Mr. Zee

A time-out from food and wine to say a few words about Mr. Zee - longtime News Journal sports writer Matt Zabitka, who died last week.

Way back in the day, I occasionally wrote sports stories and would chat about what I was working on with Mr. Zee. (I don't think I ever called him Matt.) He was a kind man who was always encouraging and enthusiastic. Mr. Zee had phone numbers for almost anyone you would ever need to contact - all carefully written on index cards.

You almost never needed to go "check the archives" after talking to Mr. Zee. He knew all the details on local sports figures.

After one of my first "big" features stories in the paper - a piece on the 50th anniversary of the non-defunct Pala's Pizza - Mr. Zee sought me out and was one of the first people in the newsroom to give me a pat on the back. It meant more to me than he would ever know.

At one time in my career, I sat near Mr. Zee and would hear him talking on the phone to athletes. "What's your height and weight" was always part of the conversation - so much so that it's a part of News Journal legend. He always seemed so happy to be writing and talking to people. It was a joy to listen to him and watch him in action in his 70s and 80s - as well as fun to watch him pound out his stories using two fingers to type.

News Journal photographer Fred Comegys said he believes his first assignment as a photographer was going along with Mr. Zee to interview an old-time baseball player. (The photo and story later appeared in Time magazine.)

Tonight, Fred and I said goodbye to Mr. Zee. He was wearing a black suit and red bow tie and had his News Journal press card with him.