Larry Mahoney is the esteemed color analyst on the Maine Black Bears radio network, and has been paired with Dan Hannigan for over a dozen years (see my earlier post on Dan to learn more about him). Larry has covered Maine hockey since it's inception in 1977-78, and he brings a great combination of knowledge and unique perspective to Black Bear hockey broadcasts on the radio. Larry has been associated with some great moments in Maine hockey, including being at the microphone for both of Maine's national championships (1992-93 and 1998-99). An alum of the University of Maine, Larry was an accomplished athlete for much of his early life, playing baseball and club hockey, as well as football. He was an outfielder for Bangor High School in 1971, a year which saw Bangor win a state championship.
In addition to his radio duties, Larry is a prolific writer. He has written for the Bangor Daily News for an astounding 43 years, and is a five time Maine Sportswriter of the Year. He covered Hockey East for the Hockey News Magazine for several years and has seen and covered scores of outstanding players at Maine who have gone on to stellar NHL careers. He has also done work covering the Maine men's basketball team.
In addition to his accolades as a writer, Larry also was the first recipient of the prestigious Joe Concannon Media Award in 1992, given annually to a member of the media who demonstrates excellence in covering and promoting Hockey East. Larry's outstanding work with the Hockey News played a large role in Larry's reception of the award.
Larry is the oldest of six children, and his parents, Larry and Nancy Mahoney attended Needham High School. His mother was Miss Needham in 1951, while his father was a captain on the football team. His father also served time in the US Air Force, with assignments in Thailand, Turkey, and Vietnam. Larry and his wife Sally, who have been married for 36 years, have two sons: Michael, a graduate of McGill University in Montreal, and Andrew, who graduated from the University of Tampa and is a first lieutenant in the Maine Army National Guard and is a soon to be graduate of the Aviation Center in Fort Rucker, as a Black Hawk helicopter pilot.
Larry has always had the amazing ability to tell colorful and humorous stories, and of course that is a skill which is so important to having success as a broadcaster. He has shared with me many funny stories of his experiences growing up as an athlete, and he blends this humorous style very nicely with his superb analysis of the players and the specifics of the teams and knowledge of the league.
To listen to Larry alongside Dan Hannigan on the call of Maine hockey, there are several options around the state of Maine- their flagship station is WVOM (103.9 FM) in Bangor. Other stations on the network include WVQM 101.3 (Augusta), WSYY 1240 AM (Millinocket), WLOB 1310 AM (Portland), WJJB 96.3 FM (Portland), WRED 1440 AM (Portland) and WVQM 1450 AM (Rockland). Internet audio can be found at www.GoBlackBears.com as well. You may also search for those stations through the TuneIn radio app for your mobile devices.
