Frank Deford
Frank Deford died on Sunday, May 28, at his home in Florida. Remembrances of Frank's life and work can be found in All Things Considered, Morning Edition, and on NPR.org.
Writer and commentator Frank Deford was the author of 20 books. His latest, I'd Know That Voice Anywhere, is a collection of his NPR commentaries and was described by Chicago Tribune as "glorious, hitting all the notes from funny to emotional to profound. ... Once again, his words make sports come alive." Booklist calls it a "rich collection for anyone interested in the sporting life."
The collection was culled from Deford's commentaries on NPR's Morning Edition, dating back to 1980.
On television, Deford was a senior correspondent for 20 years on the HBO show Real Sports With Bryant Gumbel. In magazines, he was a senior contributing writer at Sports Illustrated for 32 years and later became senior editor emeritus.
Two of Deford's books — the novel Everybody's All-American and Alex: The Life Of A Child, his memoir about his daughter who died of cystic fibrosis — have been made into movies. Two of his original screenplays, Trading Hearts and Four Minutes, have also been filmed.
President Obama presented Deford with the medal from the 2012 National Endowment for the Humanities. He is the first writer to receive this award primarily for his work in sports.
As a journalist, Deford was elected to the Hall of Fame of the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters. Deford was voted by his peers as U.S. Sportswriter of The Year six times. The American Journalism Review likewise cited him as the nation's finest sportswriter, and twice he was voted Magazine Writer of The Year by the Washington Journalism Review.
Deford had also been presented with the National Magazine Award for profiles, a Christopher Award and journalism Honor Awards from the University of Missouri and Northeastern University, and he received many honorary degrees. The Sporting News once described Deford as "the most influential sports voice among members of the print media," and GQ called him, simply, "the world's greatest sportswriter."
In broadcast, Deford won both an Emmy and a George Foster Peabody Award. ESPN presented a television biography of Deford's life and work, "You Write Better Than You Play." A popular lecturer, Deford spoke at more than a hundred colleges, as well as at forums, at conventions and on cruise ships around the world.
For 16 years, Deford served as national chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation, and he remains chairman emeritus. Deford was a graduate of Princeton University, where he had taught in American Studies.
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The Super Bowl is one of the great financial bonanzas of modern times. From the players to the networks to the hotels, everybody involved with it makes a killing. -
Commentator Frank Deford says our educational system should care more about encouraging good black students instead of using good black athletes.
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Commentator Frank Deford has cooked up a plan that invokes Tinker Bell for baseball's annual All-Star Game. -
Twenty-nine NFL players have been arrested since the Super Bowl. Football needs to be cleansed, says sports commentator Frank Deford. -
After a rough loss at Wimbledon last week, many fans are wondering if this is the end for the Swiss tennis star. -
In baseball, golf and tennis in particular, we are being slowly lulled to sleep before every pitch, every shot. Hurry up already, says commentator Frank Deford. -
No matter who is playing, the art of basketball is a paradox for fans. "In basketball, as in life, we may dutifully celebrate the aggregate, but we're always spellbound by the exceptional," says Frank Deford. -
When the St. Jude Classic opens on Wednesday in Memphis, Tenn., Frank Deford will be paying attention to the action on the course. He has some gripes about the requirement that players must tally their own shots. -
After the announcement that David Beckham is retiring, there's been much discussion about how good of an athlete he's really been. Sports commentator Frank Deford says Beckham's talents have been overlooked. -
The NBA will soon crown another team as the best. And another MVP will be named. But commentator Frank Deford says such titles of greatness are fleeting.
