‘He was everywhere’: Clevelanders gather to remember sports journalist Dan Coughlin

LAKEWOOD , Ohio (WJW) — On Sunday, Clevelanders gathered to remember the life of a local sportscasting legend.

FOX 8’s own Dan Coughlin died Oct. 6 at his home in Rocky River , according to his obituary. He was 86.

Visitation was from noon to 4 p.m. on Sunday at St. Edward High School, along Detroit Avenue, in the Holy Family Chapel.

Coughlin was a U.S. Army veteran and began his journalism career in Cleveland in 1964 — covering high school sports for print, according to his obituary.

He was inducted into the Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 2017 and the Cleveland Press Club Journalism Hall of Fame in 1996 and twice named Ohio sportswriter of the year.

Coughlin transitioned into broadcasting and ended up at FOX 8, where he became known as the “commissioner” on FOX 8’s Friday Night Touchdown segment.

He also penned numerous books, collections of stories for local publisher Gray & Co.

“He was just ingrained in Cleveland. He was woven into the fabric,” founder David Gray is quoted in Coughlin’s obituary. “I think people who didn’t know him might have thought he was making this stuff up. But he was there. He was everywhere.”

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