Charles Heaton Jr. (October 22, 1917 – February 14, 2008) was an American sports news columnist, journalist, commentator, and reporter. He worked for 50 years as a sportswriter for ''

The Cleveland Plain Dealer ''The Plain Dealer'' is the major newspaper of Cleveland, Ohio; it is a major national newspaper. In the fall of 2019, it ranked 23rd in U.S. newspaper circulation, a significant drop since March 2013, when its circulation ranked 17th daily an ...

'' in Cleveland, Ohio. He was the father of actress

Patricia Heaton Patricia Helen Heaton (born March 4, 1958) is an American actress. She began her career appearing in a recurring role in the American Broadcasting Company, ABC drama series ''Thirtysomething'' (1989–1991) and later appearing in the comedy film ...

of ''

Everybody Loves Raymond ''Everybody Loves Raymond'' is an American television sitcom created by Philip Rosenthal that aired on CBS from September 13, 1996, to May 16, 2005, with a total of 210 episodes spanning nine seasons. It was produced by Where's Lunch and Wor ...

'' and '' The Middle''. He was also the father of Michael Heaton, who was a writer and movie critic for the ''Cleveland Plain Dealer'' and served for 30 years as the newspaper's "Minister of Culture." Michael is the author of four books, and is the screenwriter for Hallmark's movie, ''The Christmas Heart.'' Among the many awards he received during his career was the 1980

Dick McCann Memorial Award The Bill Nunn Memorial Award is bestowed annually by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a reporter for their "long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage". It is named after Bill Nunn Jr., who worked ...

, given by the

Pro Football Writers Association The Pro Football Writers of America (PFWA), sometimes known as Pro Football Writers Association, is an organization that purports to be " heofficial voice of pro football writers, promoting and fighting for access to NFL personnel to best serve ...

for distinguished reporting. After his death from pneumonia at the age of 90, the Press Club in Cleveland established the annual Chuck Heaton Award, given to a print, radio, online or television journalist "who best exemplifies the sensitivity and humility that, along with his journalism heart, were traits exhibited by Chuck Heaton during his exemplary career as a sports writer at ''The Plain Dealer''".

Early life and education

Heaton graduated from Lakewood High School in 1934 and

John Carroll University John Carroll University (JCU) is a Private university, private Jesuit university in University Heights, Ohio, United States. Located in a suburb of Cleveland, it is primarily an undergraduate, liberal arts college, liberal arts institution compo ...

in 1938. After graduation, he worked at John Carroll University as the publicity director and in 1942, he joined The Plain Dealer."Chuck Heaton Here Thursday"
''The Daily Times'', New Philadelphia, Ohio, volume LXV, number 39, May 16, 1967, page 10. He served in the

United States Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary Land warfare, land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of th ...

from December 1942 to November 1945. He was initially a private."The Carroll News- Vol. 23, No. 14 (1943)"
''The Carroll News'', April 30, 1943, page 6. He served in Germany during

World War II World War II or the Second World War (1 September 1939 – 2 September 1945) was a World war, global conflict between two coalitions: the Allies of World War II, Allies and the Axis powers. World War II by country, Nearly all of the wo ...

and was the recipient of the

Bronze Star Medal The Bronze Star Medal (BSM) is a Awards and decorations of the United States Armed Forces, United States Armed Forces decoration awarded to members of the United States Armed Forces for either heroic achievement, heroic service, meritorious a ...

Bibliography

*''A Fond Look Back At Five Decades of Football from a Legendary Cleveland Sportswriter,'' by Chuck Heaton, , ''Gray & Co., Publishing'', 2007. *''The Cleveland Browns: Power and Glory'', , ''Prentice-Hall Publishing'', 1974.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Heaton, Chuck 1917 births 2008 deaths Bill Nunn Memorial Award recipients John Carroll University alumni Television anchors from Cleveland Writers from Cleveland Writers from Yonkers, New York People from Bay Village, Ohio United States Army soldiers Sportswriters from Ohio Sportswriters from New York (state) 20th-century American journalists United States Army personnel of World War II