Larry recently was moved over to help with the Herald sports department as it gets ready for the merger, but for four decades, he staffed the sports pages for the afternoon paper.
Larry started at The Herald-Mail in 1965 and became sports editor of The Mail two years later. He was thought to be one of the youngest sports editors in the state at 22 years old.
I looked up some things that occurred in 1965.
Larry would remember:
· Monday, Jan. 4 - President Lyndon B. Johnson proclaims his "Great Society" during his State of the Union address.
· Monday, March 8 - 3,500 Marines arrive in South Vietnam, becoming the first American combat troops in Vietnam.
· Monday, April 13 - Willie Mays becomes the fifth member of the 500 home run club with a home run at the Astrodome in Houston.
· Thursday, Sept. 28 - The 630-foot Gateway Arch is completed in St. Louis.
· Friday, Dec. 10 - The Grateful Dead play their first concert at The Fillmore in San Francisco.
And Larry was at the helm for many memorable sporting events over the years.
In 1966, the Baltimore Orioles won the World Series by beating the Los Angeles Dodgers with the help of Frank Robinson, whom the Birds got in a trade from the Cincinnati Reds. Robinson was called "an old 30" at the time.
The Orioles won it again in 1970, when third baseman Brooks Robinson showed the Big Red Machine that he was "The Human Vacuum Cleaner."
In 1983, the O's took the World Series one more time with the help of a young Cal Ripken, who wasn't even thinking about "The Streak" at the time.
Larry saw our beloved Baltimore Colts slip out of town in the dark of night when Robert Irsay moved the franchise to Indianapolis on March 29, 1984. A sad day in area sports.
Larry also has kept track of many local athletes and has written many profiles over the years, heralding their accomplishments.
But when you think of Larry Yanos, thoroughbred racing at Charles Town Races immediately comes to mind. Larry has been covering horse racing for The Herald-Mail for all of these years, and probably is the most knowledgeable person on the subject in the area. You can bet on it.
Larry also has been the biggest promoter of bowling in Hagerstown, and always has held youth sports in high regard, running team championship photos whenever asked.
To put it bluntly, Larry has been the person who people called to get things published on The Daily Mail sports pages all of these years.
And we salute him at The Herald-Mail.
Tony Mulieri is managing editor of The Daily Mail. He can be reached at 301-733-5131, ext. 7647, or by e-mail at tonym@herald-mail.com.
