Loren Ledin, who covered Ventura County sports for more than 40 years, dies at age 70
DeAnn Justesen brought Loren Ledin to Ventura County in 1982.
Decades after hiring the young sportswriter at the Thousand Oaks News Chronicle, the Ventura County Star editor asked her friend about his retirement plans.
There were none.
“He told me he loved what he was doing,” Justesen said. “I worked with him when he was young and (when he wasn’t). … He was the same person. He never changed. He was just as dedicated.”
The veteran sportswriter had found a way to marry two of his lifetime loves — sports and the written word — and he wasn’t going to leave them by stepping away from the keyboard.
“From a young, young age he truly loved sports,” said Linda Felix, Ledin’s sister. “And he built a career that allowed him to describe the events of sports. It was never about the money with Loren, rather than being able to tell a good story about the subjects he loved.”
Ledin, The Star’s prep editor and master wordsmith, died at his home in Simi Valley early Thursday after a decade-long battle with multiple cancers. He was 70.
“He was a fixture of prep sports for more than four decades and his loss will be felt throughout the community,” wrote news director Stacie Galang to The Star’s staff on Thursday.
“Few journalists these days can boast such longevity at one publication and one region, and The Star and its readers have been the beneficiaries of his writing, reporting and love of sports.”
Hired at the Thousand Oaks Chronicle in 1982 and Simi Valley Enterprise in 1984, and promoted to prep editor of the Ventura County Star in 2011, Ledin covered Ventura County sports for more than 40 years.
And enjoyed every minute of it.
“Loren was fierce, relentless in his work, but never came across that way,” said former colleague Jim Carlisle. “He was a quiet, gentle soul with a soft, sincere smile. … He loved what he did. He was tireless and prolific.”
Ledin colorfully painted the portraits of generations of local athletes in the black and white of the printed word, from baseball’s Scott Radinsky to Max Muncy, from basketball’s Don MacLean to Jaime Jaquez Jr., from football’s Keith Smith to Cameron Rising.
“Loren was so good at finding wonderful feature subjects and handling them with great care,” said Carlisle. “He was always covering games he knew were important, in sports that didn't always get a lot of love, such as water polo.”
He covered McLean, the future UCLA and NBA standout, when he was a ninth-grader at Hillside Junior High, writing “this Big Mac has been quite a mouthful for opponents to swallow” in the Feb. 12, 1985, edition of the Enterprise.
He labeled Muncy, in The Star on Feb. 21, 2020, “steady, even-keeled and as well-grounded as a lawn with Bermuda grass.”
“He was a fabulous wordsmith,” said former Royal High water polo coach Steve Snyder. “One of the best writers that I’ve ever read. The way he used words could make anybody’s performance that much more spectacular.”
As prep columnist, he tracked the year-in, year-out changes of releaguing and documented the origins and rise of Oaks Christian School, athletic director Jan Heathcock and football coach Bill Redell.
“Generations of athletes, particularly in Simi Valley, benefited from his dedication to his craft,” said former colleague David Lassen. “We will not see his likes again.”
Former colleague Rhiannon Potkey could tell by Ledin's witticisms and metaphors that he had penned a story.
“I never had to look at the byline," Potkey said. “I knew who wrote it.”
The Star sports editor Jon Catalini, who worked with Ledin for more than two decades and was his editor for 15 years, said Ledin was the ultimate pro and compelling storyteller.
“From start to finish of anything he wrote, you always felt engaged and educated,” Catalini said. “Loren drew readers in quickly and smartly while writing with a concise and easy-to-read style. He was a brilliant writer and determined reporter who made a remarkable impact in the county and on those who had the great pleasure to work alongside him.”
Of course, he covered so many of the county’s coaches and their strongboy programs.
“He never had an agenda or an idea that he was going to go after somebody,” said Snyder. “He just cared about the teams that he was reporting on. He was a friend to all of us and really cared about the community.
“He was great with special interest stories about so many coaches and athletes in the area, including myself and my sons. And he did it all with a humility that was just phenomenal. What more could you ask for?”
Ledin grew up in Westchester, near where Los Angeles International Airport’s runaways were extended in 1953.
His father, Loren Sr., owned a garage and gas station in west L.A.
The youngest of three children in a family who had just moved west from Minneapolis, Ledin was doted on by his mother Janet and two older sisters.
“He was the little prince,” said his sister Judy.
Felix remembers her brother connecting with his lifelong passion almost immediately.
“He lived and breathed sports,” Felix said. “Almost from the time he started to learn to talk.”
She remembers his early affection for Fran Tarkenton and the Minnesota Vikings.
Although his lifelong allegiance would be with the Los Angeles Rams. He grew up attending games at the Coliseum, where Loren Sr. held season tickets.
Ledin graduated from St. Bernard High in Playa Del Ray, where he played some wide receiver on the football team.
He attended USC, rising to sports editor of the Daily Trojan and covering the great football teams coached by John McKay and quarterbacked by Pat Haden.
He was quoted by the Los Angeles Times’ Mal Florence ahead of the USC-UCLA game in 1974.
Upon graduation, he was hired as the sports editor of the Gillette News-Record. He worked in eastern Wyoming for a year before finding work home in Southern California.
“He’s one of the few people I’ve known who has always been able to do exactly what he wants,” said Judy Griffin, Ledin’s eldest sister.
Justesen remembers interviewing him for a position at the News Chronicle in 1982.
“I thought he had a great work ethic,” Justesen. “I could tell he was really dedicated to local sports. … And he never disappointed me.”
As his health continued to deteriorate, and he wasn’t able to attend practices or games, Ledin continued to work from home. He received a “special recognition award” from the Ventura County Sports Hall of Fame in June, but was unable to attend in person.
The news of his death was met with an outpouring of love and gratitude Thursday, as scores of Ledin’s longtime subjects took to social media to grieve collectively.
“Loren was not just a sportswriter,” wrote football coach Tony Henney. “He was an ambassador for Ventura County schools and their athletes.”
His family was moved by the response.
“I’m just blown away by all of it,” said Felix.
Ledin is survived by his sisters Judy Griffin and Linda Felix, brother-in-law Tony Felix, five nieces and nephews and a fleet of cousins.
He is also survived by his four dogs, Ash, Bonsai, Buttercup and Jasmine.
Ledin and his wife Sandra Salamone, who died of complications due to cancer in 2020, rescued 13 chihuahuas during their 20 years of marriage.
“He was so supportive of Sandra during her long battle with ovarian cancer,” Justesen said. “He had his own health issues at the time. They were a great love story.”
A public memorial service is still being planned.
Mourners are asked, in lieu of flowers, to donate in Ledin’s name to Goods4Greatness, the non-profit founded by Potkey that strives to ensure athletic opportunities for children, regardless of income level.
“Loren was an important figure in Ventura County high school sports,” Carlisle said. “He didn't get a lot of recognition, and that wasn't his goal. But he is one in a short list of the best Southern California prep sportswriters of all time.”
Joe Curley is a staff writer for The Star. He can be reached at joe.curley@vcstar.com. For more coverage, follow @vcspreps on Twitter, Instagram and Facebook.
This article originally appeared on Ventura County Star: Loren Ledin, who covered local sports for more than 40 years, dies
