Al Saracevic, the former business and sports editor of The Chronicle, known for being surly and gregarious but friendly, approachable and a good news judge, performed early Saturday morning in San Francisco’s Mission District. He died suddenly after collapsing.
Following his stint as business editor after over a decade of overseeing The Chronicle’s sports staff, Saracevic accepted a buyout and joined Examiner in March 2021 as director of news and sports. His death was confirmed by Allen Matthews, the manager of the Examiners. Saracevic was 52 years old and lived in Lafayette with his family.
At the Examiner, he became a common columnist, often on page one, smiling at the line art that accompanied his column. The breadth of his output is reflected in his recent headlines. Go to the show and see for yourself”; “Progressives vs Moderates in San Francisco: Why Are We Still Fighting Each Other?”; “Battle for the Soul of San Francisco: Left vs. Left, who will win?
Closer to his sports wheelhouse is “Worst seat at a Giants game? Examiner’s road trip to the outside of Oracle Park.
Anyone who knows Saracevic can imagine him walking into a sports wheelhouse, meeting people, taking notes, eating a hot dog or two, drinking a beer or two. I can.
Chronicle’s Giant’s Beat writer Susan Slusser said, “Al, like an old-fashioned big-city editor, was a giant who you could tell he had fun with.” , and loved the daily struggle to serve the city, and was also great at thinking big.
“A classic, he would have been perfectly suited for the golden age of newspapers.”
Saracevic was part of the Examiner crew in 2000 when Hearst Corp. sold Afternoon Examiner and acquired Morning Chronicle to merge its staff. In the afternoon newspaper he covered the early days of the dot-com boom, but in the reconstructed Chronicle, Business quickly moved through his time as editor, posting impressive achievements in all three major professional sports. Sports was named his editor just in time. team.
He led Chronicle coverage through the Giants’ three-time World Series win, the Golden State Warriors’ three-title NBA dynasty in five years, and the San Francisco 49ers’ two Super Bowl trips.
“He was a big advocate for comprehensive coverage of the sporting scene here with quality, passion and enthusiasm,” said Giants President Larry Baer.
He was always professionally fair, but he was also enthusiastic when the situation called for it.The Chronicle’s promotions department unveiled a front-sided poster board proclaiming the Warriors NBA champions at the 2015 NBA Finals in Cleveland. when it was pre-printed, Saracevic took on the task of getting it into the hands of courtside players.
After being turned down by several players, he finally got the poster board into the hands of backup Festus Ezeli. As the team piled up on the court, it was Ezeri who held them together. It worked so well that Saracevic did it again in his 2017, handing the front page into the hands of Andre Iguodala.
Warriors spokesperson Raymond Ridder said, “He wasn’t supposed to be in that space, but he knew it was good for Chronicle and that it was important to him.” For those of us who have had the great pleasure of working with him on a regular basis, he will be dearly missed.”
Saracevic attempted a top-page trick for the 49ers, but ended up on the sidelines in the Super Bowl when Colin Kaepernick’s fourth down pass went off Michael Crabtree’s fingertips in the end zone. Saracevic had six poster boards at the time, which he haphazardly threw in a trash can on the field.
Saracevic’s retellings of these episodes at staff meetings evolved into comic skits. He played the soulful blues on his harmonica and was also part of the Irish His Newsboys, a band that included journalists from The Chronicle and other publications.
He drove a wrecked old car and always had his seatbelt unfastened when driving from the Chronicle to the ballpark. The English bulldog I often brought in also had a weakness.
He’s a proud Croat, and he took advantage of that when the Warriors signed three players from the Balkans (a Serb, a Croat, and a Bosnian). and proved his credibility in the Balkans by speaking fluent Croatian. It warmed up the subject of an interview that no one else could land.
His hands were all over the sports section. He was also involved in devising a method for dyeing paper green on a printing press to carry on the sporting green tradition. But his best skill was finding and nurturing editing talent.
Sports columnist Anne Killion said, “I will forever be grateful to Al for hiring me for my hometown newspaper ten years ago.” There were moments that lingered and I am devastated to hear this news.”
In 2020, when the pandemic hit, Saracevic moved from sports to the news desk to oversee the Chronicle’s COVID-19 coverage.
A native of Euclid, Ohio, Saracevic grew up in Cleveland and graduated from Rutgers University. He is survived by his wife Jennifer Klein Saracevic. son, Sam. his daughter, Maggie; Sister, Aida. and his father, Tefco. His mother, Blanca, died in 2014.
Sam Whiting is a staff writer for the San Francisco Chronicle. Email: swhiting@sfchronicle.com Twitter: @Sam WhitingSF
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