LANGAN, Phil Phil Langan of Enfield, 70, passed away suddenly at his home on Monday (November 23, 2009). Langan was born in Boston in 1939. He attended South Boston High School and received a BA Degree in English from Boston College in 1960. Following graduation, he was the assistant sports information director at Harvard. During that time, he served six months of active duty in the United States Army. He received an Honorable Discharge following six and a half years of active reserve duty. He joined a Boston publishing firm 1963 and four years later was named sports information director at Ithaca College where he stayed for six years. He served in that same capacity at Princeton for four years. Cornell for three years and Brown University for four years before accepting a position as Vice President of Public Relations and Community Relations for the Hartford Whalers in 1983. He held the same position with the Pittsburgh Penguins from 1991-96.
The community relations programs Langan created in Hartford and Pittsburgh were considered models for many National Hockey League teams. Langan ran a successful sports public relations consulting business for eight years. Most recently, he worked in customer service and security for the Hood Museum at Dartmouth College. During his career, he received over 50 awards for publication and public relations excellence on both the college and professional levels. He was inducted into the Ithaca College Sports Hall of Fame in 1973, served five years on the NCAA Public Relations Committee and was Secretary-Treasurer for the College Sports Information Directors of America for eight years. In June of 2009, he was inducted into the College Sports Information Director of America Hall of Fame. Langan authored a well-received Manual on "Public Relations for the High School Athletic Director And Coach." He began, and then coordinated Halls of Fame for Ithaca College, Cornell, the Whalers and Penguins. He also coordinated media relations for NCAA Hockey, Lacrosse and Wrestling Championship Tournaments, and created food drives, blood drives and a wide range of charity events during his professional career that rose well over $6 million. Langan was predeceased by his loving wife August 2009. He is survived by a daughter, Regina, of Morrisville, VT; three sons, Ralph, of Oxford, Kevin, of Perkinsville, VT, and Sean, of Southwick, MA; 15 grandchildren and three great grandchildren. Family and friends are invited to calling hours at Ricker Funeral Home in Lebanon on Friday, November 27, 2009, from 5 to 7 p.m. A Mass of Christian burial will be celebrated at Sacred Heart Church in Lebanon on Saturday, November 28, 2009, at 10 a.m. In lieu of flowers, the family asks that donations be made to Life Dynamics, 204 Cardinal Dr., Denton, TX 76209, a nationally known Pro Life organization.
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