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Valley rallies around sportswriter battling cancer
By Bob Jackson
YOUNGSTOWN
Gary Housteau has seen fourth-and-long situations before.
As a standout high-school and college football player, he faced them on the gridiron. As a longtime sports reporter and photographer, he’s seen them from an up-close perspective on the sidelines.
A 1982 graduate of Woodrow Wilson High School, Housteau was a two-time City Series first-teamer at middle guard. He went on to be a three-year starter, also at middle guard, at Adrian College in Adrian, Mich.
Now, as a 52-year-old recently diagnosed with Stage 4 cancer, the fourth-and-long he’s facing is a whole new ball game. It’s one he’s determined to win.
“You can’t deny. You can’t run. You can’t hide. It’s a new life,” Housteau said. “If the cancer doesn’t eat me up, I’m definitely going to beat this.”
Housteau, a correspondent in The Vindicator’s sports department, said he does have some medical insurance, but there will be costs associated with his treatments that won’t be covered.
His friends and colleagues have organized a benefit to help Housteau raise money to pay the costs of treatment. It will be from noon to 9 p.m. May 28 at Kelly’s Bar & Grille, 1597 Mahoning Ave., on the city’s West Side.
The cost is $10 per person, which includes food and entertainment all day, said Ryan Kelly, bar owner and a longtime friend. At least six bands are slated to perform during the benefit.
“As soon as I heard the news about Gary’s cancer, I just started thinking about what I can do to help,” said Kelly, a former football player and coach at Ursuline High School. “My whole goal is to help Gary raise some money.”
Kelly said the ticket cost was kept relatively low to encourage more people to attend. People who wish to donate more will be able to do so during the benefit, he said.
Special T-shirts, with “HouseStrong” printed on the front, are also available for $25. Housteau said he can be contacted via his Facebook account by anyone who would like to buy one.
Housteau is well-known among local sports circles for his role in creating The Valley Playbook, a monthly sports publication he established in 1989 with his brothers, Ray and Chuck, and with Bruce Burge, a former Youngstown State University athletics marketing director.
For more than 10 years, The Valley Playbook featured coverage of Mahoning Valley high-school sports teams, as well as YSU and professional sports teams relevant to the Valley. Area sports reporters who remember the publication credit the Housteaus and Burge with giving local high-school athletes a forum in which to be featured.
“I can’t think of a single family that Gary and his brothers didn’t positively affect over several decades on the local sports scene,” said John Batcho, who appeared for many years on local radio under the name Mr. Sports. “No one ever did it with more drive, determination and passion than Gary. Every kid that’s been recruited from this area for sports owes him a great debt of gratitude.”
After The Valley Playbook ceased publication in 2000, Gary went on to become a reporter on Ohio State University athletics, beginning in 2001. He is a member of the Buckeye Sports Bulletin and the Bucknuts Media staff, working as a reporter and photographer.
Earlier this year, Gary was making plans to attend the Ohio state high-school basketball tournament when he began experiencing severe abdominal pain. When the pain didn’t go away, and kept getting worse, he decided to see a doctor. He expected to be given medicine to relieve what he believed was just a stomach flu, and get on the road to Columbus.
Instead, he got shocking news.
“The doctor sat down real close to me and put her hand on my shoulder,” Housteau said, remembering the day. “She said, ‘I don’t think you’re going to be going to your basketball games.’” Tests revealed that Gary had colon cancer.
He got the news March 23. About two weeks later, on April 11, he learned the cancer had spread to his liver and was diagnosed as Stage 4.
“It’s like your heart drops below your feet,” he said of his reaction to the news. His first thought was of his 16-year-old daughter Chloe. “I just want to walk her down the [wedding] aisle some day.”
He’s keeping a positive attitude, determined to do what it takes to beat cancer. He goes for walks in Boardman Township Park every day, and has adjusted his diet to more healthy fare.
“It’s not a death sentence,” he said bluntly.
Housteau said he’s been overwhelmed at the outpouring of support from his family, friends and media colleagues. He’s received messages of support from Jim Tressel, president of YSU and a former head football coach at Ohio State; and from current Buckeyes head coach Urban Meyer.
When he attended OSU’s spring football game recently, Ezekiel Elliott, former Buckeye standout and current Dallas Cowboys star running back, was there. Elliott walked over, embraced Housteau and offered words of encouragement and strength.
“I’m very thankful and grateful for the support system I have,” Gary said quietly. “I doubt that all Stage 4 cancer patients have that going for them.”