Pictured from left are Write on Sports Founder Byron Yake, Peter King Legacy Award Recipient Molly Rich and Sportswriter Peter King.
WEST ORANGE — West Orange High School Class of 2012 alumna Molly Rich has received the 2025 Peter King Legacy Award, given at the Write on Sports Evening of Champions on Oct. 16 at Hudson House in Jersey City.
King, a legend in the sports broadcast world, has supported the Write on Sports program since its inception 20 years ago. The award, recognizing his legacy, is given to honor an individual who has made significant contributions to the Write on Sports program and highlights people who have helped foster literacy through sports.
Locally, Write on Sports offers programs for middle school students ages 11-14 and holds a summer camp at Montclair State University for rising seventh-, eighth-, and ninth-grade students. West Orange, a longtime participant in Write on Sports, conducts a Write on Sports after-school program at Edison Middle School, and programs at Liberty and Roosevelt are expected to be up and running shortly.
“I attended Write on Sports in 2007 at West Orange High School after an assembly piqued my interest at Roosevelt Middle School,” said Rich. “At that time, I already had dreams of working in sports, especially growing up as a big baseball and Yankee fan. During the two-week camp, I utilized many different forms of writing, on-camera reporting and interviewing. It solidified my desire to work in sports media and, from there, I had tunnel vision on my path to get where I am. I also returned to Write on Sports as an intern during my four college summers after graduating from high school (2012-15) at the Montclair State camps. I was able to work with students on their writing and video projects, and provided a unique perspective as someone who was a former camper while also pursuing a journalism degree at Rutgers.”
While at West Orange High School, Rich took journalism classes with Mr. Ehrlich in ninth and 10th grades and attended broadcast journalism classes in junior and senior years (TV-36/WOHS News) with Ms. Thomassie, Mr. Kale and Mr. Marmo. Rich was the sports anchor on WOHS News for both junior and senior year, and was the executive producer of the “Senior Show” in 2012. She also played varsity softball with Mr. Galioto.
Rich attended Rutgers University from 2012-16, earning her degree in journalism and media Studies with a specialization in Sports Journalism. At Rutgers, she worked at the RU-TV Network sophomore through senior year (2013-16). She also interned with the New Jersey Film Festival, played club softball and interned/freelanced for a sports/event streaming company called The Strive Network (now called Play by Play Productions).
With the experience gained through West Orange High School, Write on Sports and Rutgers, Rich landed a job with the MLB/NHL Network in Secaucus following graduation. She is currently a supervisor with the Media Operations team (formerly Media Management).
“The impact Write on Sports has is immeasurable,” said Rich. “It gives students the opportunity to write about something that interests them during the summer months. It gives them a voice and lets them know that their stories matter.”
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