By JORGE ROJAS
Miami Herald

You won't have Ed Storin to kick around anymore after this year's APSE convention in Las Vegas.

Or more accurately, he won't have you to kick around.

"I'm 76 years old, and I believe it's time to retire completely when you're 76 – no matter what Edwin Pope says," said Storin, who has dutifully served as the APSE's arm-twisting secretary/treasurer for nearly 18 of the organization's 32 years of existence. "It can be a tedious job. It's calling a lot of people and badgering them over paying their dues. But it has been a good run. No complaints."

Jack Berninger, sports editor at the Richmond Times-Dispatch, will take over as treasurer after the June 21-24 convention.

Storin says he plans to do "more of the same. More golf. Maybe a little more travel. I'll continue to volunteer as a redcoat at the PGA tournament here (in Hilton Head Island, S.C.)."

Though some younger editors might portray Storin as a little tight on the purse strings, those who know him best say just the opposite. Three former Red Smith Award winners all stopped short of calling Storin cheap, but that might have just been out of fear. Everyone agrees that Storin's nickname of "The Hornet" was well-earned.

Los Angeles Times executive sports editor Bill Dwyre: "All I know is there is a healthy fear in APSE of crossing Ed and spending APSE money foolishly. I've found him to be quite generous and a great friend."

Dave Smith, the first APSE president and former Dallas Morning News sports editor: "Thanks to Eddie we avoided bankruptcy on at least one occasion. The only question is whether Eddie is as tight with his own money as he was with APSE funds. Seriously, Eddie was key in keeping APSE on the right track. Without him the organization would never have grown like it did. On top of which he added the fine touches of journalism to the conventions."

Edwin Pope, legendary Miami Herald columnist: "I never found Eddie to be terribly frugal. I would call him reasonable. He would make his money for the year last a year, in part by not squandering it early. I don't see how APSE could ever have found a better person for that job."

Storin defends his spending policies and any harsh tactics.

"I think I've mellowed," Storin said. "But I am kind of tough. I'm kind of the bad cop. Herb (Stutz) is kind of the good cop. I believe in following the rules. The big fear is that there might be some kind of an audit. We're a non-profit company and they like to audit non-profit companies, so that's why I keep an attic full of receipts that I plan to turn over to Jack Berninger when I retire. I very much believe in fiscal responsibility. This is an organization that has gone bankrupt twice. There were a couple of conventions in the '80s that spent money they didn't have. For those reasons, I'm tough."

Storin was a founding member of APSE in 1974, along with Smith, Earl Cox (the second APSE president), and the late Joe McGuff (the third APSE president). When Storin was promoted to associate managing editor at the Miami Herald, he relinquished his duties as treasurer. He returned as APSE treasurer in 1990 and has guided the organization's finances ever since.

"Most people don't remember this, but when the first APSE convention was held (in 1974), Larry Jinks was assigned by the AP Managing Editors to come check us out to make sure it wasn't a boondoggle. Luckily, Jinks was supportive and went back and said, 'These guys mean business.' That was very important in the initial acceptance of APSE."

Jerry Micco, assistant managing editor at the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette and last year's APSE president, says Storin "got us where we are today. Obviously, Ed was critical in keeping the organization afloat and out of the abyss. His stewardship has been the key for APSE. We're non-profit, so the goal should be to break even every year unless there is an increase in members. But Ed leaves the organization in very good shape. I'm not sure the exact amount, but I know there is a rainy-day fund and we're in excellent shape as far as the money goes. The founding fathers, they saw the dark days. We are seeing good days, thanks largely to Ed."

For Storin, it has been a labor of love. He has nurtured the organization he helped start, and has seen it grow into a success.

"I've had a lot of great memories, a lot of great friendships," Storin said. "I met a lot of great people I wouldn't have met if it weren't for APSE. I believe most people feel that way."

Most people who know and have worked with Storin clearly feel that way about Ed, even if "The Hornet" did sting them every once in a while.

"I never knew any competent staffer to dislike Eddie," Pope said. "He was universally respected, and almost invariably liked. To be sure, it helped if you moved fast, walked fast, talked fast and especially worked fast. Eddie was the best newspaper person I ever worked with, but he was hell on wheels when he got mad. One morning, I came in and he was shouting at me from his office that he was going to quit today, no more fooling around, this was it, etc. etc. Then he got called off to some meeting, and on his way back past my office, he yelled out (and totally serious), 'Dammit, I just don't have time to quit today!' "

Well, Storin has finally found the time to quit. Hopefully, he'll reserve some time to stay closely in touch with the organization he has taken care of so well.

Edwin Pope: "Eddie had no patience with editing mistakes. None at all. He would not hesitate to call an editor at home, rather than waiting for him to come in. Or, if he decided to put his criticism on paper, it would be waiting in the offender's mailbox when he/she arrived. Eddie also was not politically correct. When a staffer outside his office objected to Eddie's cigars (long before no-smoking days), the staffer was told he was welcome to move his desk. And did. He liked photographers for the most part. I remember one, though, of whom Eddie said, 'He shoots great stuff – as long as it's not moving.' "

Herb Stutz: "In his 16-year tenure as APSE's secretary/treasurer, Storin was amazingly consistent, whether dealing with a young, small-paper sports editor or a nationally-known columnist when it came to expenses. The fledgling sports editor, one of 16 APSE brings in each year to help judge the contest, was informed and reminded of a Monday night dinner with his peers and APSE's officers. He didn't show up. Subsequently, he sent Storin his expenses, listing $30 for dinner the night that the group had gotten together for dinner. Storin promptly called the 'youngster' and told him he was deducting the amount from his expenses. In the case of the columnist who was a convention general session panelist, he sent his expenses of over $1,000 to Storin in February of the year following his appearance. Ed called him up saying, the books had been closed on the convention, and he would not be reimbursed for his expenses, obviously feeling APSE needed the money more than the columnist."

Bill Dwyre: "The only quirky thing I can recall about Ed is his tendency to take a putter out 50 yards off the green and use it, rather than chipping. Sorry, if I could think of a way to rip him, I would, but I can't."

Paul Anger: "I had lunch with Edwin Pope and Eddie Storin for 15 years in the Herald cafeteria, and I miss those lunches now more than ever. We laughed a lot, and solved a lot of problems. We never once heard Ed say anything nice about Joe Robbie or the Boston Red Sox managers as he ate what always seemed like French dip and boiled potatoes. He also had a way of cutting through the cobwebs of a topic that seemed complicated. I learned a lot about life and about putting out a great newspaper – and yes, the price of admission was having to relive Boston nightmares like Bill Buckner's error and the bonehead manager who left him in the game.

I just wish we could have had one more lunch – after the Red Sox won the World Series."

• The Herald photo department once had a dart board with Storin's image on it.

• Some editors were having a conversation over beer one night, discussing the worst chewing out they had ever received from Storin. One of them produced a note from Storin he had received several nights before. The note read: "Harvey, it never ceases to amaze me how little you know about your job."

• Not much got past Storin. One night, Pat Putnam (later a Sports Illustrated writer) was the last one in the sports department. He was the one who was supposed to sub in any late-breaking story that occurred between 1 a.m. and 2 a.m. The bells on the wire machines rang long and hard, but Putnam didn't hear them because he was working on his boxing column. Before leaving past 2, Putnam went to clear the machines of copy and to his horror saw that he had missed a Miami athlete who had set a world record in the pole vault on the West Coast. Panicking, Putnam ripped that copy off the machine and tried to hide it, stuffing it behind the wire machine. Somehow, the next morning Storin found the hidden copy and said to Putnam those words nobody wanted to hear: "Gotta minute?"

• One time there was a fairly significant mistake in the sports section. The minute Storin got in, he started calling, trying to track down who had made the mistake. He called two or three people without getting anyone. Then he finally got through to someone and started chewing them out. The person said, "Eddie, I didn't have anything to do with that mistake." Storin replied, "I know, I just needed to yell at someone."

• After a hard night, Storin would go home and have beer and ice cream.

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