
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 time has come to recognize that Bill Belichick is the best pro-sports coach of this century, says commentator Frank Deford.
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Commentator Frank Deford takes a close look at fantasy sports and concludes the profits to be made there are very real.
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Commentator Frank Deford says big universities often see athletics as primarily spectator entertainment. Smaller schools, he says, do better in making it a participant activity for students.
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Too many pitchers are throwing too hard for the human body to bear, commentator Frank Deford says. What makes these injuries unique is that the players are doing it to themselves.
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Commentator Frank Deford marks the 75th anniversary of the college football movie Knute Rockne, All-American, which included a famous phrase, uttered by the movie's star, Ronald Reagan.
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As the WNBA finals approach, NPR commentator Frank Deford explains why — Serena Williams aside — women's professional sports are not as popular as men's.
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Yogi Berra died Tuesday at age 90. The Hall of Fame catcher is part of our culture in ways that other great athletes never manage. To mark his passing, Morning Edition airs this encore from 2005.
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Baseball used to be a newspaper game, says commentator Frank Deford. Now, sports are equal parts television and fantasy.
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Municipalities all over the country keep forking over money for new football stadiums, and sports commentator Frank Deford finds it outrageous "because football stadiums are the worst excesses."
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History shows why we shouldn't be surprised that a judge recently overturned New England Patriots quarterback Tom Brady's suspension.