Robert Watts Creamer (July 14, 1922 – July 18, 2012) was an American sportswriter and editor. He spent most of his career at ''

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 ...

''. Appointed Village Historian of Tuckahoe, NY by the Village Trustees on April 9, 1984.

Early life and education

Creamer was born on July 14, 1922, in

Bronxville, New York Bronxville is a Administrative divisions of New York#Village, village in Westchester County, New York, Westchester County, New York (state), New York, United States, located approximately north of Midtown Manhattan. It is part of the Adminis ...

and grew up in Tuckahoe, New York. He attended Fordham and Syracuse Universities but never graduated. 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 ...

, he fought in Germany and was wounded. During Operation ''Bodenplatte'', the German

Luftwaffe The Luftwaffe () was the aerial warfare, aerial-warfare branch of the before and during World War II. German Empire, Germany's military air arms during World War I, the of the Imperial German Army, Imperial Army and the of the Imperial Ge ...

's last offensive operation, Creamer was on the ground watching the aerial combat around him. A German

Bf 109 The Messerschmitt Bf 109 is a monoplane fighter aircraft that was designed and initially produced by the German aircraft manufacturer Bayerische Flugzeugwerke (BFW). Together with the Focke-Wulf Fw 190, the Bf 109 formed the backbone of the ...

fighter roared in to make a strafing run on Creamer's position. Creamer ducked behind a mound of dirt, then pulled out his .45 pistol and fired at the German plane. Creamer described it as trying "to hit a fly with a BB gun." Following his discharge, he worked in advertising as a copywriter and at ''

Collier's Encyclopedia ''Collier's Encyclopedia'' is a discontinued general encyclopedia first published in 1949 by P. F. Collier and Son in the United States. With ''Encyclopedia Americana'' and ''Encyclopædia Britannica, Collier's Encyclopedia'' became one of the t ...

'' as an assistant editor.

Career

Creamer was one of the first hired on the staff of ''Sports Illustrated'' in 1954. He served the magazine as a senior editor from inception to 1984, and wrote the weekly Scorecard section of the magazine. He also wrote 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 ...

''. As an author, Creamer wrote what many consider the definitive biography of

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

, titled ''Babe: The Legend Comes to Life'', in 1974. Reviewing the book for ''

The New York Times Book Review ''The New York Times Book Review'' (''NYTBR'') is a weekly paper-magazine supplement to the Sunday edition of ''The New York Times'' in which current non-fiction and fiction books are reviewed. It is one of the most influential and widely rea ...

'', Roger Angell wrote that Ruth had "at last found the biographer he deserves in Robert Creamer." Creamer wrote seven other baseball related books, including a biography on

Casey Stengel Charles Dillon "Casey" Stengel (; July 30, 1890 – September 29, 1975) was an American Major League Baseball right fielder and Manager (baseball), manager, best known as the manager of the championship New York Yankees of the 1950s and later, t ...

titled ''Stengel: His Life and Times'' in 1984. Additionally, he co-wrote several autobiographies and books, notably with

Ralph Houk Ralph George Houk (; August 9, 1919 – July 21, 2010), nicknamed "the Major", was an American catcher, coach (baseball), coach, manager (baseball), manager, and front office executive in Major League Baseball. He is best known as the successor o ...

, sportscaster

Red Barber Walter Lanier "Red" Barber (February 17, 1908 – October 22, 1992) was an American sports announcer and author. Nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", he was primarily identified with broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four ...

and umpire Jocko Conlan. He also wrote ''Baseball in '41: A Celebration of the "Best Baseball Season Ever"'' (1991). Creamer's lone novel, ''A Resemblance to Persons Living and Dead'', is loosely based on politics, personages, and the environs of Tuckahoe and the town of Eastchester, New York. In retirement, Creamer occasionally wrote retrospective articles for ''SI'' and could be seen on television commenting on historical moments in sports, many of which he had covered. Creamer was a recipient of the 2012 Henry Chadwick Award from the

Society for American Baseball Research The Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) is a membership organization dedicated to fostering the research and dissemination of the history and statistical record of baseball. The organization was founded in Cooperstown, New York, on Au ...

(SABR).2012 Chadwick Award recipients
/ref> He also appeared in

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle American history and culture. His work is often produced in association with WETA-TV or the Nati ...

' documentary ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball games, bat-and-ball sport played between two team sport, teams of nine players each, taking turns batting (baseball), batting and Fielding (baseball), fielding. The game occurs over the course of several Pitch ...

'' and numerous other television baseball programs, including ''When It Was a Game''.

Personal life and death

Creamer was married to Margaret Schelz for 53 years, from 1948 until her death in 2001. The couple had five children together: sons James, Tom, John, and his daughter, Ellen. Creamer died of prostate cancer on July 18, 2012, in

Saratoga Springs, New York Saratoga Springs is a Administrative divisions of New York#City, city in Saratoga County, New York, United States. The population was 28,491 at the United States Census 2020, 2020 census. The name reflects the presence of mineral springs in the ...

. He was survived by his companion Barbara Eaton (died 2019) and his five children, as well as six grandchildren.Robert Creamer's obituary

Written Works

By Creamer

*''Babe: The Legend Comes to Life'' (1974) *''Stengel: His Life and Times'' (1984) *''Baseball in '41: A Celebration of the "Best Baseball Season Ever"'' (1991)

Co-authored with others

*''The Quality of Courage: Heroes In and Out of Baseball'' (with

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Mick" and "the Commerce Comet", was an American professional baseball player who played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

; 1964) *''Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat'' (with

; 1968) *''Jocko'' (with Jocko Conlan; 1967) *''Season of Glory: The Amazing Saga of the 1961 New York Yankees'' (with

; 1988)

Novel

*''A Resemblance to Persons Living and Dead'' (2000)

References

External links

Robert Creamer
at the

(SABR) * {{DEFAULTSORT:Creamer, Robert 1922 births 2012 deaths American male biographers Baseball writers Deaths from prostate cancer in New York (state) Fordham University alumni People from Bronxville, New York People from Saratoga Springs, New York People from Tuckahoe, Westchester County, New York Sportswriters from New York (state) Syracuse University alumni United States Army personnel of World War II Sports Illustrated people