Former Upstate SC sportswriter Eric Boynton remembered fondly by friends, co-workers
It’s a shame Tom Brady never got to meet Eric Boynton, because Brady would’ve liked him.
A lot.
Boynton was a Patriots and Red Sox fan by default, because that’s the way things work when you grow up in Falmouth, Massachusetts.
Somehow, some way, he wound up in Spartanburg, where he began free-lancing for the Herald-Journal in 1989 and eventually became a full-time staff sportswriter in 2002.
As a journalist, Boynton was well-schooled in the art of impartiality ― unless it involved Brady and the Patriots, of course. Hey, we should all be afforded a little bit of fandom, and to his credit Boynton kept his confined to his “wicked good” Pats and Red Sox.
Boynton, 55, died at his home on Friday, and the news came as a gut punch to the Upstate’s sports media fraternity, which tends to be a close-knit assemblage regardless of who’s cutting our paychecks.
Boynton was a guy who was universally liked on the beat, whether he was covering Clemson or South Carolina football one month or a Super Bowl or the Masters the next. He loved traveling and covering bowl games, but seemed most happy when immersing himself in the annual drama at Augusta National Golf Club, where he delighted in uncovering newsy nuggets to share with his readers.
Boynton never shied away from posing hard-hitting questions, tossing them out with great enunciation and volume in press conference settings. One such memorable instance occurred when Dabo Swinney was introduced as Clemson’s head football coach in 2008 and Boynton asked what the rest of us were wondering: “Do you feel like Clemson is taking a gamble on you in some regards because of your lack of head coaching or even coordinator experience?”
Swinney’s response was succinct: “No. If you’re asking me, I think it’s a pretty good bet.”
Swinney didn’t mind Boynton’s question at all, and he and Swinney always maintained mutual respect.
Next week, when Swinney and his team play at Miami, the plan is for many of us to congregate at Miami’s South Beach ― foremost among Boynton’s favored destinations ― and share a tale or two or three and perhaps raise a glass in honor of our friend who left too soon.
In the meantime, here’s a sampling of some verbal toasts courtesy of friends and co-workers:
Gabe Whisnant, Executive Editor, Greenville News, Spartanburg Herald-Journal, Anderson Independent Mail
“Eric was a hard-working sportswriter, dedicated to his craft and to our readers. Many readers will remember his work in the Clemson and college sports realm, but Eric was versatile in his ability to cover local golf, high schools and Spartanburg County athletes in the professional ranks. Eric was eager to pitch in and write COVID news stories at the beginning and height of the pandemic. He understood the importance of teamwork in a newsroom. Eric was always game for debating any sports topic or team. But he almost always found a way to shift the conversation to his beloved New England Patriots and Tom Brady. We lost a kind soul.”
Mark Sturgis, Upstate broadcaster
“He always remained even-keeled, never showed favoritism toward one team or the other and was always prepared. He always had a sly sense of humor. He was a good friend to all of us and was very loyal. We all need to take this to heart. I’m going to miss the guy.”
Gene Sapakoff, Charleston Post and Courier
“Eric was a good journalist but a better person. He was always so engaging and energetic, and always willing to help a colleague, even if that fellow journalist was in competition with him.”
Bob Dalton, former sports editor, Spartanburg Herald-Journal
“Eric loved everything about being a sportswriter. It was his passion, and he put his heart and soul into it. He had a big heart with a soft spot for animals. He enjoyed trips to the beach, a good Broadway show and Buffy the Vampire Slayer. He was my friend, and I miss him.”
Alex Hicks, Herald-Journal staff photographer
“He was a great person to be around and I appreciated the way he made sports fun. I didn’t know that much about sports, but I always got a big kick out of it when we were covering an event together and he told me about the personal side as well as what was happening on the field. Normally I would not be that interested, but he would bring up these amazing facts and go into full archive sports mode. From high school to college to the NFL, he made sports fun.”
Will Vandervort, The Clemson Insider
“Eric was one of the nicest people I’ve ever known and I’m not just saying that because he was my friend. I saw Eric show kindness to many people, people he didn’t even know. He was always everyone’s friend. As a journalist, he treated everyone fairly and he wanted to make sure that both sides of a story were told.”
David Hood, TigerNet
“Any interaction with Eric always included him saying something that he hoped would elicit the response he was looking for. When he received his response, he would throw his head back and laugh, his eyes twinkling. I’m sure others will try to define him as the superb writer he was, or the man who would do anything for anybody, or the great friend he was. To me, Eric will always be standing there, eyes twinkling, a roaring laugh just waiting to escape past that smile.”
Scott Keepfer covers Clemson athletics for The Greenville News and the USA TODAY Network. Email him at skeepfer@gannett.com and follow him on Twitter @ScottKeepfer
This article originally appeared on Greenville News: Friends, co-workers remember avid Patriots, Red Sox fan Eric Boynton
