Matthew Osborne grew up in Florida but loved Philly sports. (Photo: Matthew Osborne Facebook)
By AARON BRACY
August 15, 2024
Big5Hoops.com
The first time I met Matthew Osborne, he was wearing the brightest pink dress shirt I ever saw. It was the spring of 2007. I was the sports editor at The Trentonian, and Matthew was interviewing for the assistant sports editor position.
His color choice for the dress shirt might not have fit the mold for Interviewing 101 but, as I would soon come to find out, perfectly fit the mold for the person.
Matthew got that job as assistant sports editor and, like the shirt that he so boldly wore, proceeded to brighten my life for the next 16 years until, shockingly and heartbreakingly, he unexpectedly passed away on Tuesday morning.
Matthew Osborne was just 47 years old. He leaves behind his wife and three children.
I’m still finding this hard to process. When former colleague at The Trentonian Josh Norris called with the news on Thursday morning, I didn’t answer the first time because Norris’s unknown number had gotten deleted from my phone during a transfer to the cloud that must have had a thunderstorm, or something. (That was my attempt at some Matthew humor, by the way.) As the words of his voice mail message populated on my phone screen, telling me that Matthew had passed away, I just couldn’t comprehend them. The words just didn’t make sense to me. Still don’t.
How could Matthew have passed away? Shock and tears followed as I started to think about my friend. So, let me tell you a little about Matthew.
Matthew Osborne grew up in Seminole, Florida, graduating from Seminole High School. He loved sports. Naturally, he was a Florida Gators fan. Quarterback Shane Matthews was his guy. And he also loved…Philadelphia sports. Matthew’s family had season tickets to the Phillies’ spring training games in Clearwater, which is about a 25-minute drive from his childhood home. But it was more than just the proximity to their spring practice site that attracted Matthew to the Phillies and also the Flyers, 76ers and Eagles. Matthew’s father, Barry Osborne, was born in Chester, Pennsylvania, and went on to a prolific basketball career at Chichester High School, where he scored 1,049 points to earn a spot in the Delaware County Hall of Fame.
I believe I only met Barry Osborne once, but I knew him through Matthew’s stories. He was so proud of his dad, whom I remember him calling “Pops.” Barry Osborne loved Philly sports, and he passed that love on to his son.
“As bad as some of these Philly teams have been, he’s stuck with them all the way,” Matthew told me during our podcast interview in the spring of 2020 while the entire sports world was on pause.
Matthew turned his love of sports into a career in journalism. After working in sports for many years, he became a news editor at two newspapers in the South, most recently as the editor of The Northeast Georgian, while always relishing the opportunities to cover high school football and other sports stories. As I learned during our time in Trenton, Matthew cared greatly about putting out the best product. He was good at journalism. And he was even better as a person.
From our first encounter with the pink shirt until our most recent text last month, Matthew always made me laugh or put a smile on my face. He had a quick wit and a relaxed personality, always finding a way to chuckle no matter the circumstances.
Of our time together in Trenton, he said, “It was something. We had some fun, though.”
Matthew always had fun and brought fun to whatever room he was in. If you were a reader of his columns, you could feel this coming through the words. In a way that only he could pull off, he might weave former University of Florida quarterback Tim Tebow, former Flyers defenseman Kimmo Timonen, a somewhat obscure pop-culture or movie reference, and one of his Pop’s teammates at Chichester into a column about, say, the Phillies’ starting rotation. But he always nailed those columns. And always left you smiling or laughing along the way.
How many people do you have in your life who put a smile on your face all of the time? For me, this is the hardest part about losing my friend. His impact on me, and how he always made me laugh or smile, has meant more to me than he’ll ever know. It’s why the tears are starting again. Because I’ll miss that so much.
Matthew and I talked often, mostly through text, ever since he assumed my former position at The Trentonian when I left. We always communicated with each other in July, including last month, because my birthday on July 15th is four days before his. He always texted me on my birthday, and I always returned the favor. He knew I loved Smithwick’s beer, and he bought me a case on my birthday once. From that point, he’d always reference having a Smithwick’s to celebrate the occasion. Matthew wasn’t much of a beer drinker, as far as I know, but he did love sports memorabilia.
As I continued my sportswriting career as a freelancer for the Associated Press, covering the Phillies, Flyers, 76ers and, occasionally, the Eagles, I’d sometimes get a text from Matthew that said something like this: “Hey, are you covering the Phillies on Thursday night?” I’d check the promotion schedule and see that the Phillies, sure enough, were giving away a Phanatic Star Wars bobblehead, or something like that. I knew Matthew would be interested in adding that to his large collection. So, for many years on his birthday, I would send him a box of stuff I collected on my trips to games. Sometimes, there would be a bobblehead; mostly though, it would be just a bunch of Philadelphia sports stuff, like a poster of former Flyers forward Nolan Patrick, or a replica pennant of the 1993 Phillies.
When we did the podcast interview, I joked that I had a Jody Shelley Flyers poster somewhere for him. Actually, I think that was true, though I don’t know what happened to that poster. Matthew told me a Shelley Flyers poster might be worth something. It’s probably long gone in the trash with most of the other stuff from over the years. But next to my desk here as I type, I still have a bunch of posters and stuff that Matthew would like stored in crevices between filing cabinets. I hadn’t gotten to the post office this year, or in the last few years, I think, to get him stuff. Sadly, this stuff, including a “Let’s Go Flyers” poster of Wayne Simmonds, Claude Giroux, Brayden Schenn and Jake Voracek – none of whom play for the team anymore – won’t get in his hands. (By the way, I think Matthew really would’ve really gotten a kick out of receiving that Flyers poster this year. Darn.)
I was thinking about Matthew a lot last week. One of my final pieces of submissions for my book was the acknowledgements. There, I thanked Matthew for “being a friend who lives far away but stays close through texts that always bring me a smile.” I will not edit those words. I want everyone to read them and know how much Matthew means to me.
It has been a rough couple of weeks on the sportswriting friend front. Two weeks ago, Andy Jasner, a friend and colleague, suddenly passed away of a heart attack at the way-too-young age of 55. And now Matthew. Like Matthew, Andy was married with three children. Two really good guys. Two really good husbands and fathers. Now gone. It just doesn’t make any sense.
When Andy Jasner passed, I took comfort in thinking that he was reunited with his beloved father, Phil, back on press row together, back covering the 76ers. With Matthew, similarly, I think he’s back with his Pops, back talking Philly sports with the man whom he so clearly loved and admired. Still, it’s hard that neither are still here. While it’s hard not to feel upset about the loss of each and the unfairness of it all, especially for their families, it’s also easy to be grateful for what each has given to this world.
For me, Matthew has had a profound effect on my life. Being in his presence immediately brightened my day. His quick wit and humor made me laugh. Thinking about him makes me smile. He, literally, was a joy to be around. I am grateful for him. With Jasner and Osborne, God gained a couple of really good guys and really good writers who can regal folks in heaven with some good stories. (Folks was an often-used word by Matthew. I’m sure he has folks up there cracking up in a way that warms their hearts.)
Heaven’s gain, though, is Earth’s loss. What it means for us is that, without trying to sound too preachy, we all need to emulate the model of Andy Jasner and Matthew Osborne, in the way we treat our family, in the way we treat others. For Matthew’s example, specifically, we all need to think about how we can brighten someone else’s life, how we can bring joy and laughter and a smile to others’ faces. That’s what Matthew did for me, and that’s what I will continue to try to do for others.
For starters, I will be going out to purchase a bright pink dress shirt. (I think Matthew would probably suggest getting a Kelly Green Eagles jersey instead.) When I wear that shirt, maybe it will brighten someone’s day like Matthew has brightened mine for the last 16 years. I think he would like that.
—
Aaron Bracy has been covering Philadelphia sports since 1996. His byline regularly appears on Associated Press stories. Follow Bracy on X: @Aaron_Bracy and like his Facebook and Instagram pages. He currently is writing a book on the 2003-04 Saint Joseph’s men’s basketball team. Contact him at aaron@big5hoops.com.