Dave Anderson (sportswriter)
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David Poole Anderson (May 6, 1929 – October 4, 2018) 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 ...
based in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
. In 1981 he won a
Pulitzer Prize The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
for distinguished commentary on sporting events. He was the author of 21 books and more than 350 magazine articles.


Early life and career

Anderson was born on May 6, 1929, in
Troy, New York Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany a ...
. His father was the advertising director of '' The Troy Times'', which his grandfather published. He grew up in
Bay Ridge Bay Ridge is a neighborhood in the southwest corner of the New York City borough of Brooklyn. It is bounded by Sunset Park to the north, Dyker Heights to the east, the Narrows and the Belt Parkway to the west, and Fort Hamilton Army Base an ...
,
Brooklyn Brooklyn () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Kings County, in the U.S. state of New York. Kings County is the most populous county in the State of New York, and the second-most densely populated county in the United States, be ...
and graduated from
Xavier High School A multitude of schools and universities have been named after St. Francis Xavier, a Spanish Roman Catholic saint and co-founder of the Society of Jesus. This page lists notable educational institutions named after St. Xavier, arranged by country a ...
, an elite
Jesuit , image = Ihs-logo.svg , image_size = 175px , caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits , abbreviation = SJ , nickname = Jesuits , formation = , founders ...
preparatory school in New York City, in 1947. Anderson's first job in the newspaper industry was at the age of 16 as a messenger for '' The Sun'', where his father then worked in advertising sales. He then attended the
College of the Holy Cross The College of the Holy Cross is a private, Jesuit liberal arts college in Worcester, Massachusetts, about 40 miles (64 km) west of Boston. Founded in 1843, Holy Cross is the oldest Catholic college in New England and one of the oldest ...
in Massachusetts, graduating in 1951. Anderson wrote for a number of New York papers. He covered the
Brooklyn Dodgers The Brooklyn Dodgers were a Major League Baseball team founded in 1884 as a member of the American Association (19th century), American Association before joining the National League in 1890. They remained in Brooklyn until 1957, after which the ...
for the ''
Brooklyn Eagle :''This article covers both the historical newspaper (1841–1955, 1960–1963), as well as an unrelated new Brooklyn Daily Eagle starting 1996 published currently'' The ''Brooklyn Eagle'' (originally joint name ''The Brooklyn Eagle'' and ''King ...
'' from 1953, before moving to the ''New York Journal-American'' in 1955. In 1965, he won the
E.P. Dutton E. P. Dutton was an American book publishing company. It was founded as a book retailer in Boston, Massachusetts, in 1852 by Edward Payson Dutton. Since 1986, it has been an imprint of Penguin Group. Creator Edward Payson Dutton (January 4, ...
Award for the best magazine sports story for "The Longest Day of Sugar Ray," which appeared in ''True'' magazine. He also received the
Dick McCann Memorial Award The Bill Nunn Jr. Award is bestowed annually by the Professional Football Writers of America (PFWA) to a reporter for their "long and distinguished contribution to pro football through coverage". It is named after Bill Nunn Jr., who worked for 22 ...
from the
Pro Football Hall of Fame The Pro Football Hall of Fame is the hall of fame for professional American football, located in Canton, Ohio. Opened on September 7, , the Hall of Fame enshrines exceptional figures in the sport of professional football, including players, coach ...
for career excellence covering football.


''New York Times''

Anderson moved to ''
The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...
'' in 1966 and was given a regular column there in 1971. In 1972, he won the E.P. Dutton Award for the best sports feature story of the year, the return of the heavyweight champion
Joe Frazier Joseph William Frazier (January 12, 1944November 7, 2011), nicknamed "Smokin' Joe", was an American professional boxer who competed from 1965 to 1981. He was known for his strength, durability, formidable left hand, and relentless pressure fi ...
to his
Beaufort, South Carolina Beaufort ( , a different pronunciation from that used by the city with the same name in North Carolina) is a city in and the county seat of Beaufort County, South Carolina, United States. Chartered in 1711, it is the second-oldest city in South ...
hometown (he won a Page One Award for the same story). He collaborated on a book, ''Always on the Run'', with Miami Dolphin football players
Larry Csonka Larry Richard Csonka (; born December 25, 1946) is a former professional American football fullback who played for the Miami Dolphins for the majority of his career, along with the New York Giants for three years, and a short stint with the Mem ...
and Jim Kiick that was published in 1973. It would be one of 21 books he wrote or co-wrote in his career. In 1974, Anderson won the Nat Fleischer Award for excellence in boxing journalism. In 1981, he became the second sportswriter to win the Pulitzer Prize for Commentary. His Pulitzer citation particularly noted his work on six columns he wrote in 1980, especially one entitled ''The Food On a Table At the Execution'' describing the sacking of New York Yankees manager
Dick Howser Richard Dalton Howser (May 14, 1936 – June 17, 1987) was an American Major League Baseball shortstop, coach, and manager who was best known as the manager of the Kansas City Royals during the 1980s and for guiding them to the franchise's first ...
by owner
George Steinbrenner George Michael Steinbrenner III (July 4, 1930July 13, 2010) was an American businessman who was the principal owner and managing partner of Major League Baseball's New York Yankees from 1973 until his death in 2010. He was the longest-serving own ...
. He was inducted into the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in Salisbury, North Carolina in 1990, joining three other past "Sports of The Times," columnists — Red Smith,
Arthur Daley ''Minder'' is a British comedy-drama series about the London Organized crime, criminal underworld. Initially produced by Verity Lambert, it was made by Euston Films, a subsidiary of Thames Television, and shown on ITV (TV network), ITV for ten ...
and
John Kieran John Francis Kieran (August 2, 1892 – December 10, 1981) was an American author, journalist, amateur naturalist and radio and television personality. Early years A native of The Bronx, Kieran was the son of Dr. James M. Kieran and his wife, K ...
. Anderson was the 1994 winner of the
Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American non-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association. It produces news reports that are distributed to its members, U.S. newspa ...
Sports Editors (APSE)
Red Smith Award The Red Smith Award is awarded by the Associated Press Sports Editors (APSE) organization for outstanding contributions to sports journalism Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and com ...
for distinguished sports column writing. In 2005, he received the
Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism The Dick Schaap Award for Outstanding Journalism was established in 2002 to honor the memory of one of America's pre-eminent sports writers, Dick Schaap. The award is presented by the Nassau County Sports Commission and is given out to the journa ...
. Anderson was inducted in the
International Boxing Hall of Fame The modern International Boxing Hall of Fame (IBHOF), located in Canastota, New York, honors boxers, trainers and other contributors to the sport worldwide. Inductees are selected by members of the Boxing Writers Association of America. The I ...
in 2006. Anderson retired from ''The Times'' in 2007, though he continued to contribute occasional columns, his last being an August 2017 article on the US Tennis Open. In 2014, he was honored with the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing.


Personal life

Anderson resided in
Tenafly, New Jersey Tenafly () is a Borough (New Jersey), borough in Bergen County, New Jersey, Bergen County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the borough had a population of 15,409,"The PGA of America celebrates its 95th anniversary at site of its founding"
Professional Golfers Association, August 31, 2011. Accessed May 11, 2017. "The 95th Anniversary reception also featured Pulitzer Prize winner and Golf Digest Contributing Editor Dave Anderson of ''The New York Times'', who lives in Tenafly, N.J., and is a member of the Knickerbocker Country Club."
His wife, Maureen, died in 2014; they had three children, one of whom, Steve, was an
ESPN ESPN (originally an initialism for Entertainment and Sports Programming Network) is an American international basic cable sports channel owned by ESPN Inc., owned jointly by The Walt Disney Company (80%) and Hearst Communications (20%). The ...
vice president. Anderson died on October 4, 2018, at the age of 89 at an
assisted living An assisted living residence or assisted living facility (ALF) is a housing facility for people with disabilities or for adults who cannot or who choose not to live independently. The term is popular in the United States, but the setting is s ...
center in