Albert Thomas Cartwright (June 20, 1917 – May 10, 2015) was an American

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

. He spent 1947 to 1968, then 1971 to 1983, working with ''

The News Journal ''The News Journal'' is the main newspaper for Wilmington, Delaware, and the surrounding area. It is headquartered in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near New Castle, and is owned by Gannett. History The ancestry of the News Journ ...

'' and its predecessors, winning awards for his "A La Carte" columns.

Sportswriting career

He started his career at the age of 15, writing articles without pay for '' The Reading Times''. Following his graduation from Reading High School (Pennsylvania) in 1935, Cartwright was hired by ''The Reading Times'' as a paid staff member. Cartwright worked with ''The Times'' until 1943, when he went to ''

The Dayton Herald The ''Dayton Daily News'' (''DDN'') is a daily newspaper published in Dayton, Ohio, United States. It is owned by Cox Enterprises, Inc., a privately held global conglomerate headquartered in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, with approximately ...

'' as an assistant sports editor. He worked seven months with Dayton until entering the Navy in

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

. While in the Navy, he served in the public relations office at the

United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge United States Naval Training Center Bainbridge (USNTC Bainbridge) was the U.S. Navy Training Center at Port Deposit, Maryland, on the bluffs of the northeast bank of the Susquehanna River. It was active from 1942 to 1976 under the Commander of ...

in Maryland. After sixteen months, he was discharged. He was subsequently hired by ''

The Philadelphia Record ''The Philadelphia Record'' was a daily newspaper published in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania from 1877 until 1947. It became among the most circulated papers in the city and was at some points the circulation leader. History ''The Public Record'' ...

'' in 1945. When it went out of business in 1947, he was then hired by ''

The Evening Journal ''The News Journal'' is the main newspaper for Wilmington, Delaware, and the surrounding area. It is headquartered in unincorporated New Castle County, Delaware, near New Castle, and is owned by Gannett. History The ancestry of the News Journ ...

''. He was widely known for his "humor, stylish prose, and diligent reporting", having multiple stories appear in the annual "Best Sports Stories" publications. Cartwright founded the Delaware (then Wilmington) Sportswriters & Broadcasters Association in 1949. In 1950, Cartwright was awarded the National Headliners Club award as the nation's "most consistently outstanding" sports columnist. He was given the task of journalist for ''The Morning News'' in 1963, when the staffs of ''The Evening Journal/The News Journal'' merged. In 1969, he was hired by

Philadelphia Phillies The Philadelphia Phillies are an American professional baseball team based in Philadelphia. They compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the National League (NL) National League East, East division. Since 2004, the team's home sta ...

publicity department, spending two years there. He returned to ''The News Journal'' in 1971. In 1974, he published ''A La Carte: The Best of Al Cartwright'', a book containing his varied writings. He founded the

Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame The Delaware Sports Museum and Hall of Fame is a membership-based organization founded in 1976. The organization runs a museum with exhibits at Daniel S. Frawley Stadium on the Riverfront in Wilmington, Delaware and promotes physical fitness in ...

in 1976, serving as the first president before being an inductee to the hall of fame in 1980. He retired from ''The News Journal'' in 1983. For Delawareans, one of the most popular attractions of his columns was the fictional character Blewynn Gold, the only Delaware football fan who, "had seen them all". He would frequently write game recaps through the eyes of Gold, an alleged 1890 graduate of

University of Delaware The University of Delaware (colloquially UD or Delaware) is a public land-grant research university located in Newark, Delaware. UD is the largest university in Delaware. It offers three associate's programs, 148 bachelor's programs, 121 mas ...

Later life

He periodically wrote for ''The News Journal'' following his retirement in 1983, even bringing back Blewynn Gold in 1989. At the age of 89 he moved to Virginia to be closer to his family. He died in

Fredericksburg, Virginia Fredericksburg is an independent city located in the Commonwealth of Virginia. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,982. The Bureau of Economic Analysis of the United States Department of Commerce combines the city of Fredericksburg wi ...

on May 10, 2015, at the age of 97. Steve Kelley, who spent more than 30 years with ''

The Seattle Times ''The Seattle Times'' is a daily newspaper serving Seattle, Washington, United States. It was founded in 1891 and has been owned by the Blethen family since 1896. ''The Seattle Times'' has the largest circulation of any newspaper in Washington (s ...

'' said "Al Cartwright was one of my heroes. He was a huge reason I got into the business. His Blewynn Gold columns on the Mondays after Delaware football games were classics."

Tubby Raymond Harold R. "Tubby" Raymond (November 14, 1926 – December 8, 2017) was an American football and baseball player and coach. He served as the head football coach at the University of Delaware from 1966 to 2001, compiling a record of 300–119–3 ...

, whose 1980 biography was authored by Cartwright, said "I always felt Al was ahead of the world. Everybody loved him."

Sportswriting career

Later life

References

Further reading