Gordon Russell Cobbledick (December 31, 1898 – October 2, 1969) was an

American American(s) may refer to: * American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America" ** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America ** American ancestry, p ...

sports Sport is a physical activity or game, often competitive and organized, that maintains or improves physical ability and skills. Sport may provide enjoyment to participants and entertainment to spectators. The number of participants in ...

journalist A journalist is a person who gathers information in the form of text, audio or pictures, processes it into a newsworthy form and disseminates it to the public. This is called journalism. Roles Journalists can work in broadcast, print, advertis ...

and author in

Cleveland Cleveland is a city in the U.S. state of Ohio and the county seat of Cuyahoga County. Located along the southern shore of Lake Erie, it is situated across the Canada–U.S. maritime border and approximately west of the Ohio-Pennsylvania st ...

. He was the sports editor of ''

The 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 ...

'' for many years, and posthumously received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, the highest award given by the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines, and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908 and is known fo ...

Early life

Cobbledick attended

Case School of Applied Science The Case School of Engineering is the engineering school of Case Western Reserve University, a private research university in Cleveland, Ohio. It traces its roots to the 1880 founding of the Case School of Applied Science. The school was endowed ...

, now known as

Case Western Reserve University Case Western Reserve University (CWRU) is a Private university, private research university in Cleveland, Ohio, United States. It was established in 1967 by a merger between Western Reserve University and the Case Institute of Technology. Case ...

, where he studied mining engineering and was a member of

Sigma Alpha Epsilon Sigma Alpha Epsilon () is a North American Greek-letter social college fraternity. It was founded at the University of Alabama in Tuscaloosa, Alabama, on March 9, 1856.Baird, William Raimond, ed. (1905).Baird's Manual of American College Fratern ...

. He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for Case Tech, graduating in 1922. Some of his more popular nicknames were "Cobb" and "Cobby." After graduating, he became a mining engineer in

Morgantown, West Virginia Morgantown is a city in Monongalia County, West Virginia, United States, and its county seat. It is situated along the Monongahela River in North Central West Virginia and is the home of West Virginia University. The population was 30,347 at the 2 ...

Career

While visiting a friend in Cleveland, Cobbledick had opportunity to join ''The Plain Dealer''; he decided to quit his mining job, and started his writing career in 1923 at a salary of $25 per week. Initially covering the police beat, he later became a sports writer. He also wrote for the short-lived ''Cleveland Times'' in 1926. He was elected president of the

(BBWAA) in October 1942, and served in the role during 1943. Cobbledick served as a war correspondent 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 his account of the

Battle of Okinawa The , codenamed Operation Iceberg, was a major battle of the Pacific War fought on the island of Okinawa Island, Okinawa by United States Army and United States Marine Corps forces against the Imperial Japanese Army during the Pacific War, Impe ...

written on

V-E Day Victory in Europe Day is the day celebrating the formal acceptance by the Allies of World War II of Germany's unconditional surrender of its armed forces on Tuesday, 8 May 1945; it marked the official surrender of all German military operations ...

has been frequently reprinted and cited as an example of excellent war reporting. In 1947, he became the sports editor of ''The Plain Dealer''. His works were frequently published in ''

The Sporting News ''The Sporting News'' is a website and former magazine publication owned by Sporting News Holdings, which is a U.S.-based sports media company formed in December 2020 by a private investor consortium. It was originally established in 1886 as a ...

'', ''

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 a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', and ''

Baseball Digest ''Baseball Digest'' is a baseball magazine resource, published in Orlando, Florida, by Grandstand Publishing, LLC. It is the longest running baseball magazine in the United States. History and profile The magazine was created in 1942 by Herbert ...

''. Cobbledick's writing style was short and to the point. Cobbledick was journalist for ''The Plain Dealer'' until 1964 when he retired. He later moved to

Tucson, Arizona Tucson (; ; ) is a city in Pima County, Arizona, United States, and its county seat. It is the second-most populous city in Arizona, behind Phoenix, Arizona, Phoenix, with a population of 542,630 in the 2020 United States census. The Tucson ...

, where he died in 1969, aged 70.

Legacy

In 1977, Cobbledick was posthumously voted the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the BBWAA,. He was also inducted into the Journalism Hall of Fame in 1982 and the Greater Cleveland Sports Hall of Fame in 2007. From 1963 through 2002, the Cleveland chapter of the BBWAA voted annually for the "Gordon Cobbledick Golden Tomahawk Award", which was awarded to the most underrated player of the

Cleveland Indians The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League Central, Central Division. Since , the team ...

. Recipients included

Gaylord Perry Gaylord Jackson Perry (September 15, 1938 – December 1, 2022) was an American right-handed pitcher in Major League Baseball (MLB) who played for eight teams from 1962 to 1983, becoming one of the most durable and successful pitchers in histor ...

(1973),

Rick Sutcliffe Richard Lee Sutcliffe (born June 21, 1956), nicknamed "the Red Baron", is an American former Major League Baseball pitcher with the Los Angeles Dodgers, Cleveland Indians, Chicago Cubs, Baltimore Orioles, and St. Louis Cardinals between 1976 and ...

(1984), and

Travis Fryman David Travis Fryman (born March 25, 1969) is an American former professional baseball third baseman who played in Major League Baseball for the Detroit Tigers and Cleveland Indians from 1990 to 2002. He is currently a hitting instructor for the C ...

(2000).

Works

Books

Selected articles

Cries of Dying Spoil VE Day for Okinawa
''

Chicago Daily Tribune The ''Chicago Tribune'' is an American daily newspaper based in Chicago, Illinois, United States. Founded in 1847, it was formerly self-styled as the "World's Greatest Newspaper", a slogan from which its once integrated WGN radio and WGN tel ...

'', May 9, 1945
Slaughter in a Hurry
(

Enos Slaughter Enos Bradsher Slaughter (April 27, 1916 – August 12, 2002), nicknamed "Country", was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) right fielder. He played for 19 seasons on four major league teams from 1938 to 1942 and 1946 to 1959. He is noted prim ...

), ''

'', November 1946
"Cobb Taught Me Too"
(

Harry Heilmann Harry Edwin Heilmann (August 3, 1894 – July 9, 1951), nicknamed "Slug", was an American baseball player and radio announcer. He played professional baseball for 19 years between 1913 and 1932, including 17 seasons in Major League Baseball wit ...

), ''

'', July 1947
Confidence in Keltner
( Ken Keltner), ''

'', April 1948
Feller Still Has Plenty on the Ball
(

Bob Feller Robert William Andrew Feller (November 3, 1918 – December 15, 2010), nicknamed "the Heater from Van Meter", "Bullet Bob", and "Rapid Robert", was an American baseball pitcher who played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Clevel ...

), ''

'', April 1953
Sports Editor Gordon Cobbledick considers the beanball and decides it is here to stay—unless some means is found to outlaw wildness high and inside while sanctioning it low and outside
''

'', August 16, 1954
Harmony Is for the Birds
''

'', April 1955
Sure, Modern Players Are Sissies!
''Baseball Digest'', September 1955
Lampooning Platoon's an Old Time
''Baseball Digest'', November 1955
Hitting Greatness Can't Be Taught
''Baseball Digest'', January 1956
Sure, Fans Know More Than Managers
''Baseball Digest'', August 1956
Ace Firemen Make Managers Smart
''Baseball Digest'', September 1956
Records Prove It's Speaker Over DiMag!
(

Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a center fielder from 1907 to 1928. Considered one o ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', October 1958
Why Gordon Quit the Tigers
(

Joe Gordon Joseph Lowell Gordon (February 18, 1915 – April 14, 1978), nicknamed "Flash", in reference to the comic-book character '' Flash Gordon'', was an American second baseman, coach and manager in Major League Baseball who played for the New York Y ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', January 1961
Pity the New Pilots
''Baseball Digest'', March 1961

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Cobbledick, Gordon 1898 births 1969 deaths 20th-century American journalists American male journalists Baseball writers BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipients Case Western Reserve University alumni Case Western Reserve Spartans football players Sportswriters from Ohio Writers from Cleveland Journalists from Cleveland

Early life

Career

Legacy

Works

Books

Selected articles

References

Further reading

External links