Bob Considine
Bob Considine was a prominent American journalist and author, born on November 4, 1906, in Washington, D.C. Raised in a Roman Catholic family, he began his career in civil service before transitioning to journalism after a chance visit to The Washington Post in 1930. Considine became well-known for his sports column, "On the Line," which was syndicated in over a hundred newspapers. Throughout his career, he reported on significant historical events, including major wars and infamous trials, while also hosting a radio program and contributing to television news.
In addition to his journalism, Considine authored more than twenty nonfiction books, covering topics from sports to crime, as well as an autobiography. He was also involved in screenwriting, producing notable works such as *Thirty Seconds Over Tokyo*. Renowned for his typing speed and accuracy, Considine received numerous accolades for his contributions to journalism, including the George R. Holmes Memorial Award and the Sigma Delta Chi Award. He passed away on September 25, 1975, leaving behind a legacy as one of the notable journalists of his time.
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Bob Considine
Writer
- Born: November 4, 1906
- Birthplace: Washington, D.C.
- Died: September 25, 1975
- Place of death: New York, New York
Biography
Robert Bernard Considine was born on November 4, 1906, into a Roman Catholic family in Washington, D.C. He was the fourth of five surviving children born to tinsmith James William Considine and his third wife, Sophie Small Considine, and had three older stepbrothers from his father’s first marriage.
After high school graduation, Considine briefly attended George Washington University before landing a civil service job with the federal government. From 1923 to 1930, he worked as a messenger, clerk, and typist for the Census Bureau, the Bureau of Public Health, the Treasury Department, and the State Department. An avid tennis player, Considine in 1930 stopped by the offices of The Washington Post to complain about the misspelling of his name in an article covering a tennis tournament, and he was hired to write a weekly sports column.
In 1931, he married Mildred Anderson, with whom he had four children. In 1933, Considine moved to the Washington Herald, where he initiated a column, “On the Line,” that was syndicated in more than one hundred newspapers; he continued to write this column until his death. He also covered news and sports events and wrote editorials and features for a succession of newspapers published by William Randolph Hearst, including the New York American and the New York Daily Mirror, and was a correspondent during World War II, the Korean War, and the Vietnam War.
In the course of his journalistic career, which included hosting a weekly radio program and serving as a commentator on the television news program America After Dark, he covered many of the significant events of the era. Considine reported on the execution of convicted spies Julius and Ethel Rosenberg, the trial of Jack Ruby for the murder of Lee Harvey Oswald, and the funeral of Pope Pius XII, and he secured an exclusive interview with Soviet leader Nikita S. Khrushchev.
Considine also contributed fiction and nonfiction articles to a variety of magazines. In 1942, he published MacArthur the Magnificent, the first of more than twenty books of nonfiction he authored or coauthored. Some of his other books include The Babe Ruth Story, The Men Who Robbed Brink’s: The Inside Story of One of the Most Famous Holdups in the History of Crime, Ripley: The Modern Marco Polo, and The Unreconstructed Amateur: A Pictorial Biography of Amos Alonzo Stagg. He also published an autobiography, It’s All News to Me: A Reporter’s Deposition. Between 1942 and 1952, Considine produced several screenplays, most notably Thirty Seconds over Tokyo and The Babe Ruth Story.
Considine was legendary for the speed and accuracy of his typing, and he was the uncle of actors John and Tim Considine. He earned many honors for his work, including the George R. Holmes Memorial Award (1947), the Catholic Writers Guild and Catholic Institute of the Press awards (1949), the Sigma Delta Chi Award (1949), and the Overseas Press Club Award (1957 and 1959). He also was voted one of ten outstanding living journalists shortly before his death on September 25, 1975.