St. Mary’s presented the first Mark E. Lee ’80 Sports Award to former Boston Herald school sports editor Danny Ventura. The award is given for longtime commitment to scholastic sports.
Ventura retired last summer after a 39-year sportswriting career. He worked at the Herald for 35 years and directed the high school coverage since 2006. He also covered pro and college sports, but his passion was school sports and it showed in the depth and quality of his work.
The award, which was presented between games of the Mosakowski Tipoff Classic Friday, is named for the former St. Mary’s hockey coach, who won 497 games in a 37-year career behind the Spartans bench.
“Danny V set the standard for high school sports coverage in the Boston media for more than three decades,” said St. Mary’s Athletic Director Jeff Newhall. “At St. Mary’s, we benefit from tremendous local coverage, but Danny also always treated us very well and we are grateful for that.”
