By GENE KEMMETER
of The Gazette
The press box at Goerke Park will bear the name of Don Friday, the longtime sports editor of the Stevens Point Journal.
On Monday, Aug. 19, the Stevens Point Common Council accepted the Board of Park Commissioners recommendation that the press box be named for Friday, who was also a member of the Goerke Park Sports Committee that raised funds for previous renovations.
The press box will be dedicated in his name during the Spud Bowl on Saturday, Sept. 7. Details for that event are still being prepared.
The request to name the press box for Friday came from a number of area residents, including Bill Nuck and Chuck Nason, co-chairmen of the Goerke Park Sports Complex Committee; Tom George, University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point (UW-SP) chancellor; Jack Porter, a friend of Friday's; John "Jack" E. Shannon Jr., an attorney who worked with Friday on American Legion Baseball and the Community Parks Improvement Committee; Terry Owens, athletic director at Pacelli High School; Frank O'Brien, athletic director at UW-SP; and Tom Shafranski, former athletic director at Stevens Point Area Senior High School.
Friday spent a lot of time in press boxes in Stevens Point and elsewhere in the state. He became the sports editor of the Journal in 1960 and retired May 28, 1999. In his retirement, he began writing for The Portage County Gazette, covering UW-SP sports.
Friday did more than report on sports. He served as analyst for Bob Daniels on radio broadcasts of games involving Stevens Point teams on radio station WFHR-AM in Wisconsin Rapids. Friday was also a driving force to have the Bukolt Park press box named in memory of Daniels.
Friday also worked with various community groups to improve local facilities and supported various activities. He was actively involved in the Stevens Point American Legion Baseball program and the Community Parks Improvement Committee. He also played a major role in organizing and creating the Sentry Classic Basketball Tournament.
He served three times as president of the Associated Press Sports Editor Association and in 1998 was presented with the Tom Butler Media Award for the Wisconsin Intercollegiate Athletic Association.
Naming the press box in his honor is just the latest tribute to Friday, who suffered a stroke Feb. 26, 2000, at halftime of a UW-SP men's basketball game and remains paralyzed on his right side. His handicap hasn't stopped him from attending games though, because he's still a familiar figure at area games.
In January the Wisconsin American Legion Baseball program commended and saluted him for his outstanding contribution to that program.
Friday served as an ex-officio adviser to the Wisconsin American Legion Baseball Association Board of Directors, as well as the state public relations officer and a coach on the Post 6 American Legion baseball team in Stevens Point.
He was a major supporter of Wisconsin American Legion Baseball from 1968 to 2000, helping to secure the 1997 Legion's World Series Baseball Tournament at Bukolt Park in Stevens Point. He also helped promote Stevens Point's American Legion Firecracker Baseball Tournament and Bukolt Park as a site for the Legion's Great Lakes Regional Tournament.
The Wisconsin Basketball Coaches Association inducted Friday into its Hall of Fame as a "Friend of Basketball" on Oct. 13 in Madison. He was recognized for the many years he covered basketball games, often riding on the team bus for high school or college competition.
In the spring of 2001 he was honored in a ceremony for his commitment to the community and local sports programs by hundreds at the Stevens Point Holiday Inn. Among the honors he received that day was a bachelor's degree conferred by UW-SP.