Former EDN Sports Editor Sam Rickelman Dies

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Published on April 20 2016 1:12 pm
Last Updated on April 20 2016 1:12 pm
Written by Millie Lange

Sam Rickelman (far right) died Tuesday of complications from diabetes. In this photo he was laughing at the National Trail Conference basketball Tournament with Millie Lange and Kurt Becker.

The time has come to truly say goodbye.

It's been 10 years since I heard that booming voice across the newsroom at the Effingham Daily News asking me how my story was coming or telling me to answer the phone or . . . well, whatever he was yelling about that day. Sam Rickelman retired because of health issues in 2006 and I took over as editor of the Daily News sports section. After four years I also moved on, now working and writing sports for Premier Broadcasting.

Tuesday, April 19 that booming voice was silenced as Sam passed away at a hospital in Champaign. His struggles with diabetes finally came to a close but not without a fight. The last several months have been tough on his wife Pat, daughter Cindy and granddaughter MacKenzie. Through it all, there was hope that Sam could beat the problems he's battled for many, many years. But, God always knows best.

My personal thought . . . God took Sam to keep him from seeing the Chicago Cubs go to the World Series this year! Sam was a die-hard St. Louis Cardinals fan and he hated the Cubs. I remember the year the Cubs were making a run. He hardly spoke to me all summer until the Cubs finally took a nose-dive, then he was my best friend again.

How to summarize Sam? He was my boss . . . he was my mentor . . . he was my friend. Sam was the grumpy, cigar-smoking editor you see in the movies. He either loved you or he hated you, there was no in-between with Sam.

When new reporters started at the Daily News, I'm sure they were scared silly of Sam. They tip-toed past his office, worrying that somehow they were going to annoy him. Sam loved you if you worked hard, if you were honest and felt about the newspaper like he did. He took many new reporters under his wing and taught them how life at a newspaper worked and what made up a good story. He always tried to help out with local news, not just sports. He wanted the newspaper to beat out all other competition. He wanted them to be first, especially when it came to a rival newspaper. He always had an innate sense about the news that a person is just born with and he had it in spades.

He would ferret out stories and hand them over to the reporters, helping them along the way. He always had stories on his mind, how to do them, who to talk to and how it would benefit the public. And, when it came to sports, he demanded the very best you could give. Between the two of us, we spent hundreds of hours a week . . . okay maybe not hundreds but it seemed like it sometimes, trying to cover every school and every event we possibly could. He loved the players, "his kids" and he loved the coaches. I can't tell you how many times I heard Sam phone a college coach and talk about a player he knew would be perfect for that college. He got a lot of young people scholarships they probably never knew he had a hand in.

At the time Sam retired we were covering 14 high schools in the area, numerous grade schools, two bowling alleys, kids in college, doing an outdoors page, putting out special sections each time a new season started, typing statistics from the Effingham Park District and on and on. Although all this was overwhelming, Sam would not have thought about dropping anything from our schedule. As he always thought about it, we were giving not only the kids, but also their parents and grandparents something to read about and put in their scrapbooks. We were local and kept it that way, giving our readers stories on people they knew and cared about.

Sam started his quest as a newspaper reporter when he was in high school. Actually, as he told the story, it was Coach Jack Klosterman who led him. Sam was a member of the EHS football team and he kept the statistics a lot. One time Coach Klosterman called his name and Sam said he thought, 'ah, now I get to play.' Actually Klosterman wanted Sam's jersey because another player had blood on his. So, I think that decided Sam's fate towards the newspaper business.

Then editor Frank Dooling took the young man and molded him just as Sam molded me. Sam ended up working at the newspaper for 51 years, unprecedented now when people change jobs about as often as they eat a meal or they're given the heave-ho by companies who could care less about keeping their employees. He started as a carrier delivering the paper in 1955 and worked in the press room before taking on the job as a reporter. During that time he covered tons of sports from horse racing to high school sports and everything in between. Finally, when it began to get way too much for one person to do, they looked my way and asked if I would be interested in becoming a reporter with Sam as my boss. The rest has become history.

He was named to the Illinois Basketball Coaches Association Hall of Fame, just one of many honors he received over the years.

Sam gave up a lot of family time with Pat, Cindy and son Chris to serve the Effingham area. Sam, Pat and I went through the loss of our parents together and then the devastating news their son Chris had cancer and would later die from the disease. That's when I saw that big, gruff man cry. His family was his pride and joy and still are. His granddaughter MacKenzie will graduate from Mattoon High School next month and Sam will be watching I'm sure and beam with pride.

He was the son of Lawrence and Geneva (Field) Rickelman and has a sister Marilee Schutte and brother-in-law Tom.

So, here's to Sam Rickelman, sports editor, St. Louis Cardinals enthusiast, family man and friend. Your journey is complete my friend, but your legacy will live on.

There will be no visitation or services. Private graveside services will be held at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family is requesting donations be made to the Effingham High School Football Moms or the Effingham County Humane Society. Donations may be sent to Bauer Funeral Home.