Alvin Scott McCoy (July 14, 1903 – March 12, 1988) was an American journalist of ''

The Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'' who won the

Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prizes () are 23 annual awards given by Columbia University in New York City for achievements in the United States in "journalism, arts and letters". They were established in 1917 by the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made his fo ...

in 1954 for a series of articles published the previous year that drove C. Wesley Roberts to resign as

chairman of the Republican National Committee The chair of the Republican National Committee is the party chair and '' de-jure'' leader of the Republican Party. The chair manages the day-to-day affairs and operations of the Republican National Committee (RNC), prepares and conducts the qu ...

Biography

Alvin Scott McCoy was born on July 14, 1903, in

Cheney, Kansas Cheney is a city in Sedgwick County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 2,181. History Cheney was founded in August, 1883 and was named after Benjamin P. Cheney, a stockholder in the Atchison, Topek ...

. He received an A.B. degree in 1925 from the

University of Kansas at Lawrence The University of Kansas (KU) is a public research university with its main campus in Lawrence, Kansas, United States. Two branch campuses are in the Kansas City metropolitan area on the Kansas side: the university's medical school and hospital ...

, majoring in chemistry. After spending two years at

Ford Motor Company Ford Motor Company (commonly known as Ford) is an American multinational corporation, multinational automobile manufacturer headquartered in Dearborn, Michigan, United States. It was founded by Henry Ford and incorporated on June 16, 1903. T ...

Dodge City Dodge City is a city in and the county seat of Ford County, Kansas, United States. As of the 2020 census, the population of the city was 27,788. It was named after nearby Fort Dodge, which was named in honor of Grenville Dodge. The city ...

, Kansas, and one year traveling around the world in 1928 and 1929, McCoy was first employed in newspaper work as a reporter of the '' Evening Eagle'' in

Wichita, Kansas Wichita ( ) is the List of cities in Kansas, most populous city in the U.S. state of Kansas and the county seat of Sedgwick County, Kansas, Sedgwick County. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population of the city was 397, ...

. He spent eighteen months on this newspaper and on the Wichita '' Morning Eagle''. In November, 1930, he joined the ''

Kansas City Star ''The Kansas City Star'' is a newspaper based in Kansas City, Missouri. Published since 1880, the paper is the recipient of eight Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Star'' is most notable for its influence on the career of President Harry S. Truman and a ...

'' as a reporter and worked on general assignments. Years later, McCoy served as the ''Star''

Pacific War The Pacific War, sometimes called the Asia–Pacific War or the Pacific Theatre, was the Theater (warfare), theatre of World War II fought between the Empire of Japan and the Allies of World War II, Allies in East Asia, East and Southeast As ...

correspondent in 1945. That same year he began covering Kansas state politics, legislature, news and features. He also did some editorial writing as well as scientific stories. C. Wesley Roberts was accused of collecting a $10,000 commission on the sale of a hospital to the State of Kansas which the state already owned.

Distinctions

*President of William Allen White Foundation at the School of Journalism at University of Kansas *Member of the Kansas University Endowment association *Member of the research committee of the Kansas Association of School Boards

Bibliography

* ''The Pulitzer Prize Archive: A History and Anthology of Award Winning Materials in Journalism, Letters and Arts'', Volume 6, Editor Heinz-Dietrich Fischer, Publisher Walter de Gruyter, , 9783598301704, 420 pages.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:McCoy, Alvin American male journalists 20th-century American journalists Journalists from Kansas People from Sedgwick County, Kansas Pulitzer Prize winners for journalism Pulitzer Prize for Investigative Reporting winners The Kansas City Star people 1903 births 1988 deaths