I’ve only had the pleasure of knowing Joe Crine for a few years, but it doesn’t take more than a day at this newspaper to understand the impact he’s made on the community in his 46-year career.

Joe has chronicled the sports news in Bainbridge for three generations of athletes. He tells children that he covered their grandparents in the 1970s. That puts a perspective on just how committed Joe was to this newspaper, this community and its youth. Even now, in his retirement, his presence will be felt. We are naming him Sport Editor Emeritus and retitling the sports page the Joe Crine Sports Page.

Below I have listed some memories I’ve had with Joe, some more obscure than others. But they are the memories that stick with me.

u Whenever he would walk into the room, I would sing out “Hey Joe!” like Jimi Hendrix, and he would promptly respond “Hey buddy” in the same tone and melody. This would happen five to six times a day, on average.

u Whenever I needed to know the mascot of a team, I would ask Joe. It could be Pelham or some high school halfway across the state. Whether they were a Trojan or a Titan, Joe knew.

u Some days I would test Joe’s baseball knowledge, and it never ceased to amaze me. Early on in my days working at The Post-Searchlight, I threw out a question I thought was so random there was no way he could get it right. “Who was shortstop for the 1971 Oakland Athletics?” Joe lifted his head up, looked me dead in the eyes and said without hesitation, “Bert Campaneris.” I blinked, dumbfounded, and turned back to my work.

u There’s not a whole lot to love about Monday mornings, but I did love sauntering into the office and talking with Joe about how the Braves did that weekend. Lately, there hasn’t been too much to celebrate, but we would have a good time talking ball nonetheless.

u Joe taught me one of the biggest truths in journalism: “You can’t please all of the readers all the time, but you can please some of the readers some of the time.”

u Joe had this amazing way of writing sports stories where even if the Bearcats lost, they were just one pass, run or dunk away from victory.

u You can’t go out in public with Joe and expect to walk around without people stopping and chatting him up every few minutes. It’s the same with folks who are stopping by the office for a quick errand. They’ll peek around the corner, see Joe working at his desk and head on back to say hello. He’s got to be the most popular guy in town.

u Joe always had funny words for describing things. He called the Microsoft Word logo “The Upside Down Pitchfork”. It’s a W.

I’m going to miss having Joe around in the office. He has such a pure, joyful heart, and he made me enjoy life more.

Congratulations on the 46 years, Joe. Come back and write all the guest columns you want.