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Neal Russo was buried Saturday, and it is absolutely safe to say that there will never be another like him.
The former Post-Dispatch sports writer, copy editor and one-man vaudeville show died Wednesday at home of congestive heart failure.
He was 75.
To retell even the abridged version of Russo's memorable moments would take longer than the 43 years of active duty he spent at the P-D.
The following sampler should suffice, and then some, to cement Russo's reputation as a newspaperman, an intellect, a friend and a showman.
He was an original.
"The guy loved life," said broadcaster Al Hrabosky, the ex-Cardinals pitcher. "He was fun to be around. He was always fair and honest and he always had a smile on his face. You always knew that there would be something that would surprise you."
Ed Macauley, the St. Louis U. basketball legend, said, "Neal was a great sportswriter, but you could talk to him about things. He always had a quip. He was just a pleasant person."
His bosses, who liked him personally, were less fond of his work habits. These were situational, at best, and always subject to change.
To Russo, starting times and deadlines were man-made intrusions in the natural order of things.
Dave Lipman started in sports at the P-D with Russo as his mentor. Lipman then became Russo's boss on the sports staff and as managing editor. Now chairman of Pulitzer/2000, Lipman did not hesitate when asked for his most dazzling Russo tale.
It came when Russo was AWOL for a 3 a.m. shift to run the sports desk, even though young Michael Pulitzer, the future chairman of the company, was scheduled to observe his work.
Pulitzer arrived promptly at 3. Lipman arrived for his shift at 5 and was horrified to find Russo absent.
Russo arrived 10 minutes after Lipman and was horrified to find Pulitzer waiting idly for two hours.
"Why didn't you cut the wire?" Russo asked Pulitzer.
"Then," Lipman said, "having lost two hours, Neal just breezed through the shift and made deadline easily."
Russo often was convinced that his bosses were out to fire him. Occasionally he was mistaken.
"But at times," Lipman said, referring to himself, "even a boss with a...