How lucky am I? For more than 25 years I’ve had the incredible pleasure of working for the Rocky Mountain News as one of the nation’s last sports cartoonists. I’ve been surrounded by some of the greatest journalists in the country both in sports and throughout this amazing newsroom. Everyone, and I mean everyone, who has ever worked here at the Rocky have been among the finest journalists you can find anywhere. Just as talented as anyone who works for the L.A. Times, Chicago Tribune, Boston Globe, New York Times and dozens of other large metro dailies across the country. That’s how solid the talent is at this paper.

I joined the staff in 1982, way back before the Avalanche and the Rockies came to town. I was hired by the sports editor at the time, a terrific guy named Denny Dressman. Denny was a visionary who thought drawing editorial cartoons about sports would connect with Colorado sports fans. He had the blessing of the Rocky’s editor at the time, Ralph Looney, himself an old-school editor who believed in the power of comics and the importance they have to attract and keep readers. Ralph was a smart guy. He is one of the reasons the Rocky has such a strong section of comics. He recognized the popularity of the art form and did everything he could to promote it. When Ralph retired from the News, he had no desire for the customary wristwatch they give you as a going-away present. He requested only one thing. He wanted to wrestle the comic strip “Garfield” away from the Post. Ralph beamed like a 10-year-old on his last day in the newsroom as he exited and Garfield made his grand entrance on our comics pages. It was Ralph’s cherry on the sundae. I’ll never forget him.

People ask me sometimes why I choose to become a cartoonist? The answer is simple. As a child I spent a lot of time at my grandparents’ house. Every Sunday I’d sit on my grandfather’s knee and he would read me the Sunday funnies. I thought if Dick Tracy and Pogo could bridge the age gap of some 60 years between the two of us there must be some magic in them. So I set out to be a cartoonist.

This newsroom has known its share of characters and celebrities. I think of editors like Michael Howard, Chet Nelson, Barry Forbis, Jack Foster and John Temple. Or the brilliant roster of columnists like Gene Amole, John Coit, Greg Lopez, Norm Clarke, Mike Littwin, Dave Kreiger and Mary Chase, who became famous for creating Harvey, the six-foot rabbit.

The Rocky Mountain News is more than just a newspaper. It is a valuable piece of history. It’s a testament to the strong wills of the bold, brave adventurers who settled the American West. The Rocky Mountain News was there for the gold miners, the roughnecks, the cowboys and cattle barons who created and founded Denver. It was there when Baby Doe Tabor died alone guarding her husband’s silver mine in Leadville, when Molly Brown survived the Titanic. It was there when Pearl Harbor was attacked, John F. Kennedy was struck down by an assassin’s bullet that horrible day in November ‘63 and when men walked on the moon in ‘69. It is more than just print on a page. It is a part of Colorado. It is the thread that has been woven through the fabric this city for 150 years. And it’s hard to fathom Denver without it.