Frank Deford facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Frank Deford
Frank Deford speaking at the Bridgeport Public Library in Bridgeport, Connecticut, September 21, 2007
Born	Benjamin Franklin Deford III (1938-12-16)December 16, 1938 Baltimore, Maryland, U.S.
Died	May 28, 2017(2017-05-28) (aged 78) Key West, Florida, U.S.
Education	Princeton University
Occupation	Sports journalist, novelist
Spouse(s)	Carol Penner Deford
Children	3
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Frank Deford (born Benjamin Franklin Deford III, December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was a famous American sportswriter and author. He was known for his amazing stories about sports and life. For many years, from 1980 until he passed away in 2017, he was a regular voice on NPR's Morning Edition radio show, sharing his thoughts on sports.

Deford also wrote for Sports Illustrated magazine for a very long time, starting in 1962 and continuing until his death. He was also a special reporter for the Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel TV show on HBO. He wrote 18 books, and nine of them were novels (fiction stories). He was recognized as one of the best sportswriters, winning the National Sportswriter of the Year award six times! He also won Magazine Writer of the Year twice.

In 2012, Deford received the Red Smith Award, a big honor for sportswriters. The next year, in 2013, he was given the National Humanities Medal for changing how people think about sports. He also received the William Allen White Citation for "excellence in journalism" and was the first sports journalist to get the National Press Foundation's top award, the W.M. Kiplinger Award.

Frank Deford's writings and papers are kept at the University of Texas at Austin. A special lecture is given there every year in his honor. He also spent many years helping with research and treatment for a disease called cystic fibrosis.

Frank Deford's Life and Career

Growing Up and Family Life

Frank Deford grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, as the oldest of three sons. He went to the Calvert School and Gilman School in Baltimore. He later studied at Princeton University. He lived in Key West, Florida, with his wife, Carol Penner, who used to be a fashion model.

Frank and Carol had two children who are still alive: Christian (born in 1969) and Scarlet (born in 1980). Scarlet was adopted from the Philippines when she was a baby. This happened a few months after their first daughter, Alexandra, sadly passed away from cystic fibrosis at the age of 8 in 1980. Frank Deford also had two grandchildren, Annabel and Hunter. He met his wife in Delaware, and they got married in Newport, Rhode Island, in 1965.

His Amazing Writing Career

After finishing college at Princeton in 1962, Frank Deford started working as a researcher at Sports Illustrated magazine. Besides his writing for Sports Illustrated, he also shared his opinions on CNN. He worked as a special reporter for HBO's Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel starting in 1995.

From 1980 to 2016, he was a regular voice on NPR's Morning Edition every Wednesday. He later became a monthly commentator until he retired in May 2017. One topic he often talked about was his dislike for soccer. His 1981 novel, Everybody's All-American, was named one of Sports Illustrated's best sports books ever. It was even made into a movie!

Many of the fiction stories he wrote were not about sports. His last novel, Bliss, Remembered, was a romance story set in the 1930s. He also wrote screenplays for the movies Trading Hearts (1988) and Four Minutes (2005).

In 1989, Deford became the editor-in-chief of The National, which was the first daily sports newspaper in the U.S. However, it only lasted for 18 months. After writing for Newsweek and Vanity Fair, Deford returned to Sports Illustrated as a senior contributing writer.

Helping Others: Cystic Fibrosis Advocacy

Frank Deford was the chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation from 1982 to 1999. After that, he became chairman emeritus, meaning he continued to support them. He became a strong supporter for cystic fibrosis research and treatment after his daughter, Alexandra, was diagnosed with the illness in 1972.

After Alexandra passed away at age 8 in 1980, he wrote a book about her life called Alex: The Life of a Child. This book was later made into a movie.

His Final Years

Frank Deford passed away on May 28, 2017, at his home in Key West, Florida. He was 78 years old.

Awards and Achievements

Frank Deford received many awards and honors throughout his career:

• He was a member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame.
• He won the U.S. Sportswriter of the Year award six times.
• He was named Magazine Writer of the Year twice by the Washington Journalism Review.
• He received a National Magazine Award for an article he wrote about Bill Russell in Sports Illustrated in 1999.
• He won a Peabody Award for writing the HBO documentary "Dare to Compete" in 1999.
• He was a Christopher Award winner.
• He received the University of Missouri Honor Award for Distinguished Service to Journalism.
• He won an Emmy Award in 1988 for his writing during the Seoul Olympics.
• He won a CableACE Award in 1994 for writing the HBO Sports documentary Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World.
• He received the Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism in 2003.
• He was given ten honorary degrees from different colleges.
• In 2012, he was inducted into the Roller Derby Hall of Fame.
• In 2012, he received the Damon Runyon Award from the Denver Press Club.
• In 2013, he received the William Allen White Foundation National Citation from the University of Kansas.
• In 2013, he was given a National Humanities Medal for "transforming how we think about sports."
• In 2013, he received the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing.

Published Books

Here is a list of some of the books Frank Deford wrote:

• Five Strides on the Banked Track: The Life and Times of the Roller Derby (1971)
• Cut 'n' Run (1973)
• There She Is: The Life and Times of Miss America (1975)
• Big Bill Tilden: The Triumphs and The Tragedy (1976)
• The Owner (1978)
• Everybody's All-American (1981)
• Alex: The Life of a Child (1983)
• The Spy in the Deuce Court (1986)
• The World's Tallest Midget: The Best of Frank Deford (1987)
• Casey On The Loose (1988)
• Love and Infamy (1993)
• The Best Of Frank Deford (2000)
• The Other Adonis: A Novel (2001)
• An American Summer: A Novel (2002)
• The Old Ball Game (2005)
• The Entitled (2007)
• Bliss, Remembered (2010)
• Over Time: My Life as a Sportswriter (2012)

See also

• WSHU