Canada Free Press -- ARCHIVES

Because without America, there is no free world.

Return to Canada Free Press

Editor Desk

The apprenticeship of Eddy Zee


by Judi McLeod
August 5, 2002

Canadian boxing champ George Chuvalo never realized what a blessing it would be when he sent a character by the name of Ed Zawadzki down to Toronto Free Press.

Chuvalo had been submitting a regular column when double family tragedy struck. Knowing how short we were on sportswriters and Chuvalo just being his thoughtful self, he asked his good friend Eddy Zee to come down and give us a hand.

In the beginning, I’m sure that Eddy did not know what to make of our deadline-frantic motley crew, nor did we know what to make of him. A passionate promoter of kickboxing, he, like Chuvalo, travelled with a stable of Damon Runyan-type characters, including Chuvalo’s sometimes chaffeur and all-round man Marvin Elkind, nicknamed "Starvin’ Marvin’ by me, because of his inordinate capacity for noshing at TFP office parties.

Marked by an outstanding sense of humour, in spite of mind-numbing personal tragedy, Chuvalo is a talented mimic, and to this day sometimes still fools us by feigning a Scottish accent when he rings to complain about an article in the paper. As the champ collects characters, the way some people collect stamps, we should have known that one Mr. Edward Zawadzki would be a genuine one.

From the outset, Zawadzki let it he known that he someday wanted to be an investigative reporter. Some of our more literary tag-alongs let it be known that this would be well nigh impossible because Zawadzki was, in their highbrow way of thinking…"Only a sportswriter."

There is nothing "only" about Eddy’s interest in topics, running from Catholicism to Communism and everything in between.

It wasn’t long before the rookie sportswriter was coming up with exclusive front-page story ideas that really worked. Slightly doubtful about his ability to write a front-page story himself, I told him he had already succeeded in Journalism 101, recognizing what makes a cover story.

Standing well over six feet tall and hefty to boot, Eddy fears none. Lots of people recognize him from his public profile from television and radio, including Mojo Radio 640 AM, where, with Jeff Marek he hosts Friday Night Fight Club, presenting incredible guests like Angelo Dundee, Burt Sugar, Sugar Ray Leonard and Larry Holmes. Between broadcasting stints, he’s worked as a bouncer, and met with many adventures one Christmas when he chauffeured dancers to and from work.

Educated by nuns and priests, his background is straight out of Boy’s
Town moviedom. In today’s down-with-the-Christians atmosphere, he wrote in a recent column that Pope John Paul 11 "is my personal shepherd".

Particularly close to his Mom, and ever-mindful of the suffering of her and other family in the Poland of Word War II, Eddy, like his friend Chuvalo has a life marked by personal tragedy. A frequent visitor to one brother in an institution for the mentally handicapped since the 1950s, he takes care of yet another brother ravaged by the excesses alcohol abuse. In everyday life, he’s the steady emotional buffer for his much beloved Mom.

Through all, Eddy is an optimist, with always a kind word for others.

In the journalism apprenticeship of Eddy Zee came the day when he submitted his first front-page story to TFP. It was a zinger and was promptly picked up by the Toronto Sun.

It was no surprise to me when his book The Ultimate Canadian Sports Trivia Book was published by the Dundurn Group, or that he’s on contract for a second book.

When I read in the Canadian Sports Trivia that "Judi McLeod, of the gutsy Toronto Free Press was the first to inform me of the then-unknown fact that I was a writer," it was one of my proudest moments.

Thank you, George Chuvalo for Ed Zawadzki. He’s the greatest.

Canada Free Press founding editor Most recent by Judi McLeod is an award-winning journalist with 30 years experience in the print media. Her work has appeared on Newsmax.com, Drudge Report, Foxnews.com, Glenn Beck. Judi can be reached at: judi@canadafreepress.com


Pursuant to Title 17 U.S.C. 107, other copyrighted work is provided for educational purposes, research, critical comment, or debate without profit or payment. If you wish to use copyrighted material from this site for your own purposes beyond the 'fair use' exception, you must obtain permission from the copyright owner. Views are those of authors and not necessarily those of Canada Free Press. Content is Copyright 1997-2018 the individual authors. Site Copyright 1997-2018 Canada Free Press.Com Privacy Statement