SALISBURY— Ronnie Gallagher, sports editor of the Salisbury Post, died suddenly this morning, according to a story posted on the newspaper’s web site.

According to the story, Gallagher woke up early this morning with a severe upset stomach, went to an area hospital and died. He was 57 years old.

Gallagher became sports editor at the Salisbury Post in 1997 after joining the Post staff two and a half years earlier. He came to the Post after serving as sports editor of the Davie County Enterprise for nine years and had also worked for the Lexington Dispatch.

He was well known in the sports media community and was honored as the North Carolina High School Athletic Association’s Media Representative of the Year in 2005. He had also won numerous awards from the North Carolina Press Association.

He had recently been hospitalized for a minor heart attack, according to the paper, but had returned to work.

The NCHSAA regrets the loss of one who was so passionate about covering high school athletics. It would be appropriate that readers of our website keep the Gallagher family in your thoughts and prayers during this time.