by Ed DeRosa

Joe Hirsch, whose talent with a pen was surpassed only by the unwavering respect and admiration he received from his peers and those he covered, died on Friday at St. Luke's Hospital in New York City. He was 80.

Often called the dean of American Turf writers, Hirsch began his Turf writing career in 1948 when a feature on trainer Tommy Root Sr. appeared in The Morning Telegraph. Hirsch joined the Daily Racing Form in 1954 as its Chicago-based reporter and served as the Form’s executive columnist beginning in 1974 until he retired in December 2003.

“This isn’t a hard sport to cover if you don’t mind getting up early.” —Joe Hirsch as told by Bill Nack To read Thoroughbred Times Editor Mark Simon's 2003 column on Joe Hirsch's retirement, click here.  To read more stories about Joe Hirsch, click here.

Echoing Lou Gehrig’s farewell speech at Yankee Stadium, Hirsch wrote in his final column, “I feel I’m the luckiest feller in the world. I fell in love with racing 50 years ago and have had the glorious opportunity of making it my life’s work … and I’ve loved every minute of it.”

Hirsch originated the daily Derby Doings column that appears in Daily Racing Form in the months, weeks, and days leading up to the Kentucky Derby.

“Doing [Derby Doings] now with the resources we have in this era—Internet, e-mail, cell phones, text messaging, voice mail—it’s a lot easier to reach people,” said Daily Racing Form writer Jay Privman. “I have no idea how he did what he did and be able to give it the scope of what he had in the paper every day. It’s just remarkable when you consider the technology he had available compared to today.”

If there were an award for a person who has won the most awards, then Hirsch would surely be at least a finalist. The roster begins at the top with two Eclipse Awards—one for Outstanding Newspaper Writing in 1978 and the Eclipse Award of Merit in ’92—and the Lord Derby Award from the Horse Race Writers of Britain. He is the only person to win both the Eclipse and the Lord Derby Awards.

"He was a great, great man and a racing journalist the likes of which we will never see or read again." —Charles Hayward, NYRA President & CEO, former President & CEO of Daily Racing Form "Joe was a great ambassador for our sport. He had the best interests of horse racing at heart at all times. He was a true student of the game and it was always a privilege to spend time with him." —Ogden Mills Phipps, chairman of The Jockey Club "He was a special guy. I was always flattered whenever he wrote an article about me and quoted me because he always made me sound a lot better in print. He’ll be missed by me, and more importantly, by horse racing." —Shug McGaughey, Hall of Fame trainer For more remembrances of Joe Hirsch, click here.

Many others followed: Big Sport of Turfdom, Jockey Club Medal of Honor, Old Hilltop Award, Thoroughbred Club of America honor guest. Churchill Downs named its new press box after him and the New York Racing Association renamed a Grade 1 race the Joe Hirsch Turf Classic Invitational and named the press box at Saratoga Race Course in honor of Hirsch.

“Joe was the greatest ambassador that the sport of horse racing has ever had,” said seven-time Media Eclipse Award-winning Turf writer Bill Nack. “That was an unofficial duty, and he assumed it everywhere he went whether it was the Dubai World Cup (UAE-G1) or races in Europe or all across America, everywhere he went he was an ambassador for the sport.”

To many, Hirsch was not just the Dean of Turf writers, he was the Turf writers. He founded the National Turf Writers Association and served as its first president in 1959-’60. The NTWA has since bestowed on Hirsch all three of its awards: the Walter Haight Award for career excellence in Turf writing, the Mr. Fitz Award for typifying the spirit of racing, and the Joe Palmer Award for meritorious service to racing.

Much of that service came in the form of mentoring aspiring Turf writers. Any fledgling reporter who worked alongside Hirsch in the stable area or a press box has a story of Hirsch taking him under his wing. Hirsch was quick to share his expertise but slow to split a check. His unwillingness to have others pay for dinner is as legendary as his career.

“Joe Hirsch is an irreplaceable ‘treasure,’ ” wrote Daily Racing Form Publisher Steve Crist in 1998 in celebration of Hirsch’s 50 years as a Turf writer. “He has been the foremost voice of Turf writers for many years and his contributions have been immense. In addition to a wonderful writing style, Joe has always exemplified dignity and integrity within the Thoroughbred community.”

“The Thoroughbred is the most generous of animals and willingly gives everything when asked,” Hirsch wrote in his final column. The same applied to his approach to chronicling what he called the best game in the world.

Hirsch suffered for many years from Parkinson's disease. He fell and broke a hip at his midtown Manhattan apartment last spring and had been living in a long-term care facility before being transferred to St. Luke's earlier in the week.

A funeral service will be held 10 a.m. Sunday at Plaza Jewish Community Chapel, 630 Amsterdam Ave. and 91st St. in Manhattan. In lieu of flowers, donations may be made in honor of Joe Hirsch to the attention of Dr. Thomas Q. Morris at Columbia University Center, Parkinson's Disease research, 630 W. 168th St.

Ed DeRosa is news editor of Thoroughbred Times