On Friday, Baltimore sports fans received some unfortunate news about longtime local sportswriter Jim Henneman, who passed away at age 89.
According to Roch Kubatko of MASN, Henneman had been battling health issues before his passing, but was fortunate enough to attend the Baltimore Orioles spring training in Sarasota, as well as the team’s home opener in March.
He was moved into hospice care earlier this week.
The late sportswriter has meant a great deal to the Orioles organization and baseball writing across the country over the years. Over the past several decades, Henneman covered the Orioles organization for several local outlets, including The Baltimore Sun, Baltimore News-American, and the Baltimore Evening Sun.
Additionally, Henneman served as president of the Baseball Writers Association of America.
In addition to his responsibilities covering the team, Henneman served as the Orioles’ official scorekeeper for over two decades, a role he held until 2019. In 2024, the press box at Camden Yards was named in his honor, recognizing his massive impact on the organization.
In a post on X, the Orioles’ social media team issued a statement about his passing, detailing how his “words of wisdom” and “friendly demeanor” will be sorely missed.
“The Orioles are heartbroken to share the news of the passing of longtime Baltimore sportswriter and official scorer Jim Henneman. Henny’s friendly demeanor, words of wisdom, and historical anecdotes will be dearly missed. We are all better for knowing him and are eternally grateful for his dedication to the Orioles for more than eight decades. The Camden Yards’ press box will forever bear his name and be a welcoming place to remember and recognize his life and legacy.”
As you may expect, many former colleagues and others in the Baltimore media space took to social media to pay tribute to Henneman’s legacy.
“Jim Henneman meant so much to many of us that finding the right words today is hard for some of us who use those words every day,” wrote former MASN beat writer Steve Melewski. “That day last April that the press box was named in his honor now means more than ever. A legend is gone but never forgotten. Love you Henny.”
“RIP Jim Henneman, the beloved Baltimore sports writer who was a great friend to so many of us in the baseball writing community,” wrote USA Today‘s Bob Nightengale. “He was honored last year when the Baltimore Orioles had the Camden Yards press box named in his honor. He’ll be greatly missed.”
“One of the greatest things about the wonderful Jim Henneman was that with his decades of experience he wanted to talk about what was happening now-and always excited about the future,” wrote Rich Dubroff of BaltimoreBaseball.com. “He was supportive of some of the younger members of the Orioles beat, and some older ones, too.”