Dick Daly’s middle name should have been “cooperation.”
Whether he was working for somebody or somebody was working for him, Daly’s motto was always about getting along.
It’s why the former St. Michael and Eastern Michigan University (then Michigan State Normal College) football star was so effective in his job, first as a community school director in Flint, then as an employee and boss for Flint Community Schools’ sports and recreation programs.
It’s why he received the Special Service Award from the GFASHOF.
“I loved working with him and for him,” said Tom Cole, longtime friend and fellow employee in the Flint school system. “Dick was a good director and he could make you laugh. It was just a pleasure to be around him.”
Daly might be the first to tell you he doesn’t really belong on the same wall with so many other Greater Flint Area Sports Hall of Famers. His plaque is up there because of what he did to further the opportunities for so many in Flint and Genesee County in physical education and recreation.
From the beginning, he’s a man who put some oomph behind the Flint Olympian and CANUSA Games. He still sits on a committee to continue fundraising for these games, which passed the 50-year milestone last summer.
It was Daly who organized the Flint Winter Games, which offered all kinds of sports, indoor and outdoor, to people of all ages.
“I really appreciate all the cooperation we got from so many agencies to help keep our programs in high gear,” Daly said. “On my watch, there were so many good things happening in Flint. I’m proud to say I was a Flint guy and always will be. It’s a great community because so many people have joined forces to make it all work.”
Let’s talk about Daly’s athletic career because he’s too modest to speak of it. Daly was an all-league performer in the old Flint Area Parochial League in the early 1950’s, a quarterback in football and a standout also on the basketball court and on the baseball diamond.
He chose Eastern to major in Education and English. He also became a big part of stellar football teams, coached by the late Fred Trosko in Ypsilanti
For two years Daly was a two-way starter at end, despite weighing only 170 pounds. “I was pretty intense and I had a quick temper,” Daly said. “But I certainly enjoyed my college days at Eastern.”
After graduation, Daly returned to Flint and became a community school director at Stevenson School. He worked in that same capacity at McKinley and Holmes Middle School before heading to the Board of Education to begin his duties in the physical education, recreation, and athletic department.
He retired from his job as Director of the Physical Education, Recreation & Athletic programs in 1992. Daly always had a strong appetite for hard work and an appreciation for what Flint had to offer. He had a smile and laugh that made people want to cooperate on all levels, for the sake of improving the sports and recreation programs.
A devoted family man, Daly and his wife, Margaret, celebrated their 50th anniversary last summer. The Dalys’ have six children, Chris, Rick, Laura, Julie, Rob and Ellen, and nine grandchildren. They, along with others, are in the banquet hall tonight to salute a man who, for much of his life, gave the people of Flint and Genesee County a reason to play the sports and games, and really enjoy them.
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