Wednesday, September 29, 2010

Temple to honor longtime SID Al Shrier with 80th birthday roast

PrHILADELPHIA – Al Shrier, the Dean of College Sports Information professionals, will be honored with his own Roast on Friday evening, October 15 from 7:30 until 9:00 p.m. at The Ormandy Ballroom in the
Doubletree Hotel Avenue of the Arts.  Shrier’s good friend, and Temple’s most recognizable alum, Bill Cosby, will serve as one of the “roasters” for the event.

“This will be a special affair, and one that anyone associated with Temple will want to attend,” Temple Director of Athletics Bill Bradshaw said. “There is no one more loved and respected in the Philadelphia sports
community than Al Shrier.  He has given his life to Temple Athletics, and this night we will pay tribute to him.”

Bradshaw will join Mr. Cosby on the dais that also includes former Temple President Peter Liacouras, legendary Owl men’s basketball coach John Chaney, TU’s all-time winningest football coach Wayne Hardin and former director of athletics, Gavin White, Jr.  Shrier, a past president of the Philadelphia Sportswriters Association will also be roasted by some of the top media names in the Philadelphia area including “Big” Al Meltzer, Merrill Reese, Jackie Scheuer, Harry Donahue and Phil Jasner.

The longest active CoSIDA member at 57 years and counting, Shrier has served at Temple since 1953. He recently received CoSIDA's Arch Ward Award, given to the top sports information professional at the University Division level. It is one of many honors that he has earned over a distinguished career.  He
is a member of five Halls of Fame: the CoSIDA Hall of Fame, the Pennsylvania Sports Hall of Fame, the Philadelphia Big 5 Hall of Fame, the Temple Athletics Hall of Fame and the Philadelphia Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.

The Philadelphia native was named the recipient of the 2009 Pete Nevins Award for Distinguished Achievement given annually by The Eastern College Athletics Conference-Sports Information Directors Association (ECAC-SIDA). He has also earned ECAC-SIDA’s Irving T. Marsh and Katha Quinn Awards.

He has also been honored by the Atlantic 10 Conference with its Bob Vetrone Media Award in 2009. In 2004, in commemoration of 50 years of service, Temple gave away Al Shrier Bobblehead Dolls at a men’s basketball game, a rare tribute to an athletic administrator.

The Media Room at The Liacouras Center is named in his honor. Lastly, he received the prestigious Lew Klein Alumni in the Media Award from the Temple School of Communications.

Tickets for the event, which includes open bar, appetizers and gifts, can be purchased at $100 per person by going to www.myowlspace.com/alshrierroast.

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

His name is Al SHRIER, at least for his 80th birthday you could manage to get that correct.