Mehno’s writings, wit will be missed; longtime writer died last week at age 64
John Mehno was one of the best columnists in all of southwest Pennsylvania when it came to covering the Pittsburgh sports scene.
Whether it was the Pirates, Steelers, Penguins, Pitt, Duquesne, Penn State or occasionally the national scene, his opinions were always witty, spot on and reasonable, many times with a humorous touch.
Mehno was a columnist for the Herald-Standard since the 1990s and most recently wrote a weekly piece that ran on Tuesdays. He was always dependable and punctual.
Except for last Monday.
The column he would email to the H-S never appeared that day.
Mehno wasn’t in good health in recent years, he had respiratory problems and complications, a situation he had mentioned to me a couple times over the past few years.
A few days later I heard the news. John Mehno, who was single, had died at his home. He was 64. He lived alone and his sister went to check on him after several publications expressed concern when he failed to file stories for them as well.
His death is listed as March 14 in his obituary, the day he was found unresponsive, sitting in a chair, but it had to have been no later than Monday, March 11. As I said, Mehno was as reliable as they came.
It was very sad to hear. A throwback with a unique personality, he was a good friend, an excellent writer and an outstanding historian on Pittsburgh sports. Mehno could twirl stories with interesting tidbits that no one else knew about.
I met Mehno and prestigious baseball writer John Perrotto when I began covering most of the Pirates home games in the 1990s. The first day I walked into the press box at Three Rivers Stadium I was asked my name and spouted rather quickly “Rob Burchianti,” which the two of them somehow construed as “Arthur Mercante,” a famous boxing referee. From then on I was affectionately known as “Arthur” or just “Art” to them.
One of the most enjoyable times of my career were those days covering the Pirates. Mehno was the key cog of a block of writers that made for great banter and entertainment. Funny as hell, you could’ve written a sitcom based on the wide variety of characters in that press box, and he and Perrotto were the ring leaders.
Mehno was unique in that he didn’t own a car, he would get around by taxi or bus or a ride from a friend. Still, he was at the ballpark everyday back then.
He also wrote for the Associated Press, along with a slew of other publications over the years, and could be heard on the radio on occasion (“The Pirates won today … apparently there was no doubt about it.”).
Mehno would also help the rest of the writers out by going to the visiting locker room and providing quotes to those who wanted them.
Writing on deadline can be nerve-wracking, but Mehno could always break up the tension. Late in one extremely lopsided loss to the Cardinals, St. Louis manager Tony La Russa strolled out to make a pitching change with the Pirates batting and two outs in the ninth inning.
As I voiced my frustration with such an incredulous move to prolong the inevitable, Mehno looked at me and deadpanned, “Well the genius (La Russa) has to put his stamp on the game,” which drew an immediate laugh from everyone.
Mehno was a guy who could zing you with a quick quip, but he would help you just as fast if you asked.
The Herald-Standard lost a great columnist, the Pittsburgh sports media lost an icon and the world lost a genuinely good guy.
See you on the other side John … from Art.
Rob Burchianti can be reached at rburchianti@heraldstandard.com or on Twitter @rvburch.