MILWAUKEE — Wisconsin sportswriting great Bud Lea, who covered firsthand a golden era in football, basketball and baseball in the state, has passed away.
The Milwaukee Brewers confirmedLea's death on social media Wednesday. Lea was 92.
Lea was first hired by the Milwaukee Sentinel in 1954 to cover his hometown football team, the Green Bay Packers. During that era, the struggling team rose into one of the greatest sports dynasties in history, led by legend Vince Lombardi.
Lea moved up to sports editor in 1972 and wrote a popular column, the Milwaukee Journal-Sentinelreported in a feature of Lea in 2017. He retired from the newspaper when the Sentinel and the Milwaukee Journal merged in 1995, but continued to write for Packers Plus for another 16 years.
So sad to head of the passing of the great Bud Lea. I always enjoyed my time with him. Before the pandemic we had taped a story to air as he would be honored at the @PackersHOF banquet. The ceremony was postponed. But he will be honored as his memory lives on #RIP #Packers pic.twitter.com/skusb9RFJj
— Lance Allan (@lanceallan) January 21, 2021
Lea covered 30 Super Bowls, the Ice Bowl and the 1976 Olympic Games in Montreal, according to the Journal-Sentinel. He covered Marquette University when the team won the NCAA Men's Division I Basketball Tournament and reported on one of Muhammad Ali's boxing fights.
"The Brewers are saddened to learn of the passing of venerable Wisconsin sportswriter, columnist and historian Bud Lea. Bud was a founder of the Milwaukee Braves Historical Association and frequent visitor to the ballpark. Our sympathy goes out to all of Bud’s family and friends," the Brewers wrote on Facebook Wednesday.
