Norman Mac Lean, New York-area sports reporter, dead at 84

WHITE PLAINS, N.Y. (AP) Norman Mac Lean, a prolific New York-based sports writer and author, amateur hockey league commissioner and managing editor of 25 editions of ''Who's Who in Baseball,'' died Friday. He was 84.

Mac Lean's death was confirmed by his son, Norman Alejandro Mac Lean.

A gangly, boisterous man, Mac Lean spent over 40 years as a freelance reporter covering sporting events for The Associated Press, Reuters, United Press International and various publications. He assisted coverage of Super Bowls, Stanley Cups, World Series and Olympics, and of all New York area teams.

Born April 1, 1930, in Truro, Nova Scotia, Mac Lean was commissioner in the 1960s of the new Metropolitan Junior Hockey Association, an organization founded in 1966 by New York Rangers general manager Emile Francis that counts among its alumni Joe Mullen, a member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, and Mike Richter, goaltender of the 1994 Stanley Cup champion Rangers.

A longtime contributor to The Hockey News, Hockey Pictorial and Hockey Illustrated, Mac Lean authored several books about hockey and was an analyst for Rangers' television broadcasts during the 1971-72 season, joining play-by-play man Tim Ryan. He edited ''Who's Who in Baseball'' from 1983-2007.

Mac Lean is survived by his wife, Odissea, four children, and 10 grandchildren. Funeral arrangements were pending.