Benjamin Franklin Deford III (December 16, 1938 – May 28, 2017) was an American

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

and

novelist A novelist is an author or writer of novels, though often novelists also write in other genres of both fiction and non-fiction. Some novelists are professional novelists, thus make a living writing novels and other fiction, while others aspire ...

. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports commentator on

NPR National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...

's ''

Morning Edition ''Morning Edition'' is an American radio news program produced and distributed by NPR. It airs weekday mornings (Monday through Friday) and runs for two hours, and many stations repeat one or both hours. The show feeds live from 5:00 to 9:00 A ...

'' radio program. Deford wrote for ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with circulation over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellence tw ...

'' magazine from 1962 until his death in 2017, and was a correspondent for the ''

Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel ''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel'' is a monthly sports news magazine on HBO. Since its debut on April 2, 1995, the program has been presented by television journalist and sportscaster Bryant Gumbel. Overview Format Each episode consists of fou ...

'' television program on HBO. He wrote 18 books, nine of them novels. A member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame, Deford was six times voted National Sportswriter of the Year by the members of that organization, and was twice voted Magazine Writer of the Year by the ''Washington Journalism Review''. In 2012, Deford became the first magazine recipient of the Red Smith Award. In 2013, he was awarded the

National Humanities Medal The National Humanities Medal is an American award that annually recognizes several individuals, groups, or institutions for work that has "deepened the nation's understanding of the humanities, broadened our citizens' engagement with the huma ...

, was presented with the William Allen White Citation for "excellence in journalism" by the

University of Kansas The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States, and several satellite campuses, research and educational centers, medical centers, and classes across the state of Kansas. T ...

, and became the first sports journalist ever to receive the

National Press Foundation The National Press Foundation is a nonprofit journalism training organization. It educates journalists on complex issues and trains them in reporting tools and techniques. It recognizes and encourages excellence in journalism through its awards. ...

's highest honor, the W.M. Kiplinger Award for Distinguished Contributions to Journalism. Deford's archives are held by the

University of Texas at Austin The University of Texas at Austin (UT Austin, UT, or Texas) is a public research university in Austin, Texas. It was founded in 1883 and is the oldest institution in the University of Texas System. With 40,916 undergraduate students, 11,075 ...

, where an annual lecture is presented in his name. He was a long-time advocate for research and treatment of

cystic fibrosis Cystic fibrosis (CF) is a rare genetic disorder that affects mostly the lungs, but also the pancreas, liver, kidneys, and intestine. Long-term issues include difficulty breathing and coughing up mucus as a result of frequent lung infections. Ot ...

Life and career

Early life

Deford grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, the oldest of three sons, and attended the

Calvert School Calvert School, founded in 1897, is an independent, non-sectarian, co-educational lower and middle school located in Baltimore, Maryland. Calvert School is a member of the National Association of Independent Schools (NAIS) as well as the Ass ...

and

Gilman School Gilman School is an all-boys independent school located in the Roland Park neighborhood of Baltimore, Maryland. There are three school divisions: Lower School, grades pre-kindergarten through five; Middle School, grades six through eight; and ...

in Baltimore. He is a graduate of

Princeton University Princeton University is a private research university in Princeton, New Jersey. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the United States and one of the ...

and resided in

Key West, Florida Key West ( es, Cayo Hueso) is an island in the Straits of Florida, within the U.S. state of Florida. Together with all or parts of the separate islands of Sigsbee Park, Dredgers Key, Fleming Key, Sunset Key, and the northern part of Stock Isla ...

, with his wife, the former Carol Penner, who had been a fashion model. They have two surviving children: Christian (b. 1969) and Scarlet (b. 1980). Scarlet was adopted as an infant from the

Philippines The Philippines (; fil, Pilipinas, links=no), officially the Republic of the Philippines ( fil, Republika ng Pilipinas, links=no), * bik, Republika kan Filipinas * ceb, Republika sa Pilipinas * cbk, República de Filipinas * hil, Republ ...

a few months after his daughter Alexandra's death from

at age 8 on January 19, 1980. Deford has two grandchildren; Annabel (b. 2010) and Hunter (b. 2012). Deford met his wife in

Delaware Delaware ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Maryland to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and New Jersey and the Atlantic Ocean to its east. The state takes its name from the adjacent ...

and they were married in

Newport, Rhode Island Newport is an American seaside city on Aquidneck Island in Newport County, Rhode Island. It is located in Narragansett Bay, approximately southeast of Providence, south of Fall River, Massachusetts, south of Boston, and northeast of New Yor ...

in 1965.

Career

After graduation from Princeton in 1962, Deford began his career as a researcher at ''Sports Illustrated.'' In addition to his writing at ''Sports Illustrated'', he was a commentator on CNN and worked as a correspondent for HBO's ''Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel'' since 1995. He was a regular Wednesday commentator for NPR's ''

'' from 1980 to 2016, when his essays became monthly until he retired in May 2017. Among Deford's most frequent topics was his disdain for

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 players who primarily use their feet to propel the ball around a rectangular field called a pitch. The objective of the game is ...

. His 1981 novel ''

Everybody's All-American ''Everybody's All-American'' is a novel by longtime ''Sports Illustrated'' contributor Frank Deford, published in 1981. It was made into a motion picture, directed by Taylor Hackford. Plot summary The novel tells the story of a fictional famous ...

'' was named one of ''Sports Illustrated's'' Top 25 Sports Books of All Time and was later made into a film of the same title. Much of the fiction he wrote is set outside of the sports realm. His last novel was the acclaimed ''Bliss, Remembered'', a 1930s romance between a pretty young American and the son of a German diplomat; the story is written from the point of view of the woman. He was also the screenwriter on the films ''

Trading Hearts ''Trading Hearts'' is a 1988 American comedy film directed by Neil Leifer and starring Raul Julia and Beverly D'Angelo. Cast *Raul Julia as Vinnie Iacona *Beverly D'Angelo as Donna Nottingham *Jenny Lewis as Yvonne Rhonda Nottingham *Parris Buckn ...

'' (1988) and ''Four Minutes'' (2005). In 1989, Deford became editor-in-chief of '' The National'', the first daily U.S. sports newspaper. It ceased publication after only 18 months. After writing for ''

Newsweek ''Newsweek'' is an American weekly online news magazine co-owned 50 percent each by Dev Pragad, its president and CEO, and Johnathan Davis (businessman), Johnathan Davis, who has no operational role at ''Newsweek''. Founded as a weekly print m ...

'' and ''

Vanity Fair Vanity Fair may refer to: Arts, entertainment and media Literature * Vanity Fair, a location in '' The Pilgrim's Progress'' (1678), by John Bunyan * ''Vanity Fair'' (novel), 1848, by William Makepeace Thackeray * ''Vanity Fair'' (magazines), the ...

'', Deford became a senior contributing writer at ''Sports Illustrated''.

Advocacy

Deford served as chairman of the

Cystic Fibrosis Foundation The Cystic Fibrosis Foundation (CFF) is a 501(c)(3) non-profit organization in the United States established to provide the means to cure cystic fibrosis (CF) and ensure that those living with CF live long and productive lives. The Foundation p ...

from 1982 until 1999 and was chairman emeritus after that. He became a cystic-fibrosis advocate after his daughter Alexandra was diagnosed with the illness in 1972. After she died at age 8 on January 19, 1980, he chronicled her life in the memoir '' Alex: The Life of a Child''. The book was made into a movie starring Craig T. Nelson as Deford,

Bonnie Bedelia Bonnie Bedelia Culkin (born ) is an American actress. After beginning her career in theatre in the 1960s, Bedelia starred in the CBS daytime soap opera '' Love of Life'' and made her film debut in '' The Gypsy Moths''. Bedelia subsequently appea ...

as his wife Carol, and

Gennie James Sara Genevieve James (born December 27, 1976), billed professionally as Gennie James, is an American former child actress. James is a native of Navasota, Texas. She acted in several television movies and series between 1984 and 1988 and had the ...

as Alex.

Death

Deford died on May 28, 2017, at the age of 78, at his home in

Awards and accomplishments

*Member of the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame *Six-time U.S. Sportswriter of the Year winner *Twice voted Magazine Writer of the Year by the

Washington Journalism Review The ''American Journalism Review'' (''AJR'') was an American magazine covering topics in journalism. It was launched in 1977 as the ''Washington Journalism Review'' by journalist Roger Kranz. It ceased publication in 2015. History and profile Th ...

National Magazine Award The National Magazine Awards, also known as the Ellie Awards, honor print and digital publications that consistently demonstrate superior execution of editorial objectives, innovative techniques, noteworthy enterprise and imaginative design. Or ...

recipient for 1999 Sports Illustrated article on Bill Russell *Peabody Award recipient for writer on 1999 HBO documentary "Dare to Compete" *

Christopher Award The Christopher Award (established 1949) is presented to the producers, directors, and writers of books, films and television specials that "affirm the highest values of the human spirit". It is given by The Christophers, a Christian organizatio ...

winner *University of Missouri Honor Award for Distinguished Service to Journalism *Winner of a 1988

Emmy Award The Emmy Awards, or Emmys, are an extensive range of awards for artistic and technical merit for the American and international television industry. A number of annual Emmy Award ceremonies are held throughout the calendar year, each with the ...

for his work as a writer during the Seoul Olympics *Winner of a

CableACE Award The CableACE Award (earlier known as the ACE Awards; ACE was an acronym for "Award for Cable Excellence") is a defunct award that was given by what was then the National Cable Television Association from 1978 to 1997 to honor excellence in Am ...

in 1994 for writing the HBO Sports documentary ''Arthur Ashe: Citizen of the World'' * Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism recipient in 2003 *Received ten honorary degrees, most recently in 2011 from Washington College, Chestertown, Maryland. *2012 Inducted into the

Roller Derby Hall of Fame The Roller Derby Hall of Fame, also known as the National Roller Derby Hall of Fame, was founded in 1952,William H. Young and Nancy K. Young, ''World War II and the Postwar Years in America'', p.596 by the editors of the ''Roller Derby News'' paper. ...

. *2012 Denver Press Club, Damon Runyon Award Recipient *2013 William Allen White Foundation National Citation at the

*2013 Awarded a National Humanities Medal for "transforming how we think about sports." *2013 PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing

Published books

* ''Five Strides on the Banked Track: The Life and Times of the Roller Derby'', Little Brown & Company (1971), * ''Cut 'n' Run'',

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheim and then acquir ...

(1973) * ''There She Is: The Life and Times of Miss America'', Viking Press (1975) * ''Big Bill Tilden: The Triumphs and The Tragedy'',

Simon & Schuster Simon & Schuster () is an American publishing company and a subsidiary of Paramount Global. It was founded in New York City on January 2, 1924 by Richard L. Simon and M. Lincoln Schuster. As of 2016, Simon & Schuster was the third largest publi ...

(1976) * ''The Owner'', Viking Press (1978) * ''

,'' Viking Press (1981) * ''Alex: The Life of a Child'', Viking Press (1983) * ''The Spy in the Deuce Court'', Putnam (1986) * ''The World's Tallest Midget: The Best of Frank Deford'', Little Brown (1987) * ''Casey On The Loose'', Viking Press (1988) * ''Love and Infamy'', Viking Press (1993) * ''The Best Of Frank Deford'', Triumph Books (2000) * ''The Other Adonis: A Novel'', Sourcebooks Landmark (2001) * ''An American Summer: A Novel'', Sourcebooks Landmark (2002) * ''The Old Ball Game,''

Atlantic Monthly Press Grove Atlantic, Inc. is an American independent publisher, based in New York City. Formerly styled "Grove/Atlantic, Inc.", it was created in 1993 by the merger of Grove Press and Atlantic Monthly Press. As of 2018 Grove Atlantic calls itself "A ...

(2005) * ''The Entitled'', Sourcebooks Landmark (2007) * ''Bliss, Remembered'', The Overlook Press (2010) * ''Over Time: My Life as a Sportswriter'', Atlantic Monthly Press (2012)