned's articles almost made you feel like you were a part."
John Keller, Hall of Fame basketball coach from Hyndman, said, "I ll always remember one of the articles he wrote when we played Bedford at Bedford. The next day in the paper, he wrote, If you ever wanted to rob a town, last night was the night. There was no one left in Hyndman. They were all in the Bedford gym."
"I loved the way he covered our basketball games. It wasn't just run-of-the-mill sports language. There was a pace to it. He didn't just write the Hyndman score, he was adept at making you visualize the game," Keller continued.
"He was an outstanding sports reporter. There was no one like him around. Never has been another one like him all around the area."
Frear explained, "I love to describe the scenes that I think are important in the game. I think that s just natural with me. I want to do that. That means I have to get good notes at the time. I know it when I see it. I can feel the turnaround. I feel this is going to be the thing, that s what they ll want to read. I ll go into detail on that."
"If Clemente hits a triple, I want to tell you about it. If somebody returns an interception, that's not just Jones brought it back 55 yards, I want to try to describe it: what angle he came from, did he leap, did he swing to the left, did he stiff-arm a guy?"
"That's part of my fun."
The roll call of athletes he interviewed reads like a list of the greatest of the era: Arnold Palmer, Stan Musial, John Brodie, Ben Crenshaw, Johnny Miller, Pete Rose, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Danny Murtaugh, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, L.C. Greenwood, Bob Moose, Bob Robertson, Joe Paterno, Bob Prince, Dave Parker, Chuck Tanner, Al Oliver, Billy Casper, Frank Lucchesi, Sparky Anderson, Dave Giusti.
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Ned Frear, a 2010 inductee to the Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame, covered many members of the county Hall in a career at the Bedford Gazette that spanned 1962 to 2000, including nearly 20 years covering sports. His sports writing took him from the sidelines at Bison Stadium and every field and gym in the county to the championship locker rooms of Pittsburgh.
He covered Bedford wrestling, football and basketball for more than 10 years, and most other sports as well, regularly speaking with now-legendary coaches from around the county, Ed Clark, Royce Waltman, John Keller, Dean McGee, Bill Creps, Dale Batzel, Smoke Andrews, Dan Shaffer, Dick Fisher, and many others.
What made his work stand out, according to the coaches and athletes he covered, wasn't just the breadth of his work but the vivid detail of each piece.
"Nobody wrote feature stories like he did, sports in particular," said John Topper of Hyndman. "The way he described things, he just painted a picture. When I used to see his byline in the paper, I would stop right there. I looked forward to it every week. I could hardly wait to read what he had to say."
"He just had a special gift for the way he dealt with athletes," said Hyndman's Topper, a standout local athlete and coach.
"Two things made his sports writing special," said Royce Waltman, Hall of Fame basketball coach at Bedford. "One, he wasn't just a sports writer, he was a very gifted writer. He had a way of telling the story behind the story, as was evidenced when he moved on to doing other writing, editorials, news articles. Two, he had a real grasp and understanding of Bedford County. He understood the county and the position of high school athletics in the county and the importance of it. Those made him stand out way above any other sports writers."
Coaches recall favorite articles instantly.
Bill Creps, Hall of Fame wrestling coach from Bedford, said, "He wrote one article about Sam Beegle (a Bedford wrestler in the 1960s). The way he described it was just right. He said he was like a bull entering the ring. When Sam wrestled, the fans would just go wild. Ned's articles almost made you feel like you were a part."
John Keller, Hall of Fame basketball coach from Hyndman, said, "I ll always remember one of the articles he wrote when we played Bedford at Bedford. The next day in the paper, he wrote, If you ever wanted to rob a town, last night was the night. There was no one left in Hyndman. They were all in the Bedford gym."
"I loved the way he covered our basketball games. It wasn't just run-of-the-mill sports language. There was a pace to it. He didn't just write the Hyndman score, he was adept at making you visualize the game," Keller continued.
"He was an outstanding sports reporter. There was no one like him around. Never has been another one like him all around the area."
Frear explained, "I love to describe the scenes that I think are important in the game. I think that s just natural with me. I want to do that. That means I have to get good notes at the time. I know it when I see it. I can feel the turnaround. I feel this is going to be the thing, that s what they ll want to read. I ll go into detail on that."
"If Clemente hits a triple, I want to tell you about it. If somebody returns an interception, that's not just Jones brought it back 55 yards, I want to try to describe it: what angle he came from, did he leap, did he swing to the left, did he stiff-arm a guy?"
"That's part of my fun."
The roll call of athletes he interviewed reads like a list of the greatest of the era: Arnold Palmer, Stan Musial, John Brodie, Ben Crenshaw, Johnny Miller, Pete Rose, Bill Mazeroski, Roberto Clemente, Willie Stargell, Danny Murtaugh, Jack Ham, Franco Harris, Terry Bradshaw, L.C. Greenwood, Bob Moose, Bob Robertson, Joe Paterno, Bob Prince, Dave Parker, Chuck Tanner, Al Oliver, Billy Casper, Frank Lucchesi, Sparky Anderson, Dave Giusti.
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Bedford County Sports Hall of Fame
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Bedford County, Pennsylvania
Class of 2010
Class of 2010