Dave Anderson facts for kids

David Poole Anderson (born May 6, 1929 – died October 4, 2018) was a famous American sportswriter. He lived and worked in New York City. In 1981, he won a special award called the Pulitzer Prize. This award was for his amazing writing about sports. Dave Anderson also wrote 21 books and over 350 articles for magazines.

Who Was Dave Anderson?

Dave Anderson was born on May 6, 1929, in Troy, New York. His family was involved in newspapers. His father worked in advertising for The Troy Times, and his grandfather published it. Dave grew up in Bay Ridge, Brooklyn. He finished high school at Xavier High School in New York City in 1947.

Starting His Writing Career

Dave's first job was at age 16. He worked as a messenger for The Sun newspaper. After high school, he went to the College of the Holy Cross in Massachusetts. He graduated from college in 1951.

Anderson wrote for many different newspapers in New York. He covered the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team for the Brooklyn Eagle. Later, he moved to the New York Journal-American. He won an award in 1965 for a magazine story called "The Longest Day of Sugar Ray." He also received an award for his excellent writing about football.

Writing for The New York Times

In 1966, Dave Anderson started working for The New York Times. He began writing his own regular column there in 1971. A column is like a special article that appears regularly.

Winning Awards and Writing Books

In 1972, he won another award for a sports story. It was about the boxer Joe Frazier returning home. Dave also worked with football players Larry Csonka and Jim Kiick on a book called Always on the Run. This book came out in 1973. Over his career, he wrote or helped write 21 books. In 1974, he won an award for his excellent boxing journalism.

The Pulitzer Prize and Hall of Fame

In 1981, Dave Anderson won the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. This is one of the highest awards for writers in America. He was only the second sportswriter to ever win it. The award especially noted his columns from 1980. One famous column was about the New York Yankees manager being fired.

Dave was honored many times for his work. In 1990, he was put into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. He also won the Red Smith Award in 1994 for his great sports column writing. In 2006, he was inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame.

Dave Anderson retired from The Times in 2007. However, he still wrote occasional articles. His last article was in August 2017 about the US Tennis Open. In 2014, he received a special award for his lifetime of sports writing.

Personal Life

Dave Anderson lived in Tenafly, New Jersey. His wife, Maureen, passed away in 2014. They had four children together. One of his sons, Steve, worked as a vice president at ESPN. Dave Anderson died on October 4, 2018, when he was 89 years old. He passed away at an assisted living center in Cresskill, New Jersey.