Meet The Sports Writers

[Bill Burgess]

Joseph Morgan Nolan---AKA Joe Nolan

Born: September 20, 1875, Ohio
Died: June 11, 1931, Cincinnati, OH, age 55,---d. at home of diabetes.

Cincinnati sports writer;
Cincinnati, OH, 4-year old, (June 10, 1880 census)
Cincinnati, OH, editor, (June, 4, 1900 census)
Covington, KY, editor, newspaper, (April 21, 1910 census)
Covington, KY, editor, newspaper, (January 10, 1920 census)
Covington, KY, editor, Cincinnati Enquirer newspaper, (April 14, 1930 census)
Cincinnati Enquirer, sports writer, 1898 - 1931 (death). Joe started working for the Enquirer as an office boy in 1890, and became sports writer in 1898.
Cincinnati Enquirer, sports editor, (September 12, 1918 WWI Civilian Draft Registration.)

Father: James M., born Ireland, 1850?; Mother: Mary Jane Chuck, born Ohio, 1852?; Wife: Isabella Sanford, born Kentucky, 1883?; Daughter: Isabelle, born Kentucky, 1902?; Daughter: Rosemary, born Kentucky, 1908?; Daughter: Virginia, born Kentucky, 1908?;

New York Times' obituary; June 12, 1931, pp. 16.

[Bill Burgess]

Louis A. Van Oeyen

Born: January 17, 1865, Dayton, Ohio
Died: December 12, 1946, Cleveland, OH, age 81

Cleveland photo-journalist;
Detroit sign writer, (June 1, 1900 census)
Cleveland Press, photo-journalist;
NEA Service cameraman, 1926

Parents: born Scotland; Wife: Edith, born August, 1868, Michigan; Daughter: Edith Lillian, born November, 1895, Michigan; Daughter: Helen D., born August, 1899, Michigan. Father: Exavier P. Von Oeyen. Was married to wife Edith in 1886.

Sports photography was in its infancy when Louis Van Oeyen accepted the job of staff photographer for the Cleveland Press. Concentrating on baseball, Van Oeyen took some of the most memorable shots that are still striking today. He set up shop in the early 1900’s at League Park where he photographed baseball’s greats, including Lajoie, Young, Cobb, Ruth, Mathewson, and later such stars as Feller, Gehrig, Foxx, Greenberg and Averill. Van Oeyen was one of the first to attempt action shots, capturing a base runner sliding or an infielder making a play.

The Van Oeyen collection covers a wide variety of sports including boxing, auto racing and horse racing. Duplicate prints are available for sale. Contact the WRHS Library for further information.
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In the 1920s and 1930s, Cleveland Press photographer Louis Van Oeyen may have been considered by many people, adults and children alike, to be the luckiest man in Cleveland. Van Oeyen, who had begun his photo-journalist career with snapshots of a tunnel disaster at Cleveland's water intake crib in 1901, had, by the 1920s, become the city's preeminent sports photographer. With a home located just blocks away from League Park, he spent hours there hobnobbing with the greats of the golden era of baseball. It was reported that Babe Ruth would join Van Oeyen at his home after a game for some Prohibition-era beer stored in the family icebox. His was truly a job to be envied in an era when men with names such as Ruth, Gehrig, Grange, Tilden, and Jones were enshrined in the pantheon of heroes formerly reserved for those named Washington, Grant, Lincoln, and Pershing.

Van Oeyen's images of the baseball greats of the 1920's were only part of his vast output of photos chronicling a variety of local sports ranging from hockey to football, track and field, and even boat and airplane racing. His work accurately mirrored the tremendous explosion in sports that took place in the inter-war years. It was an explosion that catered to the spectator, and was part and parcel of the speculative business fever of the 1920s.

Louis A. Van Oeyen was the dean of local newspaper photographers from the early years in the century when he became a full-time member of the Cleveland Press staff until his retirement in 1937. In nearly 4 decades with the newspaper, his favorite assignments were those connected with baseball, and he was a familiar figure on the sidelines. Van Oeyen photographed most of the major sports events, catastrophes, and celebrities reported in Cleveland during his long career. His were among the first photographs with the fast new lenses which could "stop" action, instead of requiring poses.


Cleveland Plain Dealer obituary, December 13, 1946.-----------------------------------------------December 15, 1934.

[Bill Burgess]

Burton Sydnor Hawkins

Born: May 22, 1914, Pennsylvania
Died: November 27, 1995, Arlington, Texas, age 81,---d. at home of heart attack

Washington sports writer;
Harrisonburg, VA, 5-year old, (January 15, 1920 census)
Washington, DC, 15-year old, (April 2, 1930 census)
Washington, DC, sports writer, newspaper, (April 24, 1940 census)
Graduated Central HS
Attended George Washington University (Washington, DC),
Washington Star, copy boy, 1933 - 1937, baseball writer, 1937 - 1961, PR director/traveling secretary of Minnesota Twins, 1961 - 1971, traveling secretary/PR director of Texas Rangers, 1972-79, PR director, 1980-84, Rangers' official scorer, 1984-1991.
PR director of Texas Rangers,

Father: Norment Doniphan Jr., born Virginia, 1887; Mother: Ruth Jeannette, born Virginia, 1890; Wife: Janet L., born Pennsylvania, 1914?;

Dallas Morning News' obituary, Tuesday, November 28, 1995-------------------Washington Post obituary, November 28, 1995, pp. B7, by Samson R. Dutky.

[Bill Burgess]

Alphonse J. Zizza---AKA John Garro---His actual name was Alphonse J. Zizza. John Garro was just his pen name.

Born: June 20, 1910, Massachusetts
Died: March 19, 1961, Medford, MA, age 50,---d. of a heart attack at a Sarasota, FL hotel.

Boston sports writer;
Boston, MA, 10-year old, (January 5, 1920 census)(listed Alphonso)
Boston, MA, electrician, Navy Yard, (April 12, 1930 census)
Boston, MA, junior recreation, recreational project, (April 3, 1940 census)
La Notizia (Italian language newspaper)
Record-American-Sunday Advertiser
State Department of Public Works

Father: Joseph, born Italy, 1863?, immigrated US, 1892; Mother: Mary Racca, born Italy, 1869?, immigrated US, 1892; Wife: Constance Marenna, born Massachusetts, 1909?; Son: Joseph J. (of Boston), born Massachusetts, 1928?; Son: John (of Weymouth); Daughter: Mrs. Janet Comerford (of Hyde Park, NY), born Massachusetts, 1931?; Daughter: Mrs. Mayilyn DeFonzo (of Somerville, MA), born Massachusetts, 1933?;
Daughter: Constance (of Medford, MA), born Massachusetts, 1937?; Son: John, born Massachusetts, 1935?;


Boston Globe obituary, March 20, 1961, pp. 24.-----------------Boston Globe death notice, March 20, 1961.---Springfield Union obituary, March 20, 1961.

[Bill Burgess]

Charles Francis Capaldo--- AKA Chuck Capaldo

Born: February 11, 1926, Bergen, NJ
Died: November 1, 1986, Des Moines, Iowa, age 60, ---d. cancer

Milwaukee sports writer;
Englewood, NJ, 4-year old, (April 15, 1930 census)
Englewood, NJ, 14-year old, (April 6, 1940 census)
Associated Press (Newark), 1949
Associated Press (Milwaukee), 1958? - 1960?
Associated Press (St. Louis)
Associated Press (Des Moines), 1962 - 1967
Des Moines Tribune, city editor, 1967 - 1982
Des Moines Register, city editor, 1982

Father: Pasquale Francis, born Italy, around 1889; Mother: Anne Jane, born Northern Ireland, around 1898;

Syracuse (NY) Herald Journal obituary, Monday, November 3, 1986, pp. 61.

[Bill Burgess]

Watson Nicholas Spoelstra---AKA Waddy Spoelstra

Born: April 5, 1910, Grand Rapids, Michigan
Died: July 20, 1999, Largo, FL, age 89,---d. died Tuesday at Hospice House Woodside, Pinellas Park, FL

Detroit sports writer;
Grands Rapids, MI, 0-months old, (April 26, 1910 census)
Holland, MI, 9-year old, (January 8, 1920 census)
Holland, MI, 20-year old, (April 12, 1930 census)
Ann Arbor, MI, reporter, newspaper, (April 15, 1940 census)(listed Walter Spoelstra)
graduated Hope College (Holland, MI)
Detroit News, 1947 - 1973 (His column was Waddy's World)
Moved from Detroit to St. Petersburg in 1977
Instituted, led and organized Baseball Chapel, 1973 - 1982 (a service to those in professional baseball who desire to deepen their Christian faith, but who are unable to attend church.)

Father: Klaas Nicholas; Mother: Jane Dyke (Jennie), born Michigan, 1880?; Wife: Anna Jean Murphy, born Michigan, 1912?; Daughter: Ann Jean, born Michigan, 1939?; Watson married Anna June 25, 1938.

Watson Spoelstra (1910-1999)
“Player, Writer, Visionary”, By Benjamin Hoak

In today’s era of obsessive self-promotion, true sportsmen – the kind who serve higher ideals than themselves and who understand instinctively that the principles behind their chosen game will endure long after they have gone – are hard to find.

Such a sportsman was Watson Spoelstra, the tough, likeable, workaday sportswriter who made his mark at the Detroit News through the ‘40s, ‘50s and ‘60s – the heyday of stars like the Lions’ Bobby Layne and the Tigers’ Denny McLain. A consummate professional, Spoelstra is best known for what he accomplished in his second career.

Although he didn’t like to take credit for it, he fanned the spark of an idea called Baseball Chapel into a full-fledged fire that still affects the lives of thousands of major- and minor-league baseball players, coaches, umpires and families. His desire to provide an opportunity for Sunday worship services at the ballpark caught on with some of baseball’s best known names; Hank Aaron, Sal Bando, Tommy John, Sparky Anderson, Ernie Harwell and many others took hold of Spoelstra’s vision and helped pass it on.

That vision carried Spoelstra through the last 26 years of his life. Without Baseball Chapel, you see, this “ink-stained wretch,” as he called himself, wouldn’t have been keeping his bargain with God. What else could he have done when his daughter was lying in a coma, inches from death? No other recourse was available. Spoelstra made a promise and God changed his heart. He couldn’t have imagined it then, but it was the best bargain Watson "Waddy" Spoelstra ever made.

The Sportswriter
Spoelstra – known to all simply as “Waddy” – began working for the Detroit News in the early 1940s. He was a beat writer, covering at various times the Lions, Pistons, Tigers and the University of Michigan. Spoelstra was a big man, standing tall and broad-shouldered, wearing glasses and balding with a fringe of hair that began graying as he got older. Although he related fairly well to the athletes and learned the best ways to deal with them over the years, he could be a cranky writer, even crotchety or just plain mean if the mood struck him.

In August 1970, the Tigers’ star pitcher Denny McLain – he had won 30 games two years before and is still the last major league pitcher to have accomplished the feat – was not pitching well. Irritated with the press and egged on by teammates, he doused Spoelstra and writer Jim Hawkins with buckets of ice water in the Tigers’ locker room before a game one night. “Denny let this writer have it on the neck and shoulders with ice water from about 10 feet,” Spoelstra later wrote. “It was a direct hit. Denny hardly wasted a drop.” Not happy about having to work in a soaking wet suit, Spoelstra promptly complained to general manager Jim Campbell, who suspended McLain for seven days.

Despite his stubborn, strong-willed tendencies and occasional bouts of grouchiness, Spoelstra possessed a likeable personality. He enjoyed laughing and swapping stories and he developed a good relationship with the players. “It was the people that he really liked,” remembers his son Jon Spoelstra. “He liked telling their stories.”

The working relationship between the press and the players was different in Spoelstra’s day – Spoelstra kept his writing confined to events on the field, even if he knew salacious off-field details about players. “In those days the relationship was much closer between the media and the athletes,” says Ernie Harwell, the legendary broadcasting voice of the Tigers and a close friend of Spoelstra’s. “He related to players very well.” Writers commonly rode buses and charters with players and spent time with them after games, drinking, playing cards and developing relationships.

When Spoelstra covered the Lions in the 1950s, Bobby Layne was their star quarterback. He led them to three championships and ended up in the Hall of Fame, but he also had a tendency to drink too much the Saturday night before home games. On those nights, Spoelstra wouldn’t even get into his pajamas; he’d just lie down on his bed wearing his clothes and shoes. About 2 a.m. the phone would ring and a police officer at the jail would be on the line, asking Spoelstra if he knew Bobby Layne. Spoelstra would swing out of bed and bail Layne out before the game the next day.

Later in his career, the Lions held an appreciation day for Layne. They presented him with a plaque and after taking it, Layne told the 800-member audience in his Texas drawl that Watson Spoelstra really deserved to have it. “He’s the one who would bail me out of jail,” Layne said. That day was the first time the public knew about Spoelstra’s involvement.

Spoelstra’s reporting was honest, detailed and laid-back. He was a beat writer, through and through. He harbored no grand illusions of a cushy columnist’s job. He simply went about his work professionally and thoroughly. “He didn’t want to be a columnist,” Jon Spoelstra said. “He wanted to tell the story of what was going on in the game.”

His writing is crisp and clear, every word chosen with care, adjectives and adverbs artfully placed in positions of maximum impact. He painted a picture of the game, leaving readers with the feeling they had seen it themselves. Throughout his career, he always seems to have positioned himself in the right place at the right time to capture the details that made his reporting authentic. Whether it was watching from the press box, gathering quotes from the locker room or sitting in a manager’s office, Spoelstra was a fan’s writer. His in-depth knowledge of the game and of his craft made his writing real and accessible.

One of his big breaks as a writer came in 1957, when he covered the pro football championship game between the Detroit Lions and the Cleveland Browns. As an underdog, Detroit won 59-14, and Spoelstra’s story circulated around the country. He made his mark, though, as a baseball writer, becoming president of the Baseball Writers Association of America in 1968. The BBWAA votes each year on the players deserving of enshrinement in the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. As president, Spoelstra served as the master of ceremonies for the induction of the 1968 class.

In addition to his Detroit work, Spoelstra reached a wider audience as a correspondent for The Sporting News for more than 30 years, filing almost weekly reports from Detroit. To make extra money, he also served as an official scorer for the Tigers. In the 1968 World Series between the Detroit Tigers and the St. Louis Cardinals, Spoelstra worked as one of the three official scorers – the other two were also reporters from Detroit and St. Louis.

On April 14, 1961, Spoelstra was presiding as the official scorer for a one-hitter thrown by Detroit’s Frank Lary. His no-hit bid was barred by Spoelstra’s decision to rule a tough ground ball a hit rather than an error. Spoelstra demonstrated his professionalism, integrity and eye for detail in his explanation in the The Sporting News two weeks later:

“The big play occurred with Chicago at bat and two out in the fifth inning. Jim Landis was the batter. Landis smashed the ball to the left side of the infield. Shortstop Chico Fernandez made a backhanded stab at the ball . . . the ball struck the heel of his glove and bounced away.

“The degree of difficulty on the fielding play was one factor. A more important consideration was the speed of Landis. The scorer ruled Landis couldn’t have been thrown out if the ball had been handled cleanly. He made his call and the scoreboard flashed the hit sign.

“There were scattered booes from the 4,288 crowd.”

Those who knew Spoelstra and his wife Jean knew that while they were both great individuals, they were even better as a couple. They were devoted to one another their entire marriage – so much so that Spoelstra gave up his walking to stay near his wife when she became sick. She died in February 1998, after 59 years of marriage, and Spoelstra’s health began declining soon after. He never really recovered from his wife’s death and he died on Tuesday, July 20, 1999, at the age of 89.
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SPOELSTRA , WATSON N. "WADDY," 89, of Largo, formerly of St. Petersburg, died Tuesday (July 20, 1999) at Hospice House Woodside, Pinellas Park. He was born in Grand Rapids, Mich., came to St. Petersburg in 1977 from Detroit and moved recently to Largo. He was a sportswriter for the Detroit News and wrote a column "Waddy's World" for Sports Spectrum. He was founder of Baseball Chapel, a ministry for professional major league and independent league teams. He attended Feathersound Community Church,Largo, and graduated from Hope College, Holland, Mich. Survivors include a daughter, Ann Kimberly, Detroit; a son, John, Portland, Ore.; three grandchildren; and a great-grandchild. E. James Reese Funeral Home & Crematory, Seminole. (St. Petersburg Times' obituary, Thursday, July 22, 1999.)

1968: L-R: Watson Spoestra, William D. Eckert, Dick Young, Jack Lang.


June 4, 1977: L-R: John Werhas, Tom Skinner, Watson Spoelstra, Sam Bender.-------------------------------------1974.

[Bill Burgess]

Lloyd Gustav Larson

Born: May 30, 1902, Milwaukee, WI
Died: April 14, 1990, Greendale, WI, age 87,---d. at home after long illness of more than a year.

Milwaukee sports writer / sports editor;
Milwaukee, WI, 7-year old, (April 19, 1910 census)
Milwaukee, WI, editor, (January 10, 1920 census)
Milwaukee, WI, sports writer, newspaper, (April 15, 1930 census)
Milwaukee, WI, editor, publishing Co., (April 16, 1940 census)
Graduated from South Division HS, 1919 (had been starting quarterback for the 1918 team.)
Graduated University of Wisconsin (Madison, WI), (had been a good athlete there. Captained 1926 baseball team. Majored in economics.)
After graduating from college, he officiated football/basketball games at all levels, including Big 10 games.)
Wisconsin Evening News, 1912 - 1939
Milwaukee Sentinel, sports writer, 1939 - 1944, sports editor, 1946 - 1974, (27 years)
Board of Milwaukee Public Schools, 1953 - 1975 (22 years, including 2 terms as Board President.)

Father: Robert, born Sweden, 1860?; Mother: Emilie Bergstrom, born Sweden, 1869?; Mother: Eva A., born Sweden, 1875?;

He was the quintessential loyal supporter of his area's sports teams.


Milwaukee Sentinel obituary, Monday, April 16, 1990, pp. 5, part 1.-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Sporting News' obituary, April 30, 1990, pp. 45.


Participants at the head table of the annual University of Wisconsin football banquet in the Great Hall of the Memorial Union.
L-R: Robert "Red" Wilson, junior center who was named the most valuable player for the second straight year;
Charles Fenske, general chairman of the banquet; John Carmichael, sports editor of the Chicago Daily News;
Lloyd Larson, sports editor of the Milwaukee Sentinel; Harry Stuhldreher, athletic director and head football coach;
Professor William B. Sarles, chairman of the athletic board; and Walter Dreyer, senior halfback who was elected team captain.

[Bill Burgess]

John Stephen Weller

Born: October 16, 1929, Miami, FL
Died: December 14, 1991, Fort Lauderdale, FL, age 62,---d. heart failure

Milwaukee sports writer;
Miami, FL, 6-month year old, (April 13, 1930 census)(listed John S.)
Graduated University of Florida (Gainesville, FL), 1951
Virginia Tennessean (Bristol, VA)
South Bend Tribune (Ind.)
The Chattanooga Times (Tenn.)
Milwaukee Journal (mid-1950's)
Buffalo Evening News, sports columnist, 1959 - March 21, 1977 (18 years)
Fort Lauderdale News, local columnist, 1 year as sports columnist, the rest on the editorial page, 1977 - ?.
Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel,

Father: Garl W., born Huntington, Indiana, February 22, 1892, died October 12, 1983; Mother: Anna Margaret Bailey, born Indiana, 1899?; Garl married Anna April 30, 1919.

South Florida Sun-Sentinel obituary (Fort Lauderdale, FL), December 15, 1991.

[Bill Burgess]

Harry Lee Jones:

Born: June 6, 1921, Ohio
Died: August 10, 1983, Sedona, AZ, age 62,---d. at home in Sedona, AZ

Cleveland sports writer / baseball announcer;
Cleveland Plain Dealer, reporter, 1940 - 1947, sports writer, 1947 - 1960
Cleveland Indians' radio & TV announcer for Cleveland Indians' games, 1961- March, 1977
Harry left newspaper work to become a baseball announcer for the Indians' game in 1961, working with Ken Coleman, 1961.
In 1961, Harry switched to radio, broadcasting Indians' games with Jimmy Dudley, 1961-65.
Harry switched back to TV in 1965, working with Herb Score, Mel Allen, Dave Martin, Rocky Colavito and Mudcat Grant.
In March, 1977, when a new manager came to TV station, WJKW, he fired Jones and Grant.
Harry worked in real estate until Gabe Paul invited him back to Indians' baseball, as director of PR, in July, 1978. He retired in 1980.
Wrote nationally syndicated feature series, 'Immortal Madcaps of Baseball'.

Wife: Aldona Marion, born April 20, 1925, died September 27, 2011, North Olmstead, OH;

Harry L. Jones, 62, radio and TV play-by-play announcer for the Cleveland Indians from 1961 through 1976, at Sedona, Ariz., August 10; spent 20 years with the Cleveland Plain Dealer, 13 of them covering the Indians, before launching his broadcast career. (1984 Baseball Guide, pp. 27.)

]1949: presenting award to Lou Boudreau.---------------------L-R: Ken Bagwell, Gabe Paul, Harry Jones, Chuck Bergeson.----------------Sporting News' obituary, August 22, 1983, pp.46.


January 22, 1958, Cleveland, OH: L-R: Harry Jones, Bobby Bragen, Frankie Lane, Gene Woodling.


January 22, 1958, Cleveland, OH: L-R: Harry Jones, Bobby Bragen, Frankie Lane, Gene Woodling.------------------------January 29, 1958: Ed Bang / Harry Jones.


May 24, 1955: Larry Doby / Harry Jones.--------------------------------------------------------------May 24, 1955: Bobby Avila / Harry Jones.


February, 1962: Harrry Jones / Bob Neal.


Youngstown Daily Vindicator obituary, Thursday, August 11, 1983, pp. 26.

[Bill Burgess]

Brice Worth Hoskins

Born: July 6, 1876, Cleburne, Texas
Died: December 11, 1940, Dallas, TX, age 64,---d. heart attack at his residence in the Southland Hotel. (confirmed by Texas state death records)

St. Louis / Texas sports writer;
Sulphur Springs, TX, 4-year old, (June 23, 1880 census)(listed Brice Haskins)
Dallas, TX, stenographer, (June 7, 1900 census)(listed B W Haskins)
St. Louis, newspaper sporting editor, (April 25, 1910 census)
Pasadena, CA, newspaper reporter (January 15, 1920 census)
San Francisco, CA, newspaper, Publicity agent, (April 4, 1930 census)
Los Angeles, CA, publicity, Community Chest, (April 23, 1940 census)
Dallas Times-Herald, police reporter, later sports editor
Dallas Dispatch, 1906 - 1908, (3 years)
San Antonio Express, city editor, 1908
St. Louis Star-Chronicle, sports writer, September 7, 1908 - 1910?
Chicago newspapers
Los Angeles newspapers
Was appointed secretary of Texas League, April 8, 1911 and served until October 2, 1911, when he was succeeded by Joe Cummings.
Dallas Times, sports editor
Newspaper reporter for A H Billot Co. (Dallas company), (September 12, 1918, WWI Civilian Draft Registration)
Dallas newspaper, sports editor, 1917 - 1919
Ukiah (CA) Chamber of Commerce, secretary / manager, January 20, 1922 - 1939
Director of publicity for Los Angeles Community Chest, 1929 - 1933?

Father: born Mississippi; Mother: Jennie, born Kentucky, 1854?; Wife 1: C F., born Illinois, December 1877?, married Brice 1899; Wife 2: Mayme, born Missouri, 1884?; Wife 3: Jennie Cook, born Monticello, AR, December 1, 18817, died Los Angeles, CA, January 14, 1939; Daughter: Constance; Daughter: Virginia.

Dallas Morning News' obituary, December 13, 1940.

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------obituary for his last wife, Jennie
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Los Angles Times, January 16, 1939.

[Bill Burgess]

Richard Gibbs Hackenberg---AKA Dick Hackenberg:

Born: September 19, 1908, Staples, MN
Died: February 8, 1991, Parker, CO, age 82,--d. cancer

Chicago / New York sports writer;
Lived in Staples, MN (April 22, 1910 census)
At school in Staples City Ward 2, MN (January 19, 1920 census)
Fargo (N.Dakota), sales manager of Department store, (April 8, 1930 census)
Before he became a sports writer for the Chicago Sun-Times, Dick wrote sports free-lance, and his copy sometimes was carried in the Sporting News, starting in 1939.
Minneapolis Star, sports writer,
Chicago Sun, sports makeup production, 1941 - fall, 1946, sports editor, fall, 1946 - February, 1948
Chicago Sun-Times, sports editor, February, 1948 to at least December 14, 1966.

Father: Eber James; Mother: Daisy A.

Racine (WI) Journal-Times' article, Friday, December 10, 1948, pp. 21.---------------------------------------------------Chicago-Sun Times' obituary, February 10, 1991.


April 9, 1960: Dick Hackenberg, basketball player, George Wilson and his mother.


Sportsman's Race Track: L-R: Bill Johnson, Ednyfed H. Williams, Ralph Cannon, Gene Kessler, Dick Hackenberg, George Swift.


1965 World Series: Al Lopez / Dick Hackenberg.

[Bill Burgess]

Myron Webster Townsend

Born: March 26, 1872, Marshall, Michigan (Date of Birth confirmed by New York Passenger / Passport Application lists, August 23, 1916.)
Died: October 14, 1945, Los Angeles, CA, age 73 (confirmed by California death records)

Boston / St. Louis sports writer;
Family lived in Marengo, Calhoun County, Michigan, (June 19, 1880 census)
Kalamazoo, MI book-keeper, (June 2, 1900 census)
Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune, newspaper journalist, (April 15, 1910 census)
Long Beach, CA, newspaper writer, (January 10, 1920 census)
Long Beach, CA, 68-year old, (April 11, 1940 census)
Family lived in Marshal, Michigan (July 20, 1895 New York Passenger lists)
Boston Traveler, sports editor, 1905
St. Louis Star-Chronicle, sports editor, February 23, 1907
Arrived in St. Louis, 1906
Cincinnati Commercial-Tribune, 1910 - August 12, 1911.
Boston 'House Organ Review', August 12, 1911 - ?.
Kalamazoo, Mich sports editor
Telegraph (Rochester, NY)
Herald (Syracuse, NY)
Telegram (Worcester, MA)
Boton Post, special writer on sports
St. Louis Star and Chronicle, 1908 - 1914
He entered the advertising business for the auto industry in January, 1912.
Lived in Philadelphia, PA, as advertising manager, (July 13, 1916, passport application)
Lived in Los Angeles, CA, as journalist, (November 19, 1918, passport application)
Bridgeport Herald, sports editor, 1929

Father: Jerome B., farmer, born in Ypsilanti, Michigan, emigrated to US on December 30, 1842, died 1885; Mother: Emma Delia Cranson, born in New York, January, 1852.
5'7, brown eyes

Myron's passport photo, July 14, 1916, age 44.

[Bill Burgess]

Charles Delos Nethaway

Born: September 21, 1913, Belton, Missouri
Died: March 12, 1957, Belton, MO, near Kansas City, MO, age 43,---d. cerebral hemorrhage, on the job. Buried: Belton Cemetery, Belton, MO

UPI sports writer;
Kansas City, MO, 6-year old, (January 4, 1920 census)(listed Chas D.)
Belton, MO, 16-year old, (April 3, 1930 census)
Terrell, TX, reporter, newspaper, (April 8, 1940 census)
UPI (Dallas office)
UPI (New Orleans office)
UPI (Kansas City, MO office), District Manager, April 10, 1955? - March 12, 1957

Father: Erle D., born Nebraska, 1887?; Mother: Onieta Sprinkle, born Missouri, 1890?; Son: Rowland Nethaway

Here's a story from Rowland Nethaway of the Cox News Service, headlined: 'UPI RIP'

WACO, Texas -- A cynical wordsmith once compared workers on daily newspapers to cowboys on a dinosaur ranch.

The heyday of dinosaurs is long gone, of course. Sometimes I feel print journalism is headed in the same direction.

I'm a little bummed after reading that the Rev. Sun Myung Moon's Unification Church has acquired the United Press International wire service.

A right-wing Korean cult, according to many observers, now owns the once-venerated wire service that regularly out-wrote and out-hustled all competitors, including the stodgy Associated Press.

My father Charles Nethaway lived and died, literally, a United Press man.

He hooked up with the UP bureau in Dallas after he returned from World War II. Getting the news, getting it first, ensuring that it was accurate, making it sing and punching it out to UP clients ahead of the competition was more than a job for my father. It was his passion.

I used to go to the bureau to watch them work. The place was filled with cigarette smoke, quips and a constant sense of urgency due to the machine-gun rattle of Underwoods, Royals and teletypes pounding out the news.

Some kids rooted for Cardinals or Dodgers. I rooted for UP to whip AP, the International News Service and all the minor-league pretenders to wire service supremacy.

The United Press signed up newspapers and broadcasters as clients. The Associated Press signed up newspapers and broadcasters as members. The broadcasters back then were radio stations. Television was on the drawing boards.

AP had a greater reach since each member agreed to put its copy on the AP wire. A lot of the AP copy, considering its scattered sources, was full of holes and errors and was poorly written, according to my father and other UP word warriors.

Before long, my father was promoted to the New Orleans UP bureau, which was a culture shock for Texas natives. My father met my mother when they both worked on a Texas newspaper. My grandfather and uncle worked on Texas newspapers.

But we left for New Orleans to kick some AP butt, which, I was told, the UP bureau did with both regularity and alacrity.

The next promotion sent us to Kansas City, where the AP needed to be taken down a notch or two. I was happy to get out of New Orleans. The town was sinking under the weight of sadistic teachers.

At one point, my father had the opportunity to take on the AP in New York City. As a family, we decided to pass on the Big Apple.

My hard-charging father died on the job due to a cerebral hemorrhage. I've since watched UP, then UPI when it purchased INS, go downhill.

AP's membership formula proved superior to UPI's client approach as newspapers around the country began to fold.

Afternoon newspapers gave in to morning newspapers. Competing newspapers were either bought out or closed their doors. Few American cities now have competing dailies.

Newspapers also have been hard hit by an explosion of niche media outlets competing for advertising dollars.

Life magazine, one of the last general-interest, mass-circulation magazines, announced its demise the day before the Rev. Moon took control of UPI.

Now traditional news operations struggle to keep up with what passes for news-gathering on the Internet. There's no way to determine if what appears on the Internet is accurate, or even if it occurred.

Traditional ink-on-newsprint newspapers remain the most credible source for news. We hope the public understands this.

It was a sad day in American journalism when UPI was taken over by the Moonies.

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------Seattle Daily Times' obituary, March 13, 1957, pp. 45.

[Bill Burgess]

Robert Allan Cromie---AKA Bob Cromie

Born: February 28, 1909, Detroit, MI
Died: May 22, 1999, Grayslake, IL, age 90

Chicago sports writer / literary writer / interviewer;
Detroit, MI, 1-year old, (April 22, 1910 census)
Detroit, MI, 10-year old, (January 5, 1920 census)
Birmingham, MI, 21-year old, (April 24, 1930 census)
Chicago, IL, reporter, newspaper, (April 23, 1940 census)
Graduated Oberlin College (Oberlin, OH),
Chicago Tribune, 1936 - ?, reporter, sports, oversea correspondent, general columnist,
Cromie's Circle on WGN-TV (Channel 9), 1969 to 1980
Book Reviewer: Hosted a PBS TV show, WTTW-TV (Channel 11), 'Bookbeat', 1964 - 1980. Won a Peabody Award for excellence.
TV show, WBEZ, "About Books and Writers", 1980 - ?
Lived in Detroit, MI, 1920 (1920 census)
Lived in Birmingham, MI (1930 census)
His broadcasts started in 1980.

Father: Robert, born Michigan, 1875?; Mother: Anna G., born England, 1878?; Wife: Alyce, born Iowa, 1915?; Son: Michael, born Illinois, 1939?;

Chicago Tribune - Monday, May 24, 1999
ROBERT CROMIE , 90, LONGTIME TRIBUNE REPORTER; RADIO, TV HOST
Author: Diane Struzzi, Tribune Staff Writer.

The stacks of books and piles of paper balanced precariously on the desk of Tribune reporter Robert Cromie once prompted a photographer to climb atop a ladder to document the mess. His desk was more depository than work area.

Mr. Cromie --a former war correspondent, sports writer, columnist, book editor, and radio and television host--would rather have been out meeting people and interviewing them than sitting behind a desk. His journalistic style was vigorous but always sensitive, colleagues said.

"Interviewing people was the best thing he did," said Polly Goodwin, former children's book editor at the Tribune who worked with Mr. Cromie . "He was so good with people. He would talk to them and get something out of them. He wasn't an office person."

During nearly four decades as a reporter, he also hosted a nationally syndicated radio show about books; two television shows--" Cromie Circle" on WGN and "Book Beat" on WTTW--and acquired an illustrious list of writing and broadcast awards.

Mr. Cromie , 90, died Saturday in his Grayslake-area home.

He was a reporter enchanted with people's lives who despised injustices and revealed them through vivid accounts.

For four years, he was the Tribune's war correspondent, covering battles in the Pacific and Europe, landing at Guadalcanal with the Marines and traveling with Gen. George Patton. He often entered a battleground by asking whether there were any soldiers from Chicago or Illinois. At the Battle of the Bulge, he found the brother of former Tribune reporter Tom Buck.

"He was extremely talented," Buck said. "He personalized the war" for Tribune readers.

In 1944, the B-26 bomber he was in was overcome by flak and crash-landed in England. Without hesitation, he stepped aboard another bomber headed for another raid. On the battlefield, he helped carry wounded soldiers to safety.

But Mr. Cromie rarely talked of his war experiences; he was caught up in the present rather than his past adventures, his son Richard said. He wasn't seeking excitement, just the story. And the story Mr. Cromie often told was that of the average man, the everyday heroes.

He grew up in Detroit and Birmingham, Mich., graduating from Oberlin College in Ohio, where he majored in Spanish and history. In 1936 he joined the Tribune staff, becoming its war correspondent six years later. When he returned to the U.S., he began a reporting stint in sports--covering sports ranging from boxing to curling and his beloved golf.

In 1969, he began writing a column that made him the first staff writer to exhibit a liberal perspective at a newspaper that was better known for its conservative viewpoint. But Mr. Cromie always looked out for the underdog, colleagues said.

"The thing about Bob was that he was a decent man," said friend and photographer Archie Lieberman, who collaborated on several books with Mr. Cromie . "Part of that feeling was that he hated injustice and loved humanity--all kinds. . . . Everybody he touched was influenced by him."

He was one of the first newspaper reporters to write about the Neediest Children's Christmas Fund, said Kenan Heise, a former Tribune reporter who helped launch the effort.

As an author, his endeavors reached into many fields. His titles included "The Great Chicago Fire," "Dillinger: A Short and Violent Life," and "Chicago: A Celebration." He also wrote for several national magazines, including the Saturday Evening Post.

"He was a remarkable man," Lieberman said. "And anyone whose lives he touched remembers him with fondness."

Survivors include his wife, Alice; two other sons, Michael and James; a daughter, Barbara Custer; 10 grandchildren and six great-grandchildren. A private memorial service will be held.

Authored:
The Great Chicago Fire, 1958
A Short History of Chicago, 1984
A Plunge into Space
Chicago, (text by Cromie, photos by Arthur Haug)
Chicago in Color: A Collection of Color, (text by Cromie, photos by Archie Lieberman)
Chicago: A Celebration
Dillinger: A Short and Violent Life
Illinois Trivia (Trivia Fun)
The Crack of Doom
1811 DICTIONARY OF THE VULGAR TONGUE
The Romance of Poisons: Being Weird Episodes from Life
A New Messiah
El Dorado
From The Cliffs Of Croaghaun
Golf for Boys and Girls
Par For The Course A Golfer's Anthology
PROFILES OF AMERICA : CHICAGO IN COLOR, A COLLECTION OF COLOR PHOTOGRAPHS
The King's Oak, and Other Stories
The Lost Liner
The Next Crusade
Where Steel Winds Blow

November 6, 1965, Conrad Hilton Hotel Grand Ballroom luncheon, Chicago, IL: Helen Hayes/Bob Cromie.


Sandy Dennis being interviewed by Bob Cromie.

[Bill Burgess]

Carl A. Buchele

Born: April 29, 1899, Peoria, IL
Died: February 22, 1973, Baltimore, MD, age 73,---d. St. Joseph Hospital, after a short illness.

Baltimore sports writer;
Peoria, IL, 1-year old, (June 12, 1900 census)(listed Charles A.)
Peoria, IL, 11-year old, (April 16, 1910 census)
Peoria, IL, 20-year old, (January 8, 1920 census)
Baltimore, MD, sports writer, newspaper, (April 9, 1930 census)
Baltimore, MD, newspaper sport staff, Morning Sun, (April 10, 1940 census)
Graduated Spalding Institue (Peoria, IL),
Graduated Bradley University (Peoria, IL),
US Navy (WWI)
Peoria Journal Transcript, sports staff
newspaper sports writer, (1930 census)
Baltimore Sun, sports writer, 1923 - January, 1972; assistant sports editor, 1949 - June 7, 1959; sports editor, June 8, 1959 - August 17, 1959. Asked to be relieved for personal reasons. He returned to being a sports copy-reader from 1959 - 1972.

Father: Adolph, born July, 1850; Mother: Lena M. , born Illinois, August, 1864; Wife: Addie D., born Illinois, 1899?; Son: Dorsey I., born Maryland, 1928?; Daughter: Barbara, born Maryland, 1932?;

Carl came to the Baltimore Sun in 1923. He worked as assistant sports editor under Jesse Linthicum for many years. When Jesse died in 1959, Carl became the sports editor. After a couple of months he decided that at his age, he didn't want all the guff connected with the job, and went back to his work on the inside. He retired in January, 1972, after 48.5 years at the Baltimore Sun.

Baltimore Sun obituary, February 23, 1973, pp. A11.----Baltimore Sun tribute, January 28, 1972, pp. C1.