Lillian Vickers-Smith (

née The birth name is the name of the person given upon their birth. The term may be applied to the surname, the given name or to the entire name. Where births are required to be officially registered, the entire name entered onto a births registe ...

Dyer; September 7, 1896 – July 4, 1971) was an American journalist who is regarded as the first woman sports editor for a newspaper when she obtained the title working for The Leesburg Commercial in Florida in 1938.

Early life

She was born Lillian Dyer to parents Horace E. Dyer and Lillian G. Hasler in

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont *Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The ...

on September 7, 1896.

Career

In Florida, she began her writing career. Lillian Vickers-Smith first began serving as Press Correspondent for the town of Fruitland Park, Florida after news writing with the Fruitland Park

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to a ...

. She wrote the History of Fruitland Park in 1924. She co-authored the History of

Lake County, Florida Lake County is a county in the central portion of the U.S. state of Florida. As of the 2020 census, the population was 383,956. Its county seat is Tavares, and its largest city is Clermont. Lake County is included in the Orlando–Kissimme ...

in 1929. She began her career with The Leesburg Commercial newspaper as the first Fruitland correspondent and later became a staff member in their society department. At the time, The Leesburg Commercial did not have a sports writer despite the rising success of the Leesburg athletic teams, and Lillian took up an informal role of sports writing to meet this need. On September 7, 1938, the Leesburg Commercial newspaper staff promoted her to the title of “Sports Editor," thus making her the first female sports editor for a

newspaper A newspaper is a Periodical literature, periodical publication containing written News, information about current events and is often typed in black ink with a white or gray background. Newspapers can cover a wide variety of fields such as poli ...

. She later became a correspondent for the

Orlando Sentinel The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is the primary newspaper of Orlando, Florida, and the Central Florida region, in the United States. It was founded in 1876 and is currently owned by Tribune Publishing Company. The ''Orlando Sentinel'' is owned by pare ...

newspaper as well. She also complied many volumes detailing local

military service Military service is service by an individual or group in an army or other militia, air forces, and naval forces, whether as a chosen job (volunteer military, volunteer) or as a result of an involuntary draft (conscription). Few nations, such ...

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 ...

which was later used to erect a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects such as home ...

in their honor in 1994. The

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is an Voluntary association, organization of United States, U.S. war veterans headquartered in Indianapolis, Indiana. It comprises U.S. state, state, Territories of the United States, U.S. terr ...

Post 219 presented the City of Leesburg with a plaque in honor of her dedication that year.

Personal life

After her marriage to Ormond Vickers-Smith on March 20, 1919, Lillian moved to

Fruitland Park, Florida Fruitland Park is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,325 at the 2020 census. History Fruitland Park antedates the Americ ...

. During her residence in

Florida Florida ( ; ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders the Gulf of Mexico to the west, Alabama to the northwest, Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia to the north, the Atlantic ...

, she began a family and had two sons, Harold Dyer and John Edward, and one daughter, Nathalie Vivien. She died on July 4, 1971 in

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in Buncombe County, North Carolina, United States. Located at the confluence of the French Broad River, French Broad and Swannanoa River, Swannanoa rivers, it is the county seat of Buncombe County. It is the most populou ...

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers-Smith, Lillian 1896 births 1971 deaths Journalists from Vermont American women sportswriters People from Rutland, Vermont American women editors American editors American women journalists