John Pitarresi spent more than 43 years as a sports reporter and columnist for the Utica Newspapers, starting out as a part-timer in 1972 before earning a full-time position early the next year.

He went on to cover every sport imaginable, from youth leagues to the professional ranks, and also occasionally worked on the news side at The Daily Press and The Observer-Dispatch.

During his long career, Pitarresi followed high schools and colleges, amateurs and professionals, the annual Baseball Hall of Fame inductions, and everything from table tennis to professional boxing. He chronicled many outstanding teams, including the 1982 Atlantic Coast Hockey League champion Mohawk V alley Stars, the 1983 New York-Penn League champion Utica Blue Sox, the 1984 NY-P champion Little Falls Mets, Colgate University’s 2003 Patriot League champion NCAA FCS finals football team, Syracuse University’s 2003 NCAA championship basketball team, Hamilton College’s 2008 national championship women’s lacrosse team, and the Utica Comets 2015 Calder Cup Finals team.

His work also included feature stories and profiles of scores of prominent local and national sports figures.

A dedicated hunter and angler, Pitarresi also has written Outdoors for the paper since 1980, and continues to do on a part-time basis during his retirement.

A native of Niagara Falls, N.Y., Pitarresi is a graduate of LaSalle High School, where he played football and baseball, and a 1970 graduate of Hamilton College, where he was co-captain of the football team and captain of the lacrosse team.