The Massachusetts High School Football Coaches Association posthumously honors Bruce Lerch sports reporter of the Boston Herald with our 2016 Media Award.
Bruce Lerch was a universally revered high school sports writer who passed away at the age of 42 in December. Working for the Boston Herald for the better part of the last decade, Bruce was admired for his rapport with administrators, coaches and players and was well-known for his easy, fun-loving demeanor.
A Massachusetts native, Lerch was varsity baseball player during his time at Mount St. Charles High School of Woonsocket, R.I., Lerch graduated from Daniel Webster College, after starting his collegiate baseball career at St. Joseph’s College of Standish, Maine. He transitioned into the world of journalism after completing his master’s degree at Emerson College. An advocate of MIAA athletics, Lerch is best known for his coverage of schoolboy football, boys’ and girls’ hockey and is a seminal figure in the growth of high school lacrosse in the region, working as editor-in-chief of BostonLax.net, in addition to his duties at the Herald.
The respect for not only Bruce’s work but his character was made abundantly clear when he disclosed he had been diagnosed with cancer late last year. Moving tributes and displays of support were shared across social media, rallying to his side during a difficult time.
He is survived by his parents, Bruce F. of Franklin and Carol M. (Hennessey) of Plainville; two sisters, Kelly Flanagan and her husband, Wayne, of Bellingham, and Jamie Lerch-Ebner and her wife, Anne-Marie Ebner, of New York City; his grandmother, Esther, of Doylestown, Pa.; and numerous cousins and aunts.
Past Media Award Winners
2017 Patrick Flaherty 2016 Bruce Lerch 2015 Jim Wilson 2014 Michael Muldoon 2013 Phil Stacey 2012 Kevin Shea 2011 Roderic Smith 2010 Bill Abramson & Martin Pave 2009 Jim Clark 2008 Steve Algeri 2007 Allison Goldsmith 2006 Rick Harrison 2005 Russ Charpentier 2004 Buddy Thomas 2003 Andy Nesbitt 2002 Dennis Whitton 2001 Robert Holmes 2000 Dan Ventura 1999 Patti Myers 1998 Joe Capillo 1997 Bill Pike 1996 Russell Baldwin & Cary Shuman 1995 Frank Benjamin 1994 Ed Litchfield 1993 Omer Cormier 1992 Mike Lynch 1991 Rick Pearl 1990 Frank Wall 1989 John Sherman 1988 Al Cowles 1987 Paul Leahy 1986 Max Bishop 1985 Rick Harrison 1984 Charles N. Ross, Jr. 1983 Lenny Megliola & Bill Wilhelm 1982 Larry Ames 1981 William Kipouras 1980 Frank Murphy 1979 Alphonse R. Frezza 1978 Kevin J. Mannix