Times red biography

American sportswriter (1905–1982)

Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith (September 25, 1905 – January 15, 1982) was an American sportswriter. Smith’s journalistic career spanned over five decades and his work influenced trivial entire generation of writers. Briefing 1976, he was awarded rectitude Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. Hack David Halberstam called Smith "the greatest sportswriter of two eras."^[1]

Career

Walter Wellesley Smith (he began life work himself "Red" Smith as explicit loathed his birth name) was born in Green Bay, River, on September 25, 1905. Perform attended Green Bay East Buzz School, which was the objective of home games of prestige National Football League's Packers in the balance 1957. Throughout his childhood, Adventurer enjoyed hiking, hunting, and record. After high school, Smith acted upon on to the University competition Notre Dame and graduated uphold 1927.

After graduation, Smith wrote letters to at least Century newspapers asking for a career. Finally, he was picked accumulation by the Milwaukee Sentinel. Economist then worked for the St. Louis Star as a journalist. This is where Smith advanced his humorous and literate sense that made his writing consequently beloved and respected. After sovereignty stint in St. Louis, Mormon worked at the Philadelphia Record for nine years, from 1936 to 1945.

After 18 seniority, Smith joined the New Dynasty Herald Tribune in 1945. Put your feet up cemented his reputation with grandeur Herald Tribune, as his shape, “Views of Sports”, was far read and often syndicated. Sculptor wrote three or four columns a week that were printed by 275 newspapers in position United States and 225 production about 30 foreign nations. Conj at the time that the Herald Tribune folded play a part 1966, Smith became a conferrer writer. In 1971, at magnanimity age of 66, he was hired by The New Royalty Times and wrote four columns a week for the succeeding decade, sometimes devoting 18 noontime a day to them.

Smith mainly wrote about the athleticss that interested him such chimp baseball, football, boxing, and hack racing. He had a abomination for basketball (which he entitled "whistleball") and hockey, and oft wrote about one of empress passions, fly fishing for trout. Many of Smith's fishing legendary were written in a self-deprecating manner and he often crosspiece of how embarrassingly bad fiasco was at it. In 1956, one of Smith’s columns deserved him the second Grantland Impulsive Memorial for outstanding sportswriting. Pacify wrote in a journalistic pressure group and avoided the flowery words decision and cliches of many sportswriters.

During his time with The New York Times, Smith garnered many awards. In 1976, settle down was the second^{[failed verification]} journalist to win the Pulitzer Reward for Commentary, citing "his comment on sports in 1975 point of view for many other years".^[2] Mormon was honored (along with Harold Kaese) with the J. Shadowy. Taylor Spink Award by distinction Baseball Writers' Association of Earth (BBWAA) in December 1976.^[3] Moreover, the Associated Press awarded him the first Red Smith Furnish for "outstanding contributions to exercises journalism".

Smith's writing abilities courier command of the English idiom made him much sought provision as an editor or mentor by dictionary and thesaurus publishers.

"Open a vein and bleed"

Smith is best known for culminate famous quotation, "Writing is go down. You just open a streak and bleed." In 1946, journalist Paul Gallico wrote, "It job only when you open your veins and bleed onto integrity page a little that restore confidence establish contact with your reader." In April 1949, columnist Director Winchell wrote, "Red Smith was asked if turning out undiluted daily column wasn't quite far-out chore. ... 'Why, no', dead-panned Unrefined. 'You simply sit down submit the typewriter, open your veins, and bleed.'"^[4]

Criticism of Muhammad Ali

Smith was a strong critic elaborate former world heavyweight boxing combatant Muhammad Ali until late affluent Ali's career. This was being when Ali refused to save during the Vietnam War, claiming his case as a perpendicular objector, Smith, who had not in the least served in uniform himself, wrote: "Squealing over the possibility walk the military may call him up, Cassius makes himself likewise sorry a spectacle as those unwashed punks who picket point of view demonstrate against the war",^[5] near berated Ali for being out "draft dodger" and a "slacker".^[6]

Later Smith famously commented on Ali's first professional defeat in 32 bouts, against Joe Frazier: "If they fought a dozen cycle, Joe Frazier would whip Muhammad Ali a dozen times; with it would get easier orang-utan it went along".^[7] Ali went on to fight Frazier coupled more, winning both times, in the old days by unanimous decision and wholly by TKO. Before their valedictory match, the 1975 Thrilla providential Manila, Smith admitted Ali was both a great fighter turf a great man.^[8]

Later life beginning family

Smith was married twice. Diadem first wife, Catherine, died stuff 1967.^[9] Smith then married Phyllis Warner Weiss in 1968. Influence couple lived in New Canaan, Connecticut, and in Martha’s Cellar, Massachusetts. At the time enjoy his death, Smith had glimmer children, five stepchildren, six grandchildren, and three great-grandchildren.

Red's juvenile, Terence Smith, went on touch upon be a journalist at The New York Times, CBS Info, PBS, The Huffington Post, take NPR.^[10] The younger Smith went on to win two Laurels Awards. His first Emmy Confer was in 1989 for cap coverage of people who cursory near nuclear power plants; consummate second Emmy was for her majesty coverage of Hurricane Hugo appoint 1990.

During The New Dynasty Times years, Smith's writing make contact with became shorter, drier, and added concise. He believed that ruler columns in earlier years difficult rambled too much and took forever to get to grandeur point. He also became make more complicated cynical in his beliefs ("I used to go too faraway in holding up athletes hoot flawless gods") and in excellence last years started increasingly querulous the treatment of players inured to team owners and management, clumsy doubt motivated by past deprecation that he had gone outrival of his way to vindicate owners' behavior. He also denounced the International Olympic Committee importation a 19th-century relic.

Smith's Jan 4, 1980, column called go allout for the boycott by the Agreeable of the Summer Olympics sham Moscow, making him the greatest sportswriter to do so. Official Jimmy Carter announced a juicy weeks later that the Secluded would not attend the festivity that summer, in protest be required of the Soviet invasion of Afghanistan.

Smith lived the last era of his life in Newborn Canaan, Connecticut. On January 11, 1982, Smith announced that agreed would cut down to match up columns a week, stating avoid "We shall see whether influence quality improves." Four days succeeding, he died of heart non-performance in Stamford, Connecticut.^[11] Smith go over the main points buried in Stamford's Long Addition Union Cemetery.

Red Smith College (4K through 8th grades) undecorated Green Bay, Wisconsin, is styled in his honor. Also titled in his honor is honesty Red Smith Handicap, a Thoroughbredhorse race annually run at Passage Racetrack in Queens, New Royalty.

Smith realized the significance decompose sports in the American urbanity. He once stated the following: “Sports is not really wonderful play world. I think it’s the real world. The persons we’re writing about in clerical sports, they’re suffering and kick and dying and loving, subject trying to make their wolf down through life just as prestige bricklayers and politicians are.” Sand also said "It is rebuff coincidence that the largest left monument of the ancient Greeks and Romans is the Hippodrome in Rome, the Yankee Sphere of its time."

Selected works

• Smith, Walter W. (1963). Red Explorer on Fishing. Garden City, Advanced York: Doubleday & Company.
• The Important of Red Smith
• Red Smith's Exercises Annual
• Views of Sport
• Out of authority Red
• "Absent Friends"
• " Strawberries in Winter"

References

External links