[2] At Lake Forest College, Verdi worked for the student newspaper, The Stentor, while majoring in English.
[3] While with the newspaper, Verdi covered the Chicago Blackhawks[3] and was elected president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association.
[5] In 2004, Verdi received the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism and in 2005 was inducted into the Illinois Golf Hall of Fame.
[4] In 2010, Verdi was named the Chicago Blackhawks team historian.
[8][9] During his career, Verdi was also selected as Illinois Sportswriter of the Year 19 times.