John Marsellus died at 86 last month. Marsellus, whose family ran the renowned Marsellus Casket Co., made possible a monument to basketball’s shot clock. The shot clock was created in Syracuse.
Sean Kirst
Sean Kirst is a columnist with The Central Current. He has been an Upstate journalist for more than 50 years. He held his first reporting job as a teenager and worked for newspapers in Dunkirk, Niagara Falls, Rochester and Syracuse, where he spent 27 years before joining the Buffalo News in 2016.
He is the recipient of many national and state journalism awards, including the Ernie Pyle Award, given annually to one American journalist for writing about the dreams and struggles of everyday people. He received the national excellence in column writing award from the Society for Professional Journalists, Capitolbeat's top national award for column writing about state government and the National Coalition Against Domestic Violence national media award. Between 2016 and 2025, in Buffalo, he received the New York News Publishers Association distinguished column writing award eight times, often in its largest circulation category.
Kirst, who serves as a journalist-in-residence at Le Moyne College, was named a civic Wisdom Keeper by FOCUS Greater Syracuse and his name was placed on a Wall of Distinction by the Syracuse Press Club for lifetime achievement in journalism. Kirst has been honored by the federal Department of Justice for sensitivity to victims of violent crime. He has received honorary degrees from Le Moyne and Onondaga Community College, and was honored by SUNY Fredonia in 2022 for outstanding achievement by alumni. He is a recipient of the Onondaga Historical Association medal, the OHA's highest award for preserving and interpreting local heritage.
Kirst, a TedX speaker, has given many talks about the importance of storytelling in journalism, especially in a digital age, and he is the author of three books: The Ashes of Lou Gehrig, Moonfixer, and The Soul of Central New York, published in 2016, the fastest-selling book in the more-than-80-year history of the Syracuse University Press. The England-based Tolkien Society credits Kirst with serving as founder of international Tolkien Reading Day, now celebrated around the world.
Kirst and his wife Nora, a retired city schoolteacher, have three grown children: Sarah, Seamus and Liam.
Sean can be reached at skirst@centralcurrent.org
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Sean Kirst: After slaying, new parks commissioner tells her lifeguards, ‘You need to cry, you cry.’
In the face of a difficult week, Commissioner Syeisha Byrd, lifeguards and others tried to create the best atmosphere the parks can provide: a quiet landscape where ‘kids are just being kids.’
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Sean Kirst: Close as twins, one lost at war, bond of North Side brothers deserves honor from their city
The once inseparable Spadaro brothers left school out of necessity in their early teenage years. Jimmy died at Normandy in World War II while Sam still mourns his brother 80 years after Jimmy’s death.
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Sean Kirst: After Buffalo shows the way, the Golden Snowball comes home to Syracuse
Syracuse took back the Golden Snowball from Buffalo, which won the honor the last three years.
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Sean Kirst: At Paige’s Butterfly Run, childhood cancer survivors find a ‘Courage Corner’
Paige’s Butterfly Run, in honor of Paige Arnold, takes place at 9 a.m. on Saturday morning. The run supports research into childhood cancer.
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Sean Kirst: When it counts most, young CBA coach knows Tom Dotterer is never ‘yesterday’s news’
Dotterer, the legendary baseball coach at Christian Brothers Academy, died in 2024. The Brothers’ players dedicated this season to Dotterer, the first season played after his death.
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Sean Kirst: In space of architectural greatness, seeking visionary spark in quest for mayor
Sean Kirst writes why the Everson Museum of Art is a a fitting place for a mayoral race forum with Syracuse at a crossroads.
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Sean Kirst: A medal for great sculptor Sharon BuMann, who still lives and dreams her art
BuMann, a great Central New York sculptor, suffered a stroke four years ago. As she prepares to be honored Thursday, that discipline matters more to her than ever.
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Sean Kirst: A pope with direct family ties to kindness of Father Baker
Pope Leo XIV’s grandmother gave birth to the Pope’s uncle in Lackawanna and lived in what was then called “The Infant Home,’ often for single mothers with nowhere else to go.
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Sean Kirst: Three years past 2022 racist massacre in Buffalo, loyal sister left with rolling loss, bonds of faith
Kat Massey died three years ago in the shooting at a Buffalo Tops, fueled by racism. Barbara Massey Mapps, her sister, has spent three years picking up the pieces.