January 17th, 2024 – 3:55 PM
WRGA Staff Reports –
Longtime local sports journalist Jim O’Hara has passed away after battling Cancer.
James (Jim) Brian O’Hara was born on January 26, 1954, in Baltimore, MD.
He graduated from Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and began his sports journalism career as a sportswriter for the Farmville Herald.
Upon moving to Georgia, he worked at the Carrollton Times and finally at the Rome News-Tribune for over 20 years, where he became the Sports Editor.
According to the Rome Emperors baseball club, Jim was an active member of the press box staff at AdventHealth Stadium and was an official scorekeeper for the club. He was known for his rendition of ‘Take Me Out To The Ballgame.’
Jim covered the 1996 Atlanta Olympics, multiple Super Bowls, and World Series. He participated in multiple Braves locker room celebrations, including the famous “Sid Slid”.
He coordinated many Rome Christmas Basketball Tournaments, covered all high school and college sports, was a softball umpire, and served as an announcer at sporting events until his retirement.
He died at his home in Rome GA on January 16, 2024.
A Funeral Mass will be held at St. Mary’s Catholic Church, Rome, GA on January 24, 2023 at 1:30 PM.
Visitation will precede the funeral at 12:30, and a reception follows the funeral at 2:30.
The family welcomes anyone for any part of the celebration of Jim’s life.
In lieu of flowers, donations may be made to either Floyd Heyman Hospice (www.floyd.org/medical-services/hospice/) or to Floyd County College and Career Academy, specifying the FAME program (www.floydboe.net).
