In sad news from the hockey world, longtime Boston Herald Bruins reporter Steve Harris has died after battling an illness, the paper announced Friday.
Harris first joined the Herald in 1976 and soon established himself as a mainstay on the Bruins beat. According to his bio page, Harris also put in some time covering the Red Sox and worked seven Olympics as well.
Per the Herald, Harris is survived by a wife and two sons.
“Steve was a gentleman first and foremost, but also a man who was dedicated to hockey and to the Herald,” Herald sports editor Sean Leahy said. “It’s a devastating loss for us at the Herald, but our hearts are especially broken for his wife, Kathy, and Steve’s two sons.”
Harris’ most recent Herald byline came less than three weeks ago, on a “midseason report card” for the Bruins.
The NHL public relations twitter account tweeted about Harris on Friday, calling him a “journalistic pillar,” praising his “dogged reporting, deft writing and determination to get the story right.”
Hockey has lost a journalistic pillar, Steve Harris of the @BostonHerald. Steve spent the last four decades serving Boston fans with dogged reporting, deft writing and determination to get the story right.
— NHL Public Relations (@PR_NHL) February 16, 2018
Numerous reporters who worked alongside Harris also mourned him Friday morning.
Sorry to hear about the passing of longtime Boston Herald Bruins writer Steve Harris. Thoughts to his family.
— Ty Anderson (@_TyAnderson) February 16, 2018
The passing of longtime @bostonherald hockey writer Steve Harris is jarring news to those of us who worked alongside him for many years. Do I have a favorite Steve Harris memory? Yes: Watching him watch his son Jack play baseball. My condolences to his family.
— Steve Buckley (@BuckinBoston) February 16, 2018
Sad news on the Bruins beat as longtime Boston Herald hockey scribe Steve Harris has passed away. He was a consummate pro and will be greatly missed by everybody in the Bruins community.
— Joe Haggerty (@HackswithHaggs) February 16, 2018
Steve Harris was not a big talker like many in this business. He quietly went about his job covering the Bruins, He did it well and with great integrity for more than 40 years. My sympathies to his family. https://t.co/p3ucVEO6rD
— . (@dshoalts) February 16, 2018
Steve Harris was a pleasure to have as a colleague. Always kind to everyone, wonderful to have around, not to mention a heck of a journalist. https://t.co/huqvqVzMvy
— Amalie Benjamin (@AmalieBenjamin) February 16, 2018
Our thoughts go out to Harris’ family and friends, as well as to the Herald staff.
About Alex Putterman
Alex is a writer and editor for The Comeback and Awful Announcing. He has written for The Atlantic, VICE Sports, MLB.com, SI.com and more. He is a proud alum of Northwestern University and The Daily Northwestern. You can find him on Twitter @AlexPutterman.