Coronavirus Update: New York Post Sports Photographer Anthony Causi Dies Of COVID-19
NEW YORK (CBSNewYork/AP) — Anthony Causi, a highly skilled and exceedingly popular sports photographer for The New York Post who covered the city's teams for 25 years, died Sunday from the new coronavirus. He was 48.
The newspaper reported Causi's death on its website Sunday night and included an image of Monday's back page. It featured a photo of Causi holding a camera with a long lens and the words "Our Eyes, Our Heart" and then below: "And our city's loss."
It was so painfully appropriate that Causi's image graced the cover of the sports section because so many of his iconic photo's appeared on the front page of the sports section for so long, reported CBS2's Otis Livingston.
Through his lens, Anthony lived through all the highs and lows of the New York sports teams for over a quarter century.
His style transcended a generation of sports photography. One fellow non-sports photographer described him as "an artist who happened to shoot sports."
Some of his iconic shots include Hall of Famer Mariano Rivera walking out from the Yankees bullpen, and a majestic image of Derek Jeter, who posted on Facebook this afternoon:
"Anthony was an amazingly talented photographer, and he was an even better person. The sports world feels his loss," Jeter wrote.
Longtime Post sports columnist Mike Vaccaro spent a lot of time with Causi on and off the field of play.
"Nobody was more competitive than Anthony. I mean, he wanted to make sure he had the greatest pictures in the newspaper that morning. He wanted to make sure to beat his competitors every day. And yet, there was a never a moment of resentment among his peers or among his other competitors. They never stopped respecting him, and they never stopped liking him. That was just a tribute to who he was. It's hard to survive in this business as long as Anthony did, for over 25 years, and say you really don't have an enemy. But Anthony really didn't, and that's a real testament to who he was, not only professionally, but personally," Vaccaro said.
"Do you know how many athletes reached out when they heard he was sick?" said Stephen Lynch, Editor-in-Chief at The Post. "Players from every team, sending thoughts, hoping he was going to be all right."
Major League Baseball called Causi a "sports photojournalist extraordinaire" and said he "brought out the best in the players and the people of our National Pastime."
Causi was a Brooklyn native. Raised in Bensonhurst, he wore his heart on his sleeve. For the past three weeks, he fought COVID-19 with every bit of Brooklyn grit he had, and inspired so many along the way.
As intense as he was on the field, he was as warm as a summer's day off of it. He was a true people person who valued downtime with fellow journalists, always remembering your children's names, asking about their latest achievements on and off the field, even offering to shoot their events on his own time pro bono, Livingston reported.
The only thing he was more passionate about in life more than his craft was the love and devotion he had for his family. His wife Romina and two children, John and Mia, ages 5 and 2. Livingston and his colleagues all got to know them through Anthony's prideful tales of parenthood. His legacy as a father and husband will live forever with his family but like all great artists, his visuals are immortalized.
Former Yankees and Mets third baseman Todd Frazier said "God found his angel photographer, that's for sure."
Curtis Granderson, former Yankees and Mets outfielder, wrote: "New York baseball won't be the same without him in the photo pit."
Philadelphia Phillies shortstop Didi Gregorius, who played for the Yankees from 2015-19: "Anthony was a great, funny and awesome guy to talk to and learn from about sports photography ... may he Rest In Peace."
Lynch called Causi "a brilliant journalist."
"He was, quite simply, one of the best sports photographers in New York City, capturing all the major moments of the past 25 years. Soft-spoken, funny, but most of all kind — he was respected by those he photographed and admired by those with whom he worked," Lynch said.
"The Post that you read, and the newsroom that we work in, are less colorful today because of his absence. Our hearts go out to his family, and we share their grief."
Causi was born and raised in Brooklyn and he graduated from Pace University. He joined The Post in 1994 as a photo messenger before advancing to photo editor and then full-time journalist photographer, the newspaper said.
Anthony Causi was 48 years old.
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