HUNTINGTON -- Beyond a respected, straight-forward approach and catch phrases such as "pardon me for asking," Ernie Salvatore built a journalistic career on versatility.

Naturally, the long-time sports editor and columnist of The Herald-Dispatch was linked to Marshall University athletics. He covered the Thundering Herd for more than four decades; his character was prominently depicted in "We Are Marshall" the movie chronicling the 1970 Marshall football plane crash.

Labeling Ernie Salvatore simply as "a Marshall guy," however, is a moot effort. Yes, Joan C. Edwards Stadium's press box is named in his honor, featuring photos of Salvatore, who passed away Friday morning at age 87.

"He was not only a Marshall guy. He was a Huntington guy," former Marshall head football coach Bobby Pruett said. "He loved this state and he loved being here. He had the opportunity to probably leave, but he elected to stay.

"This is a special place, and for him being as good at what he did for so long, there are few people who could do it."

Salvatore also was a boxing guy, a baseball guy, a horse racing guy and on and on. Conversations with the veteran journalist spanned from Cam Henderson to Rocky Marciano to Chad Pennington.

Boxing promoter Jerry Thomas, who annually hosts Toughman competitions in Huntington, first met Salvatore in the mid-1970s. Salvatore covered fights of Thomas' brother, Tommy Thomas, who won a Golden Gloves title in 1977.

Background of the sweet science dates more than five decades. Salvatore was on the beat when local fighter Ottie Adkins won the National Golden Gloves title, one of just three West Virginia natives to earn a national championship.

"We talked about Marciano quite a bit and we would compare top fighters of today to Marciano and others," Jerry Thomas said of the famed former undefeated heavyweight champion. "He liked that style of fighter. We would talk about some of the big fights. He was very versatile and very knowledgeable about a lot of sports.

"I really think boxing was as important to him as football, maybe more. It's hard to say but I know he loved boxing.

"We had a lot of conversations attempting to compare Oscar De La Hoya and others to fighters from the '50s and '60s."

Salvatore's "Mary ex-model" columns, previewing the Kentucky Derby, developed into something of an institution of The Herald-Dispatch. Each year, through the alias, he predicted a winner, occasionally nailing it.

"No, football wasn't the only sport he loved," said novelist Lou Sahadi, also a Marshall graduate and close friend of Salvatore. "The only sport he didn't really care for was hockey because he said that was the only sport where you could fight and not get kicked out. But he loved boxing, golf, basketball."

He also loved good food. Salvatore was a regular at numerous Huntington restaurants and appreciated good conversation combined with a fine meal. Sahadi once phoned his buddy from faraway to endorse a fine Italian place.

"I called him from Paris and he said, 'Paris, Kentucky?' I said, 'No, Paris, France. I found a nice Italian place called Sergio's," Sahadi said with a laugh. "He was one of a kind."

Sahadi especially appreciated his friend's "Pardon me for asking" columns. Others pointed to Salvatore's frank approach. Yes, he was tied to Marshall for decades, but Salvatore was fair, meaning criticism flowed through his writing when warranted.

Pruett, perhaps as well as anyone, backs that stance. Marshall's all-time winningest football coach met Salvatore as a Thundering Herd student-athlete in the 1960s, then as a Marshall assistant coach, followed by Pruett's head coaching run from 1996 to 2004.

"We sort of had a special bond," Pruett said. "He was always very good to me and straightforward. I always admired him and had a great relationship with him.

"It's been a tough year and a half for Marshall, losing two players (Johnathan Goddard and Donte Newsome) and Dr. (Jose) Ricard (the football program's long-time team doctor) and (Marshall athletic Hall of Fame member) Ralph May."

Ricard's daughter, "Rocky" Smith, fondly recalls Saturday evenings spent with Salvatore and others. Following Marshall football games in the 1980s, the Ricards would join the Salvatores at then-head coach George Chaump's home for coffee and cake.

Dr. Ricard passed away nearly a year to the day of Salvatore's passing; Ricard, who jump-started Marshall's sports medicine program, died July 5, 2008.

He was a fan of Salvatore's writing, leading to an invitation for lunch at a high-scale restaurant. Salvatore accepted, looking forward to a one-on-one with the prominent physician. To Ernie's surprise, Ricard also invited numerous Tri-State athletic luminaries for a round-table chat.

"As he was walking in the door he thought he might get one column out of this, and then there was a whole table full of columns," said Amy Ricard, Jose's wife, Rocky's mother and a close friend of Salvatore's deceased wife, Joanne. "Ernie said, 'How did you get everybody here?' Jose kept inviting him to lunch and we just clicked.

"He really enriched our lives."

Salvatore's passion for varied sports, particularly boxing, earned his personal ringside seat at Huntington's Toughman contests. That spot again will be reserved come January, and a memorial 10-bell count will sound off in Salvatore's honor.

"I definitely miss Ernie and we will continue to reserve his seat," Thomas said.

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