Russ Conway

Russell G. Conway (March 27, 1949 – August 20, 2019) was an American journalist, writer, and auto racing promoter. He worked in investigative journalism with The Eagle-Tribune, and wrote a series of articles and a book about Alan Eagleson and the mismanagement of funds, and National Hockey League players' pensions. He was nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in 1992, and honored with the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1999. He owned and operated several motorsport venues, and was inducted into the New England Auto Racers Hall of Fame. Early life Conway was born on March 27, 1949, in Haverhill, Massachusetts. His father was a deputy fire chief, his mother was an educator, and he grew up in Haverhill. Conway was exposed to ice hockey and auto racing as a child, attending speedway races and a 1958 Stanley Cup Finals game with his father. He began delivering newspapers in 1959, and wrote racing column for the Haverhill Journal beginning in 1964. He later attended Northeastern University. Journalism career Conway began writing for The Eagle-Tribune at age 18, and covered professional hockey from 1968. The first story he wrote exposed the poor conditions of the football team's locker room at Lawrence High School. Throughout his career, he has extensively covered the Boston Bruins. In the latter 1970s, Conway published a series of articles on race-fixing at thoroughbred racing tracks in New England. The resulting Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) findings led to a federal grand jury, with several indictments, convictions, and sentences. He saw his work as civic duty, and received no compensation from the FBI, but did make friends which helped in his future research. He was promoted to sports editor position of The Eagle-Tribune in 1981.