Lou Marsh
Lewis Edwin "Lou" Marsh (February 17, 1879 – March 4, 1936) was a Canadian athlete and referee, and one of the pioneers of sports journalism in Canada, working at the Toronto Star for 43 years.
Marsh was born in Campbellford, Ontario and lived there until the age of nine, when he moved with his family to Toronto. At 14, in the first year after the launch of the Toronto Star, Marsh walked into the newspaper's office responding to a want ad and was hired as a copyboy. He rose to junior reporter, reporter, columnist (With Pick and Shovel was the name of his long-running column), assistant sports editor under W. A. Hewitt, and finally, in 1931, sports editor. He held that position until his death in 1936.
As an athlete, Marsh's first love was sailing, and through his life he played a wide variety of sports. At the age of 21 he became interested in rugby, and played with some of the top teams in Toronto, including the Toronto Argonauts.
Marsh was said to be a top-notch sprinter, once defeating Canadian and Olympic champion Robert Kerr in a 120-yard hurdle race. He became a supporter of Tom Longboat and accompanied him to the 1908 Summer Olympics in London.
Podcasts:
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by Phil Ochs
Lou Marsh
by: Phil OchsOn the streets of New York city
When the hour was getting late
There were young men armed with knives and guns
Young men armed with hate
And Lou Marsh stepped between them
And died there in his tracks
For one man is no army
When the city turns its back
And now the streets are empty
Now the streets are dark
So keep an eye on shadows
And never pass the park
For the city is a jungle
When the law is out of sight
And death lurks in El Barrio
With the orphans of the night
He left behind a chamber
Of a church he served so long
For he learned the prayers of distant men
Will never right the wrongs
His church became an alley
And his pulpit was the street
And he made his congregation
From the boys he used to meet
And now the streets are empty
Now the streets are dark
So keep an eye on shadows
And never pass the park
For the city is a jungle
When the law is out of sight
And death lurks in El Barrio
With the orphans of the night
There were two gangs approaching
In Spanish Harlem town
The smell of blood was in the air
The challenge was laid down
He felt their blinding hatred
And he tried to save their lives
And the answer that they gave him
Was their fists and feet and knives
And now the streets are empty
Now the streets are dark
So keep an eye on shadows
And never pass the park
For the city is a jungle
When the law is out of sight
And death lurks in El Barrio
With the orphans of the night
Will Lou Marsh lie forgotten
In his cold and silent grave?
Will his memory still linger on
In those he tried to save?
All of us who knew him
Will now and then recall
And shed a tear on poverty
Tombstone of us all
For now the streets are empty
Now the streets are dark
So keep an eye on shadows
And never pass the park
For the city is a jungle
When the law is out of sight
And death lurks in El Barrio