LAKELAND, Fla. – The Florida Southern College Department of Athletics mourns the loss of former Sports Editor of The Ledger, FSC Hall of Famer and Florida Southern College alumnus John Valerino who passed away on Saturday, Feb. 25.
 
Valerino was inducted into the Florida Southern College Athletics Hall of Fame in 2015 after spending 20 of his 30 years at The Ledger covering some of the biggest events in FSC Athletics history. He covered the first event in Sunshine State Conference history as the Moccasins traveled to Eckerd to take on the Tritons in men's basketball in 1976. He witnessed five trips to the NCAA Division II National Championship Tournament including the Moccasins capturing the 1981 National Championship.
 
A 1974 graduate of Florida Southern, Valerino was editor of the FSC student newspaper his senior year. He began his career at The Ledger in 1974 and in 1978 was promoted to sports editor. In 1984, he was promoted to executive sports editor and in 1988, he was given additional duties as Sports Coordinator for the New York Times Regional Newspaper Group (comprising 32 papers). In that position, he was responsible for coordinating group coverage among participating papers at the Olympics, Super Bowls, Final Fours, NBA Finals and World Series.
 
Valerino received the FSC Communications Department's Hal Waters Alumnus of the Year award in 2009 and earned the Dick Goleno Award in 2003 for outstanding contributions to local sports coverage. He authored two books on baseball, both of which are in the Baseball Hall of Fame. He also won numerous state and national writing awards for his coverage of the Olympics and FSC Basketball.
 
For in in depth look at his life and career at The Ledger read a wonderful tribute from Roy Fuoco, HERE.
 
A visitation will be held from 5 to 7 p.m. on March 10 at Heath Funeral Home (328 S Ingraham Ave) in Lakeland, Fla. The funeral mass will be at Resurrection Catholic Church (3855 S Florida Ave) at 10:30 a.m. on March 11.