RomeoL Dougherty

New York, NY, Saturday December 16, 1944,
Romeo Dougherty is Dead

Romeo Dougherty, Vet
Negro Sports And
Drama Critic Dead

Romeo L Dougherty, who was prominent in the newspaper profession for almost 40 years during which he became known as the "Dean" of sports and dramatic editors, died Saturday afternoon at his home in Jamaica, Long Island, at the age of 59.

In failing health for years, Mr. Dougherty was bedridden for the past three months, a victim of dropsy and resulting complications. His death followed a heart attack early Friday morning.

Mr. Dougherty was known to intimates as "The Sage of Union Hall Street," partly because of a penchant for poetic and philosophic comment, and partly because of his avid reading habits. His private library consisted of close to 2,500 volumes, including many rare works on the Negro. It was his boast that he had read every book in this collection from cover to cover.

A native of St. Thomas, Virgin Islands, he migrated to this country when he was eight years old. He entered the newspaper field at an early age, starting on the now defunct Brooklyn Eye. He was next employed by the New York News, a Harlem publication founded by George W. Harris, and joined the editorial staff of the Amsterdam News around 1910, remaining with that publication until 1935. Since that time he has done freelance work for a number of national publications.

Dougherty is survived by his widow Frances and a cousin, Edwin McKetney of Harlem.

An impressive tribute by the sports world was paid Sunday night at the Renaissance Casino when Bob Douglass interrupted the feature game between the Renaissance and the New York Nationals and the audience stood in silence for one minute while "Taps" was played on cornet by a member of Don Wilson's band.

Source: The Competitor, vol. 1, 1920