Frank Graham
Frank Graham was a prominent sports writer born in 1893 in East Harlem, New York City. He began his career as a boxing reporter and gained recognition after being hired by the New York Sun in 1914 to cover baseball. In 1934, he launched his daily column, "Setting the Pace," which garnered a strong following for its analytical approach to sports, differing from the sensationalist styles prevalent at the time. Graham's insights contributed to his reputation as one of the leading sports writers of the 1930s and 1940s.
Throughout his career, he wrote for various publications and authored several books, including biographies and histories of baseball teams. However, following World War II, changes in sports writing styles led to a decline in his popularity, as he opted not to adapt to the new trends. Graham continued to write for magazines into the 1950s and 1960s, focusing more on nostalgic pieces. He passed away in 1965 and was later honored for his contributions to sports journalism, receiving accolades such as induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame's Writers' Wing and the J. G. Spink Award. His legacy is remembered for the impact he had on sports writing during his era.
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Frank Graham
Sports Writer
- Born: November 12, 1893
- Birthplace: East Harlem, New York, New York
- Died: March 9, 1965
Biography
Frank Graham, one of the most influential sports writers of the 1930’s and 1940’s, was born in the East Harlem neighborhood of New York City in 1893. He began his writing career as a freelance boxing reporter. His work caught the attention of an editor at the New York Sun, who in 1914 hired Graham to cover baseball for the newspaper.
In 1934, Graham started to write a daily column for the Sun, “Setting the Pace.” His columns were well received by both sports fans and writers. In reporting on sports events, Graham eschewed the excessively exaggerated style that was common to many other sports columnists. Instead, he provided analysis of the games and a perspective on sporting events that was new to sports coverage. His work earned him a reputation as one of the best reporters of his era.
In the late 1930’s, Graham was at the peak of his career. He began to write freelance articles for Baseball Magazine in addition to publishing his column six days a week. In 1943, he discontinued his column and became the sports editor of Look magazine, where he remained for about a year before joining the staff of the New York Journal American. In addition to his journalism work, Graham wrote several books on sports, many of them about baseball. His books included biographies of sports figures, including Lou Gehrig: A Quiet Hero (1942), as well as histories of the New York Yankees, Dodgers, and Giants baseball teams.
After World War II, the style of sports writing began to change, an unwelcome development for Graham. Unwilling to join the new generation of sports writers, his popularity declined and his work in the 1950s and 1960’s for magazines like Sport and Colliers was more nostalgic than contemporary. Graham died in 1965. In 1971, he was inducted into the Writers’ Wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame and received the J. G. Spink Award from the Baseball Writers Association of America; in 1977, he received the A. J. Liebling Award from the Boxing Writers Association for outstanding boxing writing.