Glenn Grigg made local sports a better place

http://blogs.mcall.com/groller/ FROM KEITH GROLLER I am on vacation at the Jersey shore, but still read the e-mails on my cell phone and I was saddened by a few I received today telling me of the passing of a good friend of mine, Glenn Grigg. I don't know what his age was, but he definitely left us too soon. You may not have known Glenn because he wasn't in the headlines. He was one of those behind-the-scenes guys who made Lehigh Valley sports in general, and Allen High sports in particular, a better place. I knew him from being the scorekeeper for Allen softball for many years when Ed Stinner was the coach and he has also been Allen's boys basketball scorekeeper under Doug Snyder since Snyder got the job. He was a multi-Kegger award winner because, frankly, he made my job easier. But my friendship with Glenn wasn't just limited to giving me the scorebook. I considered him a friend and when Glenn went on a vacation, and he loved to travel, he'd generally send me a postcard. We talked about what to see in various towns and what ballpark was the best and this and that. When Glenn would get me on the phone in the office, I knew I wouldn't able to do anything for a long time because he loved to talk. And most of the time, I was happy to listen. We often talked about the past because Glenn remembers a very different Allentown and Allen High School. He saw a lot of changes in his time in the Allentown School District as a teacher and coach. Still, as Stinner said in an e-mail: "Glenn loved Allentown kids." He really did. He'd give me insights on who were the really good kids on the Allen teams and he loved when I found the opportunity to spotlight some of them. And one Allen kid he loved in particular was the late Kyle Miller, better known as "Mr. Softball." Glenn loved Kyle and really got a kick out of him. So did I. That journey we took together in 1990 when Allen won the state softball title was some of the best times of my career. He also loved Bangor and he absolutely beamed when he shared the scorer's table with his idol Bill Pensyl. Pensyl has been keeping the scorebook for his son, Brad, the coach at Pocono Mountain West and PM West and Allen have met often in recent years. Glenn would regale me with stories about Pensyl and Bangor. I think he knew more about Pensyl than Pensyl did. It was a blast hanging around those two when they were together. Glenn was also quite proud of Moravian College where he played football. I don't know when and where services will be for Glenn and right now, I am absolutely in shock that he's gone because he's one of those guys that you figure will be around forever. He had a heart issue last year, but I had no indication that there was anything wrong. He seemed to get through last basketball season just fine. Right now, I am just very sad. My vacation and family time will continue and frankly, Glenn's passing is yet one more reminder that nothing lasts forever and we should enjoy life, family and friends as much as we can while we're all still here.