Suffolk

At any level, the purpose of sport journalism is to connect athletes and teams to their audience, and that is exactly what Maureen Pirone did in her stellar, four-year career at the Suffolk Journal. 

Pirone was a true trailblazer in sports journalism at Suffolk. Not just because she was a female sports writer in a profession largely dominated by men, but because her name was synonymous with coverage of Suffolk University Athletics from the fall of 1985 through the spring of 1989, serving as Sports Editor for the final three years. 

Of the 55-plus Suffolk Journal editions logged in the Suffolk University archives in that span, Pirone is featured in every edition. Not only that, but she has multiple bylines in every paper, routinely numbering three to five stories per publication. In fact, in the January 25, 1988 tabloid, she had an astounding nine articles that included a feature spot on the great Ellen Crotty Pistroino, a member of the inaugural Hall of Fame Class, who at the time, had just joined the 1,000-point club.

Throughout her tenure, Pirone had the chance to cover Suffolk Hall of Famers Coach Joe Walsh (2009), Brian Horan (2009), Brian Gruning (2009), Kelly (Harney) Morris (2017) and Rick Piracini (2018), as well as fellow 2022 inductee AnnChristine Kruse.  

Pirone took her role seriously and never once “mailed it in.” She delivered the highest of journalistic standards and in-depth detail for an estimated 300-plus articles. Her coverage ranged a variety of Rams’ sports including baseball, men’s and women’s basketball, cross country, men’s hockey, soccer, softball, tennis and flag football. 

In addition to the usual post-game summary, there were a number of featured articles in her body of work that included profiles of coaches, “Campus Sports Updates” and the popular “Ram of the Week.” 

Pirone also did several “extramural” sport stories at the Boston-local and national levels. Two of her most compelling pieces addressed the scourge of drug use in sports. “Drugs, Sports a Lethal Mixture” was a well-researched, cautionary hard-look at the drug use problem in professional sports that highlighted passing of Boston Celtic, Len Bias, as well as several examples of how drug use had ruined the careers of other professional athletes at the time. The story was paired with a more university-relevant companion piece focused on the fledgling, mandatory NCAA drug testing for post-season participation and included quotes from Suffolk coaches, Joe Walsh and Pam Rossi. This type of reporting showcased the breadth of Pirone’s writing talent and demonstrated her passion for sports; a passion that imbued all her work, regardless of the sport she covered. 

Pirone was a part of the Suffolk sports scene as any player at the time and, as illustrated above, arguably put more time and effort into her craft than would be possible for any athlete to put into their individual sport because she quite literally, “did it all” across all sports. 

On top of being a true ambassador of Suffolk Athletics to the rest of the University, a duty she performed with expertise, grace and humility, Pirone was a full-time student with a full course load, worked full time, 35-40 hours a week, and was a member of the Program Council, where she promoted school events. As a senior she was selected as Senior of the Year and Outstanding Suffolk Student, recognitions chosen by the Student Government Association and her peers, respectively. She managed all of the above while graduating with a Bachelors of Arts within a normal four-year curriculum.

Pirone is the fourth Rams supporter to be enshrined into the Suffolk Athletics Hall of Fame, joining the likes of Ralph Ferragamo (2019), and the Smith brothers, Larry and Michael (2015).