Jim Murray (sportswriter)

Jim Murray
Born(1919-12-29)December 29, 1919
Hartford, Connecticut, U.S.
DiedAugust 16, 1998(1998-08-16) (aged 78)
Los Angeles, California, U.S.
Resting placeHoly Cross Cemetery, Culver City
OccupationSportswriter
Alma materTrinity College, 1943
EmployerLos Angeles Times (1961–1998)
Notable awards
Spouse
Geraldine Murray
​
​
(m. 1945; died 1984)​
[1]
Linda McCoy
​
(m. 1997)​
[2]
Children1 daughter, 3 sons

James Patrick Murray (December 29, 1919 – August 16, 1998) was an American sportswriter.[2][1][3][4] He worked at the Los Angeles Times from 1961 until his death in 1998, and his column was nationally syndicated.[5][6][7]

Among his many achievements was winning the NSSA's Sportswriter of the Year award 14 times (12 of those consecutively). In 1990, he won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary for his 1989 columns,[8][9] and the Baseball Writers' Association of America awarded him the J. G. Taylor Spink Award in 1987. Cited as an influence by countless sports journalists,[5][10][11] Murray was a fixture at the L.A. Times for 37 years.

After he won the Pulitzer in 1990, Murray modestly said he thought the prize winner should have had "to bring down a government or expose major graft or give advice to prime ministers. Correctly quoting Los Angeles Dodgers manager Tommy Lasorda shouldn't merit a Pulitzer Prize."[2] He was offered $1 million to join The National Sports Daily, but declined.[12]

  1. ^ a b Pope, Edwin (August 18, 1998). "Sports columnist Murray dies". Spokesman-Review. (Spokane, Washington). (Miami Herald). p. C1.
  2. ^ a b c Sandomiraug, Richard (August 18, 1998). "Jim Murray, 78, sportswriter and winner of Pulitzer Prize". New York Times. (obituary). p. B8.
  3. ^ "Jim Murray joining Chronicle sports section". Spokane Chronicle. (Washington). (Los Angeles Times). December 3, 1981. p. 37.
  4. ^ Bowker, Paul (August 18, 1998). "Murray: The man, the words". Wilmington Morning Star. (North Carolina). p. 1C.
  5. ^ a b "Jim Murray, Pulitzer-winning Times columnist, dies". Los Angeles Times. (obituary). August 18, 1998. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  6. ^ Harris, Beth (August 18, 1998). "Pulitzer Prize-winning sports columnist". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. Associated Press. p. B6.
  7. ^ Dwyre, Bill (August 16, 2023). "Jim Murray has been gone 25 years. He was a true original". Los Angeles Times.
  8. ^ 1990 Pulitzer Prizes
  9. ^ "L.A. Times sports columnist clinches Pulitzer". United Press International. April 12, 1990. Retrieved March 11, 2019.
  10. ^ Reilly, Rick (April 21, 1986). "King of the sports page". Sports Illustrated. p. 78.
  11. ^ Reilly, Rick (August 24, 1998). "Finest man I ever knew". Sports Illustrated. p. 72.
  12. ^ The Greatest Paper That Ever Died Archived 2011-12-02 at the Wayback Machine