Gordon Cobbledick
Gordon Cobbledick was an influential American sportswriter and journalist, born on December 31, 1898, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio. After serving as a marksmanship instructor in the Marines, he pursued a career in journalism, initially starting as a police reporter before shifting to sports writing. Cobbledick gained prominence as a baseball writer for the Cleveland Plain Dealer, where he covered the Cleveland Indians for sixteen years and penned acclaimed columns about baseball legends, including Lou Gehrig. He also contributed to Sporting News and served as a war correspondent during World War II. Cobbledick's insights on intercollegiate athletics emphasized the importance of education for student-athletes over sports. His legacy includes writing for the inaugural issue of Sports Illustrated, as well as receiving various honors, such as the J. G. Taylor Spink Award. After his retirement in 1964, he authored a biography about baseball player Rocky Colavito. Cobbledick passed away in 1969, leaving behind a lasting impact on sports journalism and the community, with awards and recognitions established in his name.
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Gordon Cobbledick
Writer
- Born: December 31, 1898
- Birthplace: Cleveland Heights, Ohio
- Died: October 2, 1969
Biography
Gordon Cobbledick was born on December 31, 1898, in Cleveland Heights, Ohio, the son of William and Nina Cobbledick. He attended East Technical High School in Cleveland, graduating in 1918. He joined the Marines, ultimately become a marksmanship instructor.
In 1919, Cobbledick began studying mining engineering at the Case School of Applied Science (now known as Case Western Reserve University). He also played football for Case. He left college in 1922 and worked as a mining engineer in Morgantown, West Virginia.
In 1923, Cobbledick went to Cleveland to visit a friend. During this trip, he was offered a job as a police reporter at the Cleveland Plain Dealer. In the same year, he married Doris Matthews. After a brief stint at a competing newspaper in 1927, Cobbbledick returned to the Plain Dealer and began reporting on sports. Within months, he became the newspaper’s baseball writer, covering the Cleveland Indians, a job he would hold for the next sixteen years. Cobbledick wrote several memorable baseball columns in the 1930’s on the legendary Lou Gehrig, who he argued was one of the greatest baseball players who ever lived. During the 1930’s and 1940’s, Cobbledick was the baseball correspondent for Sporting News.
The Plain Dealer sent Cobbledick to the South Pacific as a war correspondent in 1944, and he became friends with famed correspondent Ernie Pyle. When he came home to Cleveland, Cobbledick wrote a column called “Plain Dealing” instead of returning to baseball writing. However, the death of the Plain Dealer’s sports editor in 1946 led Cobbledick to reluctantly assume that position. In 1954, Cobbledick had the distinction of writing a column on baseball for the first issue of Sports Illustrated magazine. He was noted for his clearheaded understanding of the problems inherent in intercollegiate athletics, and he believed it was more important for college athletes to be students than to be athletes.
Cobbledick retired from the Plain Dealer in 1964. During the next years he wrote a biography of Cleveland baseball player Rocky Colavito, Don’t Knock the Rock: The Rocky Colavito Story (1966). In 1968, Cobbledick suffered two strokes, and he died the following year.
Cobbledick was the recipient of many honors, including the 1977 J. G. Taylor Spink Award and seven awards from the Cleveland Newspaper Guild. He was president of the Baseball Writers’ Association of America in 1942. In 1963, a booster club associated with the Cleveland Indians created the Gordon Cobbledick Tomahawk Award, presented annually to the player who has made the most outstanding contribution to the Indians in the preceding season. Cobbledick also was elected to the Case Western Reserve Athletic Club’s Hall of Fame and was the first person inducted into the Sports Media of Cleveland and Ohio Hall of Fame.
Cobbledick remains one of the most honored and revered of all sportswriters. His clear prose and his ability to succinctly capture the moment helped to elevate the genre of sportswriting.