By Cary Shuman
The Chelsea sports and law enforcement community is mourning the loss of Golden “Rico” Tyre Jr., one of Chelsea High School’s greatest three-sport athletes who went on to have a distinguished 32-year career in the Chelsea Police Department.
Mr. Tyre died on Aug. 8, 2024. A 1968 graduate of Chelsea High School, he was 73 years old.
Chelsea Police Chief Keith Houghton said that Mr. Tyre was an outstanding police officer.
“Lt. Golden “Rico” Tyre was a larger-than-life police officer and mentor,” said Houghton.
“I was lucky to have learned from his vast knowledge of the community and the criminal justice system when I started as a rookie police officer in 1986.”
”He was always there to guide and teach me what serving the city he loved meant. It was a privilege to work with Rico and call him a friend.”
Mr. Tyre grew up on Third Street where he began a lifelong friendship with current Councilor-at-Large Leo Robinson, who lived on nearby Arlington Street. They spent much of their childhood playing sports at Cary Playground on Walnut Street.
“We were friends from elementary school [Williams],” said Robinson. “We played on the Williams School and Chelsea High teams together and were co-captains of the basketball team. Rico was a tremendous three-sport athlete and an All-Scholastic basketball player.”
Robinson said they kept in close contact and that you could always count on Mr. Tyre’s support and inspiration.
“Rico was a great friend in whom you could confide things,” said Robinson. “He was an outstanding person who wanted to make Chelsea a safe city. He was a mentor to a lot of kids in the REACH program and he helped guide several kids on the right path.”
Robinson said he would call on his colleagues at a City Council meeting for a moment of silence in celebration of Mr. Tyre’s life. Robinson said he and several of his former teammates, including his brother, Ronald Robinson, Donald Wolcott, Dale Johnson, Davy Hill, Stuart Feinberg, and Dave Mugford will be attending the memorial observances for Mr. Tyre.
Thomas “Bucky” Cole said Mr. Tyre’s excellence in athletics was noteworthy as far back as Chelsea Little League where they were All-Star teammates on the Chelsea Nationals. The two baseball greats reunited for the Alderman DiIorio and Travel Time teams in the Chelsea Municipal Fast Pitch Softball League.
“Rico was a great ballplayer and a great friend and I really enjoyed playing ball with him,” said Cole. “We were the same age and played Little League baseball together. He was a tremendous catcher and went on to have a great career at Chelsea High School in three sports (football, basketball, and baseball). We often hung around together. He was a kind and generous person, and it was fun to be in his company. He will be missed.”