Bill Lyon, right, is joined by Dr. Jason Karlawish at the Penn Memory Center. Credit: Clem Murray/Philly.com
In the world of sports journalism, Bill Lyon is a legend.
In more than 40 years in the Philadelphia region, working for The Philadelphia Inquirer, he has covered the biggest moments in sports: the Super Bowl, the World Series, the Stanley Cup Playoffs, the Olympics. He has been nominated for the Pulitzer Prize six times.
Yet through decades of watching elite athletes square off, Lyon has never covered a battle quite like his own.
In 2013, “the man in the white coat” at the Penn Memory Center told Lyon he had Alzheimer’s disease. And Al — that’s what Lyon has taken to calling the disease — is an undefeated opponent.
In this battle, Lyon’s greatest weapon is one he has spent a lifetime sharpening.
The “sportswriter emeritus” wrote a series of weekly columns that ended today.
“My hope is that the columns will be cathartic and perhaps be of some help to anyone else who’s going down this same long and winding road,” he wrote at the beginning of the series.
“Let’s gang up on Al.”
Read Bill Lyon’s columns below:
Part I: My Alzheimer’s fight: Never, ever quit
Part II: My Alzheimer’s fight: Adjust, adapt, push on
Part III: My Alzheimer’s fight: Mind, Body, Meds
Part IV: My Alzheimer’s fight: Shaping Other Minds
Part V: My battle with Alzheimer’s: Finding my way back