Longtime columnist at Tacoma News Tribune reflects on Seattle's sports history



SEATTLE -- For 37 years, his observations enlightened fans about their favorite pro athletes and the games they play.

But Dave Boling, the longtime sports columnist at the Tacoma News Tribune, is moving on. Downsized, he told me.  His last column in the paper runs Sunday, May 26th, 2017.

It seemed fitting to get his take on some of the magical sports moments that shaped his career and our region.

We sat down for an interview in the press box at CenturyLink Field, home of the Seattle Seahawks and Sounders FC.

"There’s a lot of memories," Boling says. "It’s a place of business for me. I couldn’t ever help but getting excited, getting an adrenaline rush on game day.  I knew something exciting was going to happen.”

Respect for the game.

Boling played football for coach Lee Corso at the University of Louisville.  A few years after college, he moved to Coeur d’Alene, Idaho.  While working there as a logger, Boling applied for a job in the sports department in the local newspaper, despite the lousy pay -- “$120 a week,” he says.

For the next 16 years, Boling clawed his way up the newspaper ladder.

After landing in Tacoma in 1996, his first assignment had him hopping a plane to Chicago to cover the Seattle Supersonics against the Bulls in the NBA finals.

“I think I wrote 24 columns in the first 21 days through the finals. It was kind of a golden age of newspapers,” Boling recalls.

He admits he's had a great run after 27 years at the Tacoma News Tribune. But Boling says the newspaper business has radically changed and so must he.

He just finished his second novel titled The Lost History of Stars, set to be released June 6.  So a good time to reflect on a career as columnist that’s brought so much satisfaction.

“What a privilege that is, to be able to connect with people and earn their trust," Boling said. "I’m really proud of that.”