Dick Mann

DICK MANN has been involved with sports for most of his life either as a journalist, administrator, or official. 
 
It all began at Amityville High School on Long Island when he started reporting on his school’s teams for a local paper. Within two years, while still a high school student, he became a by-lined reporter of high school sports for Newsday. His abilities and interests led him to a full-time sports reporting job with Newsday covering Long Island and beyond while enrolled at Hofstra College where he also served as assistant to the sports information director.
 
Amityville at that time was a hotbed of amateur wrestling and young Dick became very involved in the organization and announcing at meets and writing about the sport in various print media. At the 1964 Olympic Trials for Wrestling held at the New York World’s Fair Singer Bowl, Dick was the principal Stadium announcer.
 
He then got more interested in Track and Field, became a Master Level USATF certified official and over the past 47 years has officiated at many a major competition. Among the highlights were working the High Jump at the 1984 Olympic Games of Los Angeles, the same at the Olympic Trials in 1984 and 1992, the Seattle and New York Goodwill Games, the Millrose Games, the Olympic Invitational, 2 NCAA championships, and several U.S. indoor and outdoor championships. 
 
He was also appointed to officiate the 1996 Paralympic Games in Atlanta.
 
He has served as a Referee at the USA National Junior Championships, the Regional Junior Olympics, the National Special Olympics, the Disabled Sports USA, the Millrose games, the National Wheelchair Games, and the 2016 Wounded Warrior Games at West Point.
 
Dick had long term associations with other Championship events. He was the High Jump Chief at The IC4A meet for 35 years. For 40 years he served the Loucks Games at White Plains as the Referee and Chairman of Officials. At Loucks, he was instrumental in introducing wheelchair events, a “first” for any major scholastic meet in the nation. While living in Westchester County, Dick was a member of the Southern Catskill Track Officials’ Association and served as a Referee at countless Section One High School events.
 
Dick spent a successful career in public relations and later ran his own consulting and special events company for 20 years. Dick was married for 54 years to his wife Anne, who deceased in 2010. He has three daughters and three grandchildren. 
 
I am sure he and his family are all as proud as we are in welcoming him into the USATF New York Officials’ Hall of Fame