On May 12, 2023, Martin Cleary hit 50 years of reporting on the local sports scene. Martin has told roughly 10,000 stories from the grassroots up to the Olympic level in that time, mostly for the Ottawa Citizen, and in recent years, for the Ottawa Sports Pages.
Martin’s dedication to the local amateur sports beat is simply unmatched. His passion, his storytelling prowess and his attention to detail have set the standard for excellence in the field, and his articles have made an impact on innumerable athletes and sports figures in our community.
Read Martin’s High Achievers column for his reflections on the milestone:
MARTIN CLEARY: My half-century of Ottawa amateur sports storytelling
On May 12, a lunchtime celebration was held at the RA Centre to mark Martin’s 50 Years of reporting on local sports news. Photographers Mike Carroccetto and Wayne Cuddington graciously jumped into duty to capture some images from the day:
Below, we’ve reposted our livestream of the formal portion of the event, featuring speeches by past Ottawa Citizen publisher Russell Mills, five-time Paralympian Todd Nicholson, Mayor Mark Sutcliffe, and of course, Martin.
Watch our video tribute looking back on Martin’s 50 years career below:
Join us for a celebration of Martin Cleary’s 50 Years of reporting on local sports news!
Friday, May 12, 2023
11:30 a.m. – 1:30 p.m.
RA Centre, 2451 Riverside Dr.
Clark Hall (West Entrance)
Light lunch to be served from 11:30-12:30. Formal remarks begin at 12:30. This is a free public event. Donations to the Ottawa Sports Pages Fund to support local sports journalism are encouraged.
Martin, congratulations on your 50th. Anniversary of covering Ottawa and Area Sports. Over the years you have been a main stay in covering sports in our community and your reporting of these events have been
OUTSTANDING.
Hello Martin. It was always a pleasure seeing you at events and reading your stories.
It seems now, the media doesn’t care about the local sports scene.
Al Uhryniw