Philadelphia sportswriter Bob Lyons dies at age 73

Sportswriter Bob Lyons was so organized, so diligent, that he wrote his own obituary and left it for his family to disperse to the media.

Mr. Lyons, 73, an understated, dignified man who wrote several books connected to the Philadelphia sports scene, died Wednesday of heart disease.

One of Mr. Lyon's five children, Rick, said his father left an obituary "not because he wanted to write it, but because he wanted it accurate. He started his career writing obituaries for the Bulletin, and he ended it writing an obituary. We didn't find it until he passed; it was in a folder with instructions on the people to call."

Mr. Lyons lived in Upper Southampton and is survived by his wife, Joan Lyons (nee Lang); children Joanne Jenkins (Ken), Robert (Renee), Rick (Leanne), Dave (Julie), and Greg; and 11 grandchildren.

After they were engaged, Mr. Lyons and his future wife's first date was at the Eagles-Packers 1960 NFL championship game.

In addition to writing for the Bulletin, the Associated Press, and many other media outlets, Mr. Lyons was the author of Palestra Pandemonium: A History of the Big 5, and On Any Given Sunday: A Life of Bert Bell; and coauthor of The Eagles Encyclopedia with Ray Didinger; and Big Al: Fifty Years of Adventures in Sports Broadcasting (with Al Meltzer).

"The project wouldn't have been done if it wasn't for Bob," Didinger said of their highly popular Eagles book.

Rick Lyons described his father as an "old-school writer and a stickler for details."

Added Lyons: "He was an awesome dad. He let us all do our thing and made sure a Catholic education was first and foremost. He never pressured us into becoming a writer or a doctor or whatever. And we have a wide range - from a doctor to a rock star - in our family. He was someone who was always there for you, but never intrusive. Family came first to him."

Since 1995, Mr. Lyons had been president of his own suburban-Philadelphia-based editorial services and public relations firm. He provided professional services to a variety of organizations, including the Associated Press, Brandywine Global Investment Management, La Salle University, Merrill Lynch, Elf Atochem, Princeton University, and Philadelphia's WHYY TV12.

Before forming his consulting firm, Mr. Lyons served in numerous capacities at La Salle, where he was the school's first sports-information director, starting a seven-year stint in 1962 in which his media brochure won four awards from the U.S. Basketball Writers Association. He later taught courses at La Salle in journalism, public relations, and advertising.

Mr. Lyons, who was an AP sports correspondent for 35 years before retiring from that position in 2011, graduated from La Salle, as did all five of his children. He did freelance work for many national publications, including the Saturday Evening Post, Christian Science Monitor, Nation's Business, Delta SKY Magazine, the Sporting News, and Baseball Digest.

A viewing, followed by a Funeral Mass scheduled for Tuesday at 10 a.m. at Our Lady of Good Counsel in Southampton. Burial will be at St. John Neumann Cemetery, Chalfont.

More information is on the funeral home's website at: http://mcgheefuneralhome.com/book-of-memories/1599831/Lyons-Robert-/service-details.php