This is the eighth in a series of articles profiling members of the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame’s Class of 2024

John Enrietto’s path to his induction into the Butler County Sports Hall of Fame began at a baseball venue that no longer stands.

“My father took me and my brothers to a game at Forbes Field — that’s how old I am,” said Enrietto, 66. “We were sitting in the bleachers in left field. You could sit there back then for 75¢ a game, so he always brought us there.”

Enrietto, then in junior high school and now the Butler Eagle’s sports editor of over 26 years, recognized a line of people seated behind home plate with typewriters.

“That was press row back then,” Enrietto explained. “They didn’t have an actual press box. ... I asked my father, ‘How do you get those seats where those guys are typing stuff?’ He goes, ‘Those aren’t seats for the game. They’re working here.’

“What are they doing?” Enrietto questioned.

“They’re covering the game for the newspaper,” answered his father, Joseph, who’d usually dive into a novel rather than watch the game.

“How much do they have to pay to sit there?” Enrietto continued.

“No, they get paid,” his father said. “That’s their job. They’re getting paid to do this.”

It was at that moment that Enrietto found his calling. He’ll be honored as part of the 2024 Class at Butler County Community College’s Founders Hall on April 27.

Since settling down at his current post in August 1997, he’s picked up his office phone to talk to a story subject countless times. He’s been a regular at stadiums, gyms, and fields in the Butler County area. He’s penned well over 20,000 stories, telling people’s tales and capturing moments all along the way.

“We’re on refrigerator doors, we’re laminated on people’s walls,” Enrietto said. “I’ve seen those things. ... I’ve been to graduation parties for high school kids, leafing through their scrapbooks and (thought), ‘Man, I did that story. Oh, I did that story. Oh, Derek (Pyda) wrote this story.’

“That’s when it hits home. What we do is important to people because we’re chronicling their achievements as young athletes.”

Enrietto loves the chance to provide a snapshot of others’ passions.

“I love delving into people and what they do,” Enrietto said. “These stories amaze me — what people are into, what people have done.”

He remembers attending both Brandon Fusco’s NFL Draft party and Ethan Morton’s college commitment gathering. Stages such as Butler basketball player Kaden Blatt’s varsity bucket stand out to him, as well.

“You come to work here and you don’t know what to expect,” Enrietto said, beaming. “It could be some bizarre breaking news story happening or you may go to a game where something bizarre happens that you’ve never seen before.

“If I see an email that’s a good story, to me it’s like opening up a present.”

Enrietto’s catalog has earned him a number of purposeful awards, including the Lernerville Speedway Media Person of the Year; the PSAC George Heaslip Award for his coverage of Slippery Rock University football; the Butler Football Hometown Heroes Award for longevity; and the Butler Basketball Sixth Man Award.

“These are all awards for a length of time,” he said. “They weren’t an award for one story or one headline or one page layout or column or whatever. Those mean a lot to me because I take pride in trying to do the job day after day after day after day.

“This Hall of Fame award means the world to me because it shows me that some people out there do appreciate and respect what I’ve been able to do here.”

Before arriving at the Eagle, Enrietto worked at Steubenville’s Herald-Star and the Xenia Daily Gazette, both in Ohio.

Enrietto’s mother, Mary Lou, initially tipped him off about the job posting at the Eagle. She also inspired his desire for quality and consistency.

“That comes from my mom,” Enrietto said. “She managed a real estate office until she was in her mid-80s, which is crazy to me. ... She had the passion for that that I have for doing this. She always told us when we were kids when we were trying to decide what we want our life work to be, ‘Your father and I don’t care if you dig ditches for a living. Just dig the best ditch you can possibly dig.’

“Whatever you do, just put your heart and soul into it. Don’t cheat yourself. Don’t cheat the people that your job might affect.”

He hasn’t done it alone.

“I appreciate the people I’ve worked with,” Enrietto said. “I’ve seen people come and go in sports, come and go in this newsroom. This is a tough business to stay at for a long time, it really is. It’s tough to maintain a marriage.

“Fortunately, I’ve got a wife (Darlene) who knew from Day One what I did for a living. She knew I wasn’t going to leave it because I made the point to tell her that. She stayed with me the whole time. I’ve been in this business 44 years. Next month, we’ll be married for 39.”

Enrietto has had the pleasure of interacting with every member of this Hall of Fame, whether it be during their athletic careers or for their own profiles.

“I love the group I’m going in with because I covered a lot of these people,” Enrietto said.

As for his own induction, Enrietto said: “I’m extremely humbled and grateful to the Hall of Fame for putting me in. This is not something I ever thought would happen. I have to mention Mike Surkalo, the sports editor here for a long time. ... The fact that he was the founder of this Hall of Fame, one of them, and having my name be in there with his, that means a lot to me, too.”

Tickets to the BCSHOF banquet are available at www.butlersportshall.com or at the Butler Radio Network on Pillow Street in Butler, Parker Appliance in Chicora, Saxonburg Drug or Maddalon Jewelers in Zelienople.