Danny Ventura, the longtime face of Massachusetts high school sports coverage who spent over three decades working for the Herald, died Tuesday night following a battle with cancer at age 66.
Ventura was revered for his tenacious work ethic, encyclopedic knowledge, clever wit and passion to put student-athletes in the spotlight, and the news of his passing produced an outpouring of mourning from the high school sports community.
“It’s a sad day for high school sports in Massachusetts,” said renowned Catholic Memorial football coach John DiBiaso, who was first introduced to Ventura when he coached at Weston in the 1980s.
Ventura, who was raised in Brighton and became affectionately known by coaches, players and readers as Danny V, worked in the industry for over 40 years and spent 35 of them with the Herald. He got his start with the Dedham Transcript in 1986 before joining the Herald in 1990.
It didn’t take long for Ventura to become intertwined with the identity of the Herald as his weekly Sweet 16 football rankings, which began in 1993, was a must-read item for players and coaches along with his Thursday pickorama column.
In 2006, he succeeded Jim Clark as the Herald’s high school sports editor and his work became a staple in the sports section. He worked tirelessly, whether it was tracking down every score from Friday night football games, compiling box scores on Thanksgiving or writing out the state tournament pairings for all sports, in an effort to bring maximum exposure to high school athletics.
Ventura was widely recognized for his impeccable coverage and received awards from five Massachusetts state coaches associations (football, baseball, basketball, wrestling and swimming).
“Danny V is forever part of the history of the Herald,” said Joe Dwinell, the Herald’s executive editor. “His work ethic inspired us all and we will never forget all he taught us on how to dig for the stories that matter to our readers.”
It was only last July that Ventura retired from the Herald, and he spent most of his time in the Florida sunshine with his beloved wife, Carla. Ventura kept his cancer diagnosis quiet, consistent with his humble personality of never making anything about himself.
It’s how he approached his job day in and day out and it brought widespread respect from his peers and the coaches he covered.
It was fitting that one of the last pieces of Ventura’s for the Herald was putting together the complete high school football schedule, an utterly meticulous and time-consuming task. Ventura accounted for every single Eastern Mass. team across eight divisions along with the Independent School League, with dates and times of each game, a thankless assignment that was truly a masterpiece.
“He covered high school sports like no one else,” DiBiaso said. “It was just so refreshing and so many people followed him, and couldn’t wait to read what he was saying. …. I don’t envy anybody that’s trying to walk in his shadow. He was just a great guy. Kids loved him, coaches loved him. I never heard anyone say a bad word about him.”
Ventura’s larger-than-life presence and infectious personality filled football stadiums, basketball courts and ball fields across the state, signaling to those in attendance the high magnitude of the game.
He was a welcomed sight along the sideline for coaches, causing them to light up. He always seemed to be on the phone talking to a coach as well with the ability to turn a quick chat into an hour-long conversation. That’s where he showcased his institutional knowledge of the high school sports scene and recalled a plethora of game highlights, star players and all-time records that had long left the public’s consciousness.
BC High boys basketball coach Bill Loughnane, who has well over 500 career wins, remembered Ventura showing up an hour before tip-off for some games early in his career at South Boston and the two would chat in his office about the going-ons in high school sports, and there was nobody better to do that with than Ventura.
“He was a real friend to coaches,” Loughnane said. “He was a great sounding board. He had a lot of knowledge on sports, especially the landscape of high school sports in Boston. When you had questions on things, you always knew where you could go to ask, and he was always there to talk, to pick up the phone for you.”
Ventura’s longevity was something to marvel at, and it’s wasn’t lost on Xaverian football coach Al Fornaro, who also knew him since the 1980s. Fornaro always appreciated how Ventura went above and beyond behind the scenes to highlight the accomplishments of student-athletes.
“It wasn’t just about what’s the final score, who scored the goal,” Fornaro said. “He brought a lot more into his stories than that.”
Ventura also covered Celtics NBA Finals as well as Patriots Super Bowls alongside former Herald columnist Karen Guregian, who called Ventura a “brother” figure in her life. But whatever lure those grand spectacles might have presented to cover professionals on a full-time basis, Ventura stayed true to himself.
“His love, I think, was taking care of the high schools,” Guregian said. “He made his imprint, and it was a large imprint, there in that venue.”
He also made his imprint on scores of young reporters looking to make a jump into the industry by overseeing a staff of writers. To be known as a Danny V guy was a badge of honor as they looked to fulfill the exceptional standard set by him.
Ventura would always go to bat for his staff, too, and never looked for any repayment for it.
“Danny’s impact on all of us can’t even be put into words,” said Jack Murray, who succeeded Ventura as the Herald’s high school sports editor. “He built this section into the powerhouse it is and was the undeniable face of high school sports in Massachusetts. He took a chance on all of us and gave us a place in this industry.”
Ventura said when he retired he just wanted to “give an honest day’s work.” He did more than that, creating a lasting legacy that is immeasurable. He helped put high school sports coverage on the map and made sure there was a place for it in a city dominated by professional sports.
To the end, there was nobody who did the job like Ventura.
“He was so dedicated to his job and the high schools,” Guregian said. “His work and what he did for high school sports I think is unparalleled and unmatched. He’s like the GOAT of high school sports editors because he cared so much.”
