PressBox is saddened to learn of the passing of veteran Baltimore sportswriter Jim Henneman at the age of 89 on May 22, 2025.
Henneman spent eight decades covering Baltimore sports in print, a milestone he talked about in 2020, and wrote for PressBox since the publication’s inception in 2006.
He was a Baseball Hall of Fame voter more than 40 years and served on the Hall of Fame’s Historical Oversight Committee, which puts together ballots for various Era Committees to vote on.
In recognition of his years as an official scorer at Camden Yards and his decades of work covering the team, the Orioles officially dedicated their press box in his honor in January 2024.
Before getting his start in journalism, Henneman played baseball at Calvert Hall, where he famously pitched against future Baseball Hall of Famer Al Kaline, a Baltimore native who starred at Southern High School.
Henneman continued his education at Loyola, where he played basketball and baseball and ran cross country. During his junior year, he got a head start on what would become a decades-long career when he took on what was then a student role as sports public relations director.
Henneman fell ill with the rheumatic fever during his senior year of college (1957-58) and was out of school for three months. He originally intended to return to Loyola for his final year of baseball eligibility, but he decided to pursue a career in journalism instead. He started by doing part-time work at the Baltimore News-Post, which became the Baltimore News American in the early 1960s. He worked there from 1958-1968. His first story was about Kaline, whom he had faced in high school.
Henneman was the public relations director with the Baltimore Bullets from 1968-1973, during which time he got to know Wes Unseld, whom he called “one of the great human beings in my lifetime.”
Henneman returned to the Baltimore News American after the Bullets moved to Washington in 1973. He was the News American‘s Orioles beat writer until 1979, then moved to The Baltimore Sun. He worked on the Orioles beat at The Sun from 1980-1995, after which he moved into what he called “semi-retirement.”
No words can capture what Henneman meant to Baltimore sports fans better than his own, so here’s a look back at some our favorite pieces that he wrote for PressBox over the years:
- Jim Henneman: Baseball Reflections From The Relaxation Station
- Jim Henneman: Remembering A Wakeup Call 30 Years Ago
- Jim Henneman: Giving Thanks For The Story That Was Handed To Me — Twice
- Jim Henneman: Sixty-Five Years Later, Is It Still The Greatest Game Ever Played?
- Jim Henneman: Thanks, Brooks — You Always Made It Personal
- Jim Henneman Remembers When His Assignment Changed From Sportswriter To Bat Boy
- With Aaron Judge Chasing Roger Maris, Jim Henneman Remembers Maris’ Chase In Baltimore
- Jim Henneman: Former Baltimore Bullets Coach Gene Shue Was The Original Owl
- Jim Henneman: Former Orioles GM Roland Hemond Always Left An Impression
- Jim Henneman: 1971 Orioles Staff Will Never Be Touched In Anybody’s Lifetime
- Closing A Chapter From The Best Seat In The House
- Jim Henneman: Remembering Joe Altobelli, The Last Orioles Manager To Win It All
- Jim Henneman: Vi Ripken Married A ‘Baseball Lifer’ … Then Joined The Club
- Jim Henneman: How Time Flies For Shane Beamer, Andy Oates
- Wes Unseld’s Impact On Court Met Only By His Character
- Jim Henneman: Jerry Sloan’s Time In Baltimore Brief But Impactful
- Jim Henneman: Steve Dalkowski And ‘Nuke’ … A Walk On The Wild Side
- Calvert Hall’s Augie Miceli: A Man For All Seasons
- History Shows Path To Big Leagues Can Be Slow For Promising Orioles
- Jim Henneman: Former Oriole Frank Robinson Typified Dedication, Excellence
- For Orioles’ Cedric Mullins And Al Bumbry, Eye Test Was Best Test
- Breaking In With Cal Ripken, Orioles Trainer Richie Bancells An Iron Man In His Own Right
- Despite Earl Weaver’s Reputation, He Had A Soft Side
- A New Cut Road
Photo Credit: Courtesy of the Baltimore Orioles