Veteran sports writer Hanley dies at 64

Updated: March 22, 2011 5:22PM

Everyone's friend among local sportswriters, Reid Hanley, who retired from the Chicago Tribune in 2008 after covering sports for more than 30 years, died early Thursday at Rainbow Hospice in Park Ridge after a nearly two-year battle with lung cancer. He was 64.

A graduate of Mt. Vernon (Iowa) High School and Wichita State, Hanley was inducted into the Illinois Wrestling Hall of Fame in 2007. He was a fixture at the high school state wrestling meet and the Midlands Tournament at Northwestern.

‘‘Reid was a good man and a great guy,'' said Brother Rice wrestling coach Bill Weick, who previously coached at Mount Carmel. ‘‘I was really sorry to hear about his passing. He always wrote things and quoted people correctly.''

Jack Leese, a Hall of Fame football coach and wrestling official wrote in an e-mail that Hanley was ‘‘a fine gentleman who did his best to bring the sport of wrestling to the public.

‘‘Reid Hanley loved all the sports,'' Leese wrote. ‘‘I first remember him in the 1970s as he reported on prep football, and we spoke many times during the season as he reported on the games at East Leyden. Of course, he attended and reported on the state wrestling meet, as well as the Midlands Wrestling Championships. I would also see him at Wrigley Field and would especially walk past his seats in Section 215 on my way up to our seats in the second deck.''

A devoted Cubs fan, Hanley is survived by his wife, Linda Bergstrom, a Tribune editor; a sister, Susan; and three nieces.

A private service will be held in Iowa.

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