RICARDO “RECAH” Trinidad, a renowned sports journalist and alumnus of the then-UST College of Philosophy and Letters, died on Sunday, Sept. 14, his daughter-in-law Nice Trinidad said.
In a Facebook post, Nice said the veteran sports writer
graciously fought for his health after suffering a heart attack in June and died in bus sleep at 6 a.m.
“Dad was a well-known sports journalist, dedicating many years of his life to his passion for sports and journalism,” Nice said.
“His voice, stories, and contributions will forever be remembered.
Born on June 9, 1943, Recah had a long-tenured career in sports journalism starting in 1965 as a writer and reporter for radio station dzHP (now dzXL). He worked with several prominent sports journalists, including “Smokin” Joe Cantada and Ronnie Nathanielsz.
The Thomasian journalist went on to write for several newspapers like the Philippine Herald, The Manila Times, Daily Express, Champ and Malaya.
Recah was also the pioneering editor of tabloid Tempo and anti-dictatorship newspaper WE Forum and the founder of magazine Sports Flash.
He made his final run in the arena of sports journalism through his hard-hitting Wednesday column at the Philippine Daily Inquirer called “Bare Eye.”
Recah had a wide range of experience in covering sports’ biggest events, such as the iconic “Thrilla in Manila” and several Olympic and Asian games, as well as in writing and interviewing prominent athletes like Manny Pacquiao, Michael Jordan and Muhammad Ali.
Because of his contributions in the field of sports journalism, he received a special citation from the Philippine Sports Association in 2016 and a Lifetime Achievement Award by the Philippine Sportswriters Association in 2023.
Recah’s works is not limited to journalism as he was also an award-winning book author. He bagged the Don Carlos Palanca Memorial Award for Literature in 1978 for his poem “Acrobat from Planet F,” and published a poem inspired by the Pasig River called “Tales from my Lost River”.
Recah also received a National Book Award in 2007 for “Pacific Storm: Dispatches on Pacquiao from the Philippines,” a collection of columns and articles for the People’s Champ.
The public viewing for Recah’s remains will begin on Wednesday, Sept. 16 at the Chapel 7 of the Garden of Life Memorial Park in Vergara Mandaluyong. His remains will be cremated on Saturday, Sept. 19. F
