In Memoriam of Todd Portune '80

Here we are: Todd Portune ’80, Kevin Barclay ’81 and me, looking vaguely triumphant and ready to rock the 4-mile loop.  Looks like it was damp that day.  Note the hodgepodge outfits.

There is lots to remember and lots to share about the amazing Todd, who died on January 25, after staring down cancer for many years.

We logged many 4-mile loops together.  Todd had exceptional drive and talent and ran 1:54.4 in the 800 meters.  I want you to know that was before we had shoes! This was before there was the Heisman Club Field House for winter training or ice baths, calf sleeves or conditioning coaches.  It was just us and our cotton Oberlin sweats.  His seven school records stood for many years.

Most days, Todd took that damn walker and “ran” a 5 k in his neighborhood before reporting to work. When the cancer returned with a vengeance in the spring of 2019, he had his left leg amputated and that was the end of the 5k routine. But not the end of his engagement in his public service or in his commitment to the Heisman Club.

His professional life was been stellar and impressive, as mentioned.  Years ago, Joe Karlgaard, the former director of athletics at Oberlin, and I accompanied him in a walk around Cincinnati. People literally came out of the woodwork, out of their offices and darted across the street to thank him for…. clean water, for talking to their mom, for working on a new traffic light.  It was like cruising around Cincinnati with Oprah.

As such a beloved and high-profile leader in Cincinnati, Todd was asked to throw out the season-opening first pitch for the Cincinnati Reds in the season of 2008.  As an athlete, he took this request very seriously.He was not going to lob any old pitch out there, hoping it would eventually roll into home plate.  He was going to throw a strike.

Except he was paralyzed on his left side.  He had to explain to me, someone who does not understand the mechanics of baseball, why this was a HUGE problem.

So, what did Todd do? Everyday, instead of his 5k ‘run”, Todd would drive down to the Reds' stadium, use his walker to lumber through the tunnel out to the pitcher’s mound, and throw 100 pitches. He did this five days a week for five weeks.  He was going to make sure that the opening first pitch was a good one. He was going to find a way to make half of his body do what professional athletes need their entire bodies to do: nail the pitch.

You can watch the result on YouTube. He goes up to the mound, walker supporting him, drops the walker, winds up and ….pitches.

This was the tenacity of Todd Portune. The tenacity that propelled his athletic success at Oberlin. That tenacity, infused with grace and kindness, made him into the collaborative, trusted political leader who was elected a record setting five times in Hamilton County. 

As much as we can admire Todd for perseverance, I am sure that would be less important to Todd than the rest of the story. The rest of the story includes his loyalty and honesty as a friend, his unwavering generosity and love for his family, his conviction that an Oberlin education had opened doors and his commitment to the betterment of all people.

His rest is deserved. But we will always miss him.