”When a child has cystic fibrosis, she doesn’t simply live, she has to be kept alive.” Alex: The Life of a Child is A book based on a true story written by Frank Deford in 1983 which was later made into a Television movie in 1986. But while he was best known for writing and reporting, he also made a mark on television, primarily with HBO’s Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel, on radio, primarily in 37 years on NPR, and even as an executive. The Boxer and the Blonde Benjie Deford and his wife, Louise, nonetheless sent Deford to private school at Gilman, where he played basketball and wrote for the campus newspaper and literary magazine. Deford is survived by his wife, Carol; his son, Christian; and his daughter, Scarlet. "This one really hurts," wrote longtime Boston Globe columnist Bob Ryan.

There is hope to see...", "Dear Deford family: I first read your father, grandfather and husband's words when I was 7 years old, and picked up "Alex: The Life of a Child." He was fortunate, he wrote, that his father was a fan of President Dwight Eisenhower and thus subscribed to the Republican-leaning New York Herald Tribune, which featured the best-written sports section of the time. Or his 1999 profile of Bill Russell. Deford grew up in Baltimore, graduated from Princeton and lived in Key West, Fla., at the time of his death. It's very distinct and very unusual in many ways. It remains one of the most beautiful books ever written by a parent about the love of children. He could do just about everything. In many ways, he invented the genre and let future generations play with it.”. As a...", "I read his book about "Alex".
Though Deford built his career and lived most of his life in other places, he always referred to Baltimore as home. He closed with this: “Thank you for listening.
One indelible Baltimore figure describing another. As brilliant as he was at capturing such famous figures, he was equally adept at spinning less obvious tales, such as the saga of small-college Mississippi football coach Robert Victor Sullivan.

He wrote more than a dozen books and in 2013 he was the first sportswriter to receive a National Humanities Medal. If you need help finding the right words, view our. Johns Hopkins, others developing better antibody tests, Carroll County school board opts to wait a week before deciding high school sports start date, Study of Baltimore County high school buildings calls for $1.2 billion in renovations and expansions, but not rebuilds, Reentry of special needs students in Baltimore County won’t work | READER COMMENTARY, [Most read] From hairstyles to child support, these are some of the new Maryland laws going into effect Thursday, [Most read] Mike Preston’s observations on Eric Bieniemy’s coaching candidacy, Ravens' offensive woes and more | COMMENTARY, [Most read] Baltimore Police received tip that Gun Trace Task Force ringleader was robbing citizens in 2015, well before federal investigation surfaced, [Most read] Parents, teachers and union leaders rally outside Baltimore City Public Schools office to fight potential reopening, [Most read] Ravens coach John Harbaugh reacts to Steelers-Titans postponement after positive coronavirus tests, Audrey C. Horn, executive director of Christian Community Center, dies, Sandra L. ‘Sandie’ Castle, a gallery owner who was dubbed the ‘urban guerrilla of Baltimore poetry,’ dies, Mary Jane ‘Mike’ Flynn, who played a key role in O’Conor Piper & Flynn, dies, Efforts to improve Old Town Bowie persist; art festival planned for May pending coronavirus restrictions, Harford Land Trust raises funds for land preservation and food access with Harford Harvest. I am thankful for his involvement with the CF foundation. He briefly tried his hand at college basketball, but grizzled Tigers coach Cappy Cappon told him: "You know, Deford, you write basketball much better than you play it.".

And now, ladies and gentlemen, boys and girls, children of all ages, I bid you goodbye and take my leave.”.

"Sports writing is certainly not a higher calling, but it is, perhaps, a genuine form of literature," he wrote in his introduction to the 1993 edition of "The Best American Sports Writing.". The Baltimore native was 78. In a profession not known for sartorial splendour, he was tall, regal, well-dressed, generally well-mannered and widely liked. "I also think Baltimore is a very idiosyncratic city. In the world of cystic fibrosis, many read it upon learning about the diagnosis of their child. It gives you a lot of material.

His writings...", "I am so sorry for your loss. All In his own features and later as editor of the National, Deford sought a deeper, more colorful path. Get all the top news and sports from the baltimoresun.com. With wavy hair and a dark mustache, Deford cut a dashing figure, draping his 6-foot-4 frame in stylish jackets, often with a vivid handkerchief stuffed in the breast pocket. ", Former Gilman teammate Alan Yarbro remembered him as "an extraordinary person. As the publication's editor, Deford unleashed a gifted staff of writers to bring literary-minded coverage to everything from the NBA to professional wrestling. Newspapers Limited, One Yonge Street, 4th floor, Toronto, ON, M5E 1E6. This copy is for your personal non-commercial use only. He recorded his last NPR dispatch less than a month ago, equating his own retirement after 1,656 commentaries to the shuttering of Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey circus. Frank Deford, a Literary Storyteller of Sport, Dies at 78 Mr. Deford in 2004. Star Newspapers Limited and/or its licensors. Many tributes seemed to accept that reality and honoured Deford simply by linking to some of the many memorable stories he wrote over the decades. "I've always said that coming from Baltimore made me a different person than if I'd come from Washington, or New York, or Boston, or someplace like that," he said in a 2002 Sun interview. Reflecting on his chosen field, he often lamented that American sports writing was beholden to bland formula. So he earned a modest living as a secretary for a porcelain and enamel business.

He saved some of his most striking late-period words to reflect, in Sports Illustrated, on the death of his boyhood idol, Johnny Unitas. But the National never overcame distribution troubles and closed in June 1991, after less than 18 months of publication.

"The toughest coach there ever was," he dubbed Sullivan, who ran scrimmages through a local (the rumor was gator-filled) pond and earned the twin nicknames "Bull" and "Cyclone.". "That was the way it was with Johnny Unitas in the prime of his life, when he played for the Baltimore Colts and changed a team and a city and a league. rights reserved.

His father, Benjie, was from a well-off family, but the leather business responsible for the Deford fortune had fallen on hard times. In 2013, he received the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama, who praised him for "reaching beyond scores and statistics to reveal the humanity woven into the games we love.". expressly prohibited without the prior written consent of Toronto Losing our love ones is never easy but may the love of people that surrounds you soften your grief. ", "I was the poorest kid in the class, which is a pretty good place to be," Deford recalled in a 2001 Sun profile.

But again, to best appreciate him, take the advice longtime Boston Globe columnist Dan Shaughnessy offered on Twitter: “Frank Deford. You could tell it was written from his heart.

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