There have been a lot of sports media members lost over the past few months, and a surprising one this week was Mark Cook. Cook spent the last decade working for Pewter Report, a long-running independent publication covering the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. He passed away at 50 Thursday. Here’s the site’s post on that:
It is with sad and heavy hearts that we announce the tragic passing of good friend and Pewter Reporter Mark Cook, who passed away on Thursday morning from recent health complications at the age of 50. The entire Pewter Report staff and family is shocked and devastated to learn about Mark’s death.
We at Pewter Report extend our condolences and deepest sympathies to Mark’s son, Douglas, Mark’s girlfriend, Daisey, and Douglas’ mother, Erin and the rest of the Cook family and his many friends and fans from his decade with Pewter Report.
Mark spent 10 amazing years at Pewter Report, working alongside Scott Reynolds, whom he met in the summer of 1994. Over the past decade, Mark truly became a legendary Bucs reporter with his own unique wit, charisma, folksy storytelling style, and knowledge of the Bucs from his youth. It was truly his dream job to cover the Tampa Bay Buccaneers – the team he grew up loving as a Plant City native.
As Rick Stroud relayed in a Tampa Bay Times story on Cook Thursday, many Buccaneers execs (including GM Jason Licht) and players expressed their admiration for Cook and his coverage of the team:
Prayers are with the Cook family and all his loved ones. Mark, you were GREAT man and were always a pure joy to be around. You will be sorely missed by all of us. https://t.co/mSnSy12X6r
— Jason Licht (@jasonrlicht) August 12, 2021
Former Bucs’ players like Gerald McCoy (now with the Raiders) also weighed in:
Man I hate to hear news like today. Us as athletes have our reservations with growing relationships with the media but @MarkCook1970 was one of the real genuine guys in this crazy business. Hate hearing about his passing. Sending love and prayers to his family. ??
— Gerald McCoy (@Geraldini93) August 12, 2021
As did the Bucs’ organization:
Rest in peace, Mark. You’ll always be a part of the Bucs family. ? pic.twitter.com/19ojf7mT9k
— Tampa Bay Buccaneers (@Buccaneers) August 12, 2021
The organization continued their tributes to Cook at their first preseason game Saturday against the Cincinnati Bengals. They left a spot for him in the press box and played a video tribute to him on the scoreboard ahead of the half:
Really nice press box tribute to @PewterReport alum Mark Cook, who passed away earlier this week. #Bucs pic.twitter.com/vnT2ZC6i0f
— Joey Knight (@TBTimes_Bulls) August 14, 2021
Such a thoughtful and touching gesture by the @Buccaneers…paying tribute to @MarkCook1970 on the jumbotron just before halftime. He would have been so moved by all of this… pic.twitter.com/WhamcGjvPf
— JennaLaineESPN (@JennaLaineESPN) August 15, 2021
For more on Cook, Luke Easterling of USA Today‘s BucsWire wrote a thoughtful tribute. Here’s some of that:
Mark Cook knew what it was like to try and cheer on the laughingstock of the NFL for years, and that experience gave an unmistakable flavor to the way he covered the Bucs for the last 10 years.
It didn’t hurt that Mark was an incredible writer who was dedicated to his craft. He could put you in stitches and have you reaching for the Kleenex in the same column. He cared deeply about the human beings he wrote about, and communicated their stories in a way that could easily make you forget you were reading about football.
…Mark was the kind of person everyone should get a chance to work with; a kind and genuine man who left everyone he met better than he found them. He was authentic and hilarious, never missing a chance to elicit a full-hearted laugh in the most creative of ways.
Whether he was throwing his annual Thanksgiving dinner for all of us in the Bucs media room, or shaving his head to raise money for pediatric cancer research, Mark never missed an opportunity to help others.
That full piece is well worth a read. Our thoughts go out to Cook’s family and friends, and to all who were impacted by him and his work.
[BucsWire, Jenna Laine on Twitter]