MARTINS FERRY – Warren Hood never had a bad word to say about anyone. On the other hand, no one ever had a bad word to say about the Martins Ferry icon.

The 63-year-old passed away Monday morning following a series of health-related issues.

“When you think of Martins Ferry Purple Riders, there’s only a few people you think about and Warren was one of those,” long-time friend and OVAC Hall of Famer Larry Duck said. “Warren has done just about everything at Martins Ferry. He was a great guy and it’s a darned shame that he passed. I’ll miss him.

“Warren and I go way back,” Duck continued. “When I returned to Martins Ferry, Warren was just about graduated. That first year we ended up taking a trip to Italy. He was a piece of work then and through his different stages of life, he was always a piece of work.”

Duck said when he heard of his good friend’s passing, the first thought that came to his mind was, “Warren got his last baseball trip in. That’s all he talked about was his baseball trips.”

Hood completed his life-long dream of attending every current Major League Baseball stadium this past summer. He had a collection of memorabilia and souvenirs to document his odyssey.

Duck relayed a story that Hood’s long-time friend John Applegarth has told many times.

“Warren was the type of person that wherever you went, someone knew him. You could be in Rome and Warren and the Pope could be standing on a balcony, and people would ask, ‘who is that with Warren?’ He was just that type of guy. Everyone knew him.”

Veteran Martins Ferry head football coach Dave Bruney also goes a long way back with Hood.

“Our days date back to North School,” Bruney said Monday afternoon prior to practice. “He was a year behind me in school I graduated in 1969 and he graduated in 1970. When I came back here as an assistant coach, he was the 8th grade coach. He continued doing that for me when I returned here as head coach.

“He did a great job for me. He was Martins Ferry all over.”

In addition to coaching, Hood wore many hats as a Purple Rider. He was athletic director for many years and then served as ‘Voice of the Purple Riders’ for many years before his health declined.

“We were actually going to have him do basketball games this year,” Martins Ferry Schools Superintendent Dirk Fitch said. “He couldn’t do football anymore because of the press box location, but we were going to get him places where he didn’t have to move around much.”

Fitch, a Bellaire grad, recalled one of his first dealings with Hood.

“One of my first days here, Dave had kiddingly told me that if you don’t make a kid do what I want, I’ll fire you,” Fitch remembered. “Being a young kid just out of college, I was all nervous. Warren came over and said, ‘he really didn’t mean it,’ so Warren was one that looked out for the younger guys, always.

“He never knew a stranger. Everywhere you’d go, they knew Warren.”

Outside of his Purple Rider duties, Hood was a veteran basketball official (27 years) and baseball umpire (25). He was inducted into the Ohio High School Athletic Association Officials Hall of Fame in 2010.

“A totally enjoyable experience,” Hood was quoted in a column penned prior to his induction by late T-L Sports Writer, Rich Gibson. “To be recognized by your peers is very rewarding. Obviously, going into the Hall is the ultimate honor for an official or athlete.”

OVAC Basketball Commissioner John Howell started officiating with Hood in 1972.

“He was a great guy to be around,” Howell said. “He always had something funny to say. It’s a big loss to the Ohio Valley, especially Martins Ferry, because he was involved in everything sports-wise.”

Being a basketball official for many winters, Howell couldn’t figure out how Hood went right from the basketball court to the baseball diamond.

“I still don’t know how he did it for all of those years,” Howell added. “I tried it for one year and I couldn’t do it, but he could.”

Hood taught math at Martins Ferry for many years. He served on various boards and committees during his days, and could also be found working at Betty Zane Days Festival each summer.