| Basil O'Meara | |
| Birth Date: | 5 June 1892 |
| Birth Place: | Ontario, Canada |
| Death Place: | Montreal, Quebec, Canada |
| Occupation: | journalist |
| Employer: | Montreal Star |
| Awards: | Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award (1984) |
| Years Active: | 1910 – |
Basil Edmund "Baz" O'Meara (June 5, 1892 – October 25, 1971), was a Canadian sports journalist. A columnist for the Montreal Star, he won the Elmer Ferguson Memorial Award in 1984 and is a member of the media section of the Hockey Hall of Fame. In 1979, he was inducted into the Canadian Football Hall of Fame.[1] [2]
O'Meara began his career at the Ottawa Free Press in 1910.[3] He was the sports editor of the Ottawa Journal during the 1920s, and mentored his successor Bill Westwick.[4] [5] He joined the Star in 1929 and retired at the age of 76 around 1968. Although controversy exists over this claim, he was widely credited with nicknaming Maurice Richard "Rocket".[3]
O'Meara died on October 25, 1971 in a Montreal hospital at age 79. He had entered the facility roughly one week before, after suffering a heart attack, and never regained consciousness.[6]