Michael Katz (December 2, 1939 – January 27, 2025) was an American sportswriter.

Life and career

Katz was born in

The Bronx, New York The Bronx ( ) is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the U.S. state of New York. It shares a land border with Westchester County to its north; to its south and west, the New York City bo ...

on December 2, 1939. After leaving high school he was accepted into

City College of New York The City College of the City University of New York (also known as the City College of New York, or simply City College or CCNY) is a Public university, public research university within the City University of New York (CUNY) system in New York ...

and while there wrote for the college newspaper, ''The Campus'', becoming sports editor. Katz later acted as a

stringer Stringer may refer to: Structural elements * Stringer (aircraft), or longeron, a strip of wood or metal to which the skin of an aircraft is fastened * Stringer (slag), an inclusion, possibly leading to a defect, in cast metal * Stringer (stairs), ...

for ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''NYT'') is an American daily newspaper based in New York City. ''The New York Times'' covers domestic, national, and international news, and publishes opinion pieces, investigative reports, and reviews. As one of ...

'' covering City College sports. He became a

copy boy A copy boy is a typically young and junior worker on a newspaper. The job involves taking typed stories from one section of a newspaper to another. According to Bruce Guthrie, the former editor-in-chief of the ''Herald Sun'' who began work there ...

for ''The New York Times'' and worked his way up to the sportsdesk. In 1966 he moved to Europe to work for ''The New York Times'' international edition and in 1968 he covered the

Floyd Patterson Floyd Patterson (January 4, 1935 – May 11, 2006) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1952 to 1972, and twice reigned as the world heavyweight champion between 1956 and 1962. At the age of 21, he became the youngest boxer in his ...

vs Jimmy Ellis heavyweight title fight in Stockholm, Sweden. In 1970 he went freelance and wrote for several publications before returning to the United States in 1972 where he also re-joined ''The New York Times''. In 1979 Katz was covering boxing full-time for the ''Times''. In 1985 he switched to the ''New York Daily News''. In 2012 he was inducted into the

International Boxing Hall of Fame The International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, right next to exit 34 of the New York State Thruway, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected on ballots cre ...

. Katz died on January 27, 2025, at the age of 85.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Katz, Michael 1939 births 2025 deaths Sportswriters from New York (state) American television reporters and correspondents American sports journalists The New York Times journalists City College of New York alumni International Boxing Hall of Fame inductees