Newmarket sports reporter Ian Hutchinson was constantly getting involved in different activities.
That’s how lifelong friend Richard MacLeod described "Hutch," who passed away April 30. MacLeod, a NewmarketToday contributor and lifelong resident, went to school with Hutchinson and saw him succeed in the reporting world.
His passing came as a shock, MacLeod said. He added he meant a lot to the local community, not only because he became well known as a respected reporter and columnist who chronicled the game of golf for multiple media and trade publications for 40 years.
Hutchinson “saw the light side of everything … He enjoyed the whole sporting event for everything it was, not just the competition,” MacLeod said. “You’d be hard-pressed to find anybody that doesn’t know him.”
The Newmarket community and sporting world alike are mourning the loss of Hutchinson. He first began reporting at the Newmarket Era and Mississauga Times, then moved on the publications that included ScoreGolf Magazine and the Toronto Sun before eventually transitioning to the digital world by founding Golf News Now in 2008.
It is on golf that Hutchinson would focus much of his reporting. After years of work in the sector, he was honoured by the Golf Ontario Hall of Fame with a media award in 2017 and received a distinguished service award from Golf Canada in 2020.
“Hutch had a meaningful impact over four decades chronicling the game of golf for a variety of outlets and trade publications during his respected career as a reporter and columnist,” Golf Canada said in a news release. “Hutch will be remembered and celebrated as a tremendous contributor, storyteller, and supporter of Canadian golf.”
Hutchinson also spent time covering major North American sports leagues, as well as contributing to golf publications across the continent.
“Golf won’t be the same without Hutch,” past Golf Journalists of Canada president Garry McKay said on social media.
Newmarket resident Ann Campbell said she knew Hutchinson as a friendly kid when he was growing up.
“He would pass by our house on the way home from school and stop and talk and play with my kids who were quite young at the time,” she said. “He was big for his age, a friendly giant.”
Hutchinson sought to get into athletics in high school, MacLeod said, though eventually he settled on sports reporting instead.
In high school, Hutchinson was always getting involved in different things. MacLeod said he had a mischievous side.
“He was at the centre of everything. He seemed game for everything,” MacLeod said. “When we wanted to do something, ‘Let’s get Hutch to do it. Hutch will do it,' and he would do anything.”
Family friend Kurt Weisser posted on Facebook to confirm the news and said the family is making arrangements.
MacLeod said he and Hutchinson had friendly banter as NHL fans, with MacLeod cheering for the Boston Bruins and Hutchinson a Toronto Maple Leafs fan.
With the Leafs advancing to the next round of the playoffs, MacLeod said he would wear a Leafs cap as a tribute to his friend throughout the playoffs.
“That’s the thing that I think would mean the most to him.”
