RIP to Legendary Sports Reporter Ted Silary

The legendary Ted Silary has unfortunately passed away:

I am sad to pass word that Ted Silary, a great friend to many, has passed at 72. I owe my career to him. I strongly believe to no one anywhere, at any time, covered high school sports better than Ted. (1 of 2)

— Pat McLoone (@PatMcLoone) May 18, 2023

If you didn’t play football, basketball, or baseball in the PCL or Pub league you missed out on the privilege of being on one of the greatest websites of all time, TedSilary.com. There’s an urban legend that Bill Gates designed the highlighter tool in Microsoft Word just for Ted:

It’s really unbelievable how much of a figure the guy was when he wanted anything but the spotlight. Anyone will tell you over the last 40 years that if Ted pulled up to your game with his silver Canon Powershot, it was showtime:

You jumped a little higher and you ran a little faster because you knew if you had a good game you were getting a write up and a nickname that next morning. Mine was “Kyle ‘PAY-gun, not Puh-GAHN’ Pagan.” Not his greatest, but even Vince McMahon misses sometimes.

One of my favorite things about the site was the team photos. Ted would cram you together in the locker room or a badly-lit hallway and make you take a picture for his site. Here’s the Lansdale Catholic Hoosiers five minutes before they were about to get their doors blown off by Tony Chennault and Neumann-Goretti:

Yea we got to every loose ball that night. Why do you ask?

It was crazy the power Ted had over the area. Everyone wanted to be on one of his lists. You’d wait all year for his list of the “Top-15 players in Southeastern PA.” Dudes would spend hours fighting over these, more than the ones on Rivals.com. Some teams had goals of winning the PCL or state title, but when you played at Lansdale Catholic you were more realistic. All you cared about was making it on Ted’s All-Catholic Team. You wore that like a badge of honor (All-Catholic honorable mention not to brag).

His coverage changed so many lives:

RIP Ted Silary. Ted set the standard for high school sports coverage not just in Philadelphia but nationwide. I know I (and all of CoBL) will forever be inspired by his devotion to his craft and to the high school athletes of the city of Philadelphia. Gone far too soon. https://t.co/w08tVsTiVo

— Josh Verlin (@jmverlin) May 18, 2023

RIP Ted Silary. Always showed me love and voted me and my Pop as one of the best father-son duo’s ever in the city. You will be truly missed OG! #Phillybasketball #PCL 🐐

— Tony Chennault (@TonyChennault_) May 18, 2023

RIP the great Ted Silary. If I’ve talked to 700 Philly hoops people over the years, 500 brought up Ted’s name. Ted was so generous with (post-retirement) ideas. Pre-retirement, he was fiercest of competitors for all us Inquirer folks. He could have covered anything, chose HS’s.

— Mike Jensen (@jensenoffcampus) May 18, 2023

Not sure anyone covered anything the way Ted Silary covered high school sports here.

— Zo (@Tweets_By_Zo) May 18, 2023

What a legend. Having your name appear on Ted Silary dot com was a goal for any high school athlete in the Philly area. Provided a real, necessary service to families and coverage found almost nowhere else. Sad day. https://t.co/gI2JB8v6NT

— Corey Seidman (@CSeidmanNBCS) May 18, 2023

RIP to a Legend, Remember The First Time He Put Me In The Daily News, Couldn’t Wait To Grab The Paper The Next Day …Condolences To The Family 🙏🏽 #TedSilary https://t.co/Ra8D2f67LL

— Shizz Alston Jr (@InternatlShizz) May 18, 2023

I mean “Ted Silary” is trending on Twitter in the United States for God’s sake. Think about that. A guy who covered high school sports in one small area of country is trending nationwide. I hope he knew how much he meant to city.

Ant SanFilippo (worked alongside Ted) and Colin Thompson (PCL-Wood) hopped on Crossing Broadcast where we swapped some of our favorite memories:

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