Frank Graham Sr. (November 12, 1893 – March 9, 1965) 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 ...

and biographer. He covered sports in New York for the ''

New York Sun ''The New York Sun'' is an American online newspaper published in Manhattan; from 2002 to 2008 it was a daily newspaper distributed in New York City. It debuted on April 16, 2002, adopting the name, motto, and masthead of the earlier New York ...

'' from 1915 to 1943 and for the '' New York Journal-American'' from 1945 to 1965. He was also a successful author, writing biographies of politician Al Smith and athletes

Lou Gehrig Henry Louis Gehrig (born Heinrich Ludwig Gehrig ; June 19, 1903June 2, 1941) was an American professional baseball first baseman who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Yankees (1923–1939). Gehrig was renowned f ...

and

John McGraw John Joseph McGraw (April 7, 1873 – February 25, 1934) was an American Major League Baseball (MLB) player and manager who was for almost thirty years manager of the New York Giants. He was also the third baseman of the pennant-winning 1890 ...

, as well as histories of the

New York Yankees The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. They are one of ...

, New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers. Graham's writing style was notable for his use of lengthy passages of "unrelieved dialogue" in developing portraits of the persons about whom he wrote. Graham was posthumously honored by the

Baseball Writers' Association of America The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908, and is known ...

with the

J. G. Taylor Spink Award The BBWAA Career Excellence Award, formerly the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, is the highest award given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). It is given "for meritorious contributions to baseball writing" and voted on annually by ...

in 1971, and by the

Boxing Writers Association of America The Boxing Writers Association of America (BWAA) was originally formed in 1926 as the Boxing Writers Association of Greater New York. The association's purpose is to promote better working conditions for boxing writers, as well as hold its writers ...

with the A. J. Liebling Award in 1997, the highest award bestowed by each organization.

Early years

Graham was born in 1893 in the East Harlem section of New York City. His mother died during child birth, and he was raised by his grandmother and sister. He contracted

spinal meningitis Meningitis is acute or chronic inflammation of the protective membranes covering the brain and spinal cord, collectively called the meninges. The most common symptoms are fever, headache, and neck stiffness. Other symptoms include confusion o ...

as a boy and lost vision in one eye. He completed only one semester of high school at New York's High School of Commerce. From 1909 to 1915, he worked as an office boy for the

New York Telephone Company The New York Telephone Company (NYTel) was organized in 1896, taking over the New York City operations of the American Bell Telephone Company. Predecessor companies The Telephone Company of New York was formed under franchise in 1876. The princi ...

and developed an interest in boxing. He participated in several amateur boxing matches and wrote articles on boxing for ''

Boxing Boxing (also known as "Western boxing" or "pugilism") is a combat sport in which two people, usually wearing protective gloves and other protective equipment such as hand wraps and mouthguards, throw punches at each other for a predetermine ...

'' magazine and the ''

New York World The ''New York World'' was a newspaper published in New York City from 1860 until 1931. The paper played a major role in the history of American newspapers. It was a leading national voice of the Democratic Party. From 1883 to 1911 under pub ...

''.

New York Sun

In 1915, Graham was hired by the ''

''. He covered the New York Giants' spring training in 1916. While working at the ''Sun'', he became associated with

Damon Runyon Alfred Damon Runyon (October 4, 1880 – December 10, 1946) was an American newspaperman and short-story writer. He was best known for his short stories celebrating the world of Broadway in New York City that grew out of the Prohibition era. To N ...

and

Grantland Rice Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880July 13, 1954) was an early 20th-century American sportswriter known for his elegant prose. His writing was published in newspapers around the country and broadcast on the radio. Early years Rice wa ...

. He remained with the ''Sun'' for nearly 30 years. From 1934 to 1943, he wrote a column in the ''Sun'' called "Setting the Pace."

Author

In 1943, Graham was hired as the sports editor at '' Look'' magazine, a position he held for one year. During the 1940s, Graham also published several books, including biographies of

("Lou Gehrig, A Quiet Hero," 1942),

("McGraw of the Giants: An Informal Biography," 1944) and former New York Governor and U.S. Presidential candidate Al Smith ("Al Smith, American: An Informal Biography," 1945). He also wrote critically acclaimed team histories of the

, New York Giants and Brooklyn Dodgers that remained in print more than 50 years later. In 1959, Graham published his last book, "Third Man in the Ring," the story of boxing referee

Ruby Goldstein Reuven "Ruby" Goldstein (October 7, 1907 – April 23, 1984), the "Jewel of the Ghetto", was an American boxer and prize fight referee. He was a serious World Lightweight Championship contender in the 1920s, and became one of U.S. most trusted ...

as told by Goldstein to Graham.

New York Journal-American

In 1945, Graham was hired by the '' New York Journal-American''. He wrote a column for the ''Journal-American'' known as "Graham's Corner" until 1964. Condensed versions of his columns from the ''Journal-American'' were regularly featured in ''

Baseball Digest ''Baseball Digest'' is a baseball magazine resource, published in Orlando, Florida by Grandstand Publishing, LLC. It is the longest-running baseball magazine in the United States. History and profile It was created by Herbert F. Simons, a spor ...

'' and have fallen into public domain. Links to a number of his better-known columns are set forth below in the "Selected articles written by Graham."

Reputation and writing style

During his career as a sportswriter, Graham was known for his use of conversational dialogue as a device to develop a word portrait of athletes. His use of "unrelieved dialogue" as a writing device was said to be patterned on the work of

Ernest Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century f ...

. In a foreword to a later edition of Graham's history of the Yankees,

Leonard Koppett Leonard Koppett (September 15, 1923 – June 22, 2003) was an American sportswriter. Born in Moscow as Leonard Kopeliovich, Koppett moved with his family from Moscow, Russia to the United States when he was five years old. They lived in The Bronx, ...

wrote, "He didn't take a lot of notes. He just absorbed what was being said – and what it meant in the right context – and reproduced it in graceful prose and natural speech. It is this style of narration through dialogue that makes his books come so alive." It was through Graham's use of conversational dialogue that one of baseball's legendary quotes was recorded. Graham reported on a conversation with

Leo Durocher Leo Ernest Durocher (French spelling Léo Ernest Durocher) (; July 27, 1905 – October 7, 1991), nicknamed "Leo the Lip" and "Lippy", was an American professional baseball player, manager and coach. He played in Major League Baseball as an infie ...

during which New York Giants manager

Mel Ott Melvin Thomas Ott (March 2, 1909 – November 21, 1958), nicknamed "Master Melvin", was an American professional baseball right fielder, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the New York Giants, from through . He batted left-handed an ...

and his players walked out of the opposing dugout. Durocher pointed to them and told Graham, "Take a look at them. All nice guys. They'll finish last. ''Nice guys. Finish last''." It was another Durocher conversation recorded by Graham that led to the nickname "

Gashouse Gang The Gashouse Gang was the nickname of the St. Louis Cardinals baseball team of the early 1930s. Owing to their success that started in 1926, the Cardinals would win a total of five National League pennants from 1926 to 1934 (nine seasons) while wi ...

" for the 1934 St. Louis Cardinals. Graham reported on a conversation between Durocher and

Dizzy Dean Jay Hanna "Dizzy" Dean (January 16, 1910 – July 17, 1974), also known as Jerome Herman Dean (both the 1910 and 1920 Censuses show his name as "Jay"), was an American professional baseball pitcher. During his Major League Baseball (MLB) career ...

. When asked if the Cardinals would win the pennant if they played in the

American League The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...

, Durocher said, "They wouldn't let us in the other league. They would say we are a lot of gashouse ballplayers." Graham also developed a reputation for kindness and tolerance. His friend, Bob Reilly, described Graham as being "psychopathically polite." Colleague

Jimmy Cannon Jimmy Cannon (April 10, 1909 – December 5, 1973) was a sports journalist inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame for his coverage of the sport. Early career Born in New York City, Cannon started at the New York Daily News when he ...

wrote:

"A gentle man who seemed to walk on the tips of his toes as if he intended to pass through the world without disturbing anyone. ... The copy was pure and so was he. He typed it quickly on the toy machine with the dainty tapping of polite fingers. He frisked the characters of even the rogues for their good traits and cherished them for that. He was an original, this embarrassed poet, who changed sports writing, and brought to it the dignity of folk literature."

Sportswriter Arthur Daley wrote that, at a dinner in the 1940s honoring Graham, Grantland Rice had asked the speakers to blast Graham with "words of scathing condemnation." Giants' manager

reportedly "stuttered" and "stammered" trying to find words of denunciation for Graham and finally said: "Dammit, Granny. I just can't, I gotta tell the truth. Frank Graham is the nicest, kindest, gentlest, finest, sweetest and most wonderful person I ever met in my life." Despite his personal reputation as a gentleman, Graham was attracted to the shadowy underworld surrounding sport. In the " Dictionary of Literary Biography," Edward J. Tassinari wrote:

" ny of Graham's pieces reflect the New York ambience of the 1920s and the influences of Runyon and
Hemingway Ernest Miller Hemingway (July 21, 1899 – July 2, 1961) was an American novelist, short-story writer, and journalist. His economical and understated style—which he termed the iceberg theory—had a strong influence on 20th-century fi ...
in terms of characterization, atmosphere, and dialogue. Graham loved the offbeat, shadowy figures and rogues that dwelt on the fringes of his favorite sports – the gamblers, bookies, struggling horse trainers, and injury-riddled jockeys, and fight managers and promoters hustling for a buck or demonstrating the resiliency to continue in search of that elusive big payday."

Quote: "The power of the team blinded onlookers to the skill and smoothness of its fielding. Enemy teams cracked and broke wide open before their assaults."—Frank Graham on the 1927 Yankees.

Later years and family

Graham developed cancer in 1960. When Graham appeared at the

Waldorf-Astoria Hotel The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schult ...

in 1961 to accept a lifetime achievement award from the New York chapter of the

, a UPI reporter covering the event wrote: " e crowd rose to its feet in acknowledgement of one of the top writers in the country. And there weren't many dry eyes among them." Graham's last column in the ''Journal-American'' was published in December 1964. In January 1965, Graham fell at his home in New Rochelle, New York, fracturing his skull. He died several days later at Nathan B. Etten Hospital in

The Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...

. Graham was married to Gertrude Lillian Whipp in 1923. They had four children. In 1981, Graham's son, Frank Graham Jr., wrote a dual biography of himself and his father titled "A Farewell To Heroes."

Awards and honors

Graham was the recipient of numerous honors and awards for his writing. These include the following: *In 1957, the Boxing Writers Association of New York presented Graham with the James J. Walker Award for "long and meritorious" service to boxing. *In 1958, Graham received the Grantland Rice Award, presented each year to the outstanding sportswriter in the United States. *In 1961, he received the William J. Slocum Award for "long and meritorious service" to baseball. * In 1971, he was posthumously honored by the

with its highest honor, the

for distinguished baseball writing. As a recipient of the Spink Award, Graham was posthumously added to the "writers wing" of the

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays basebal ...

in 1972. *In 1997, Graham was posthumously honored by the Boxing Writers Association of America with the A. J. Liebling Award for outstanding writing about boxing.

Books written by Graham

*"Lou Gehrig, A Quiet Hero" (1942, G.P. Putnam's Sons)
The New York Yankees: An Informal History
(1943, G.P. Putnam's Sons)
McGraw of the Giants: An Informal Biography
(1944 G.P. Putnam's Sons)
The Brooklyn Dodgers: An Informal History
(1945, G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Al Smith, American: An Informal Biography
(1945, G.P. Putnam's Sons) *"Baseball Wit and Wisdom: Folklore of a National Pastime" by Frank Graham and Dick Hyman (1952)
The New York Giants: An Informal History of a Great Baseball Club
(1952, G.P. Putnam's Sons)
Third Man in the Ring
" by Ruby Goldstein and Frank Graham (1959, Funk & Wagnalls)

Selected articles written by Graham

O'Doul – Frisco's Pride and Pal
(

Lefty O'Doul Francis Joseph "Lefty" O'Doul (March 4, 1897 – December 7, 1969) was an American Major League Baseball player who went on to become an extraordinarily successful manager in the minor leagues. He was also a vital figure in the establishmen ...

), ''

'', November 1946
Brightest Page in the Book
(

Joe Page Joseph Francis Page (October 28, 1917 – April 21, 1980), nicknamed ''Fireman'' and ''The Gay Reliever'', was an American professional baseball relief pitcher. Page, who was left-handed, played in Major League Baseball with the New York Yankees ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', January 1948
Herb Pennock
(

Herb Pennock Herbert Jefferis Pennock (February 10, 1894 – January 30, 1948) was an American professional baseball pitcher and front-office executive. He played in Major League Baseball from 1912 through 1933, and is best known for his time spent with the ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', April 1948
Still the Same Old Gomez
(

Lefty Gomez Vernon Louis "Lefty" Gomez (November 26, 1908 – February 17, 1989) was an American professional baseball player. A left-handed pitcher, Gomez played in Major League Baseball (MLB) between 1930 and 1943 for the New York Yankees and the Washingt ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', September 1948
They Warred Over Tinker
(

Joe Tinker Joseph Bert Tinker (July 27, 1880 – July 27, 1948) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played from 1902 through 1916 for the Chicago Cubs and Cincinnati Reds of Major League Baseball (MLB) and the Chicago Whales of th ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', October 1948
Death of a Ball Club: Newark, once greatest, killed by progress
''Baseball Digest'', February 1950
He's Their Stanky Now: Polo Grounders take to 'Brat'
(

Eddie Stanky Edward Raymond Stanky (born Stankiewicz (September 3, 1915 – June 6, 1999) was an American professional baseball second baseman, shortstop, and manager. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Chicago Cubs, Brooklyn Dodgers, Boston ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', September 1950
I'm Palsies With Umps – Frisch
(

Frankie Frisch Frank Francis Frisch (September 9, 1898—March 12, 1973), nicknamed "The Fordham Flash" or "The Old Flash", was an American Major League Baseball player and manager of the first half of the twentieth century. Frisch was a switch-hitting seco ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', January 1951
Essick: Coast's Star Star-Picker
( Bill Essick), ''Baseball Digest'', March 1951
Mantle of Prodigies for Mickey?
(

Mickey Mantle Mickey Charles Mantle (October 20, 1931 – August 13, 1995), nicknamed "the Commerce Comet" and "the Mick", was an American professional baseball player. Mantle played his entire Major League Baseball (MLB) career (1951–1968) with the New York ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', June 1951
Why Did Dolan Make Bribe Offer? 1924 scandal mystery lingers on
(

Cozy Dolan Patrick Henry "Cozy" Dolan (December 3, 1872 – March 29, 1907) was an American professional baseball right fielder. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Beaneaters, Chicago Orphans, Brooklyn Superbas, Chicago White Sox and ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', August 1951
Harry Heilmann, Truly Great
(

Harry Heilmann Harry Edwin Heilmann (August 3, 1894 – July 9, 1951), nicknamed "Slug", was an American baseball player and radio announcer. He played professional baseball for 19 years between 1913 and 1932, including 17 seasons in Major League Baseball with ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', September 1951
Yogi Knows All Hitters But One
(

Yogi Berra Lawrence Peter "Yogi" Berra (May 12, 1925 – September 22, 2015) was an American professional baseball catcher who later took on the roles of manager and coach. He played 19 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) (1946–1963, 1965), all but ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', October 1951
Old-Timers Day with the Yankees: Why McCarthy quit coaching lines
( Joe McCarthy), ''Baseball Digest'', November 1951
Greatest Fight on a Ball Field: When Dixie Walker took on Senators
( Dixie Walker), ''Baseball Digest'', June 1953
On Seeing Pie Traynor Again
( Pie Traynor), ''Baseball Digest'', October 1954
On Seeing Tris Speaker Again
(

Tris Speaker Tristram Edgar Speaker (April 4, 1888 – December 8, 1958), nicknamed "the Gray Eagle", was an American professional baseball player. Considered one of the greatest players in the history of Major League Baseball (MLB), he compiled a career ba ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', November 1954
He Still Has Little Red Wagon: Pepper Martin, At 50, Belly-Whops Into Third
(

Pepper Martin Johnny Leonard Roosevelt "Pepper" Martin (February 29, 1904 – March 5, 1965) was an American professional baseball player and minor league manager. He was known as the "Wild Horse of the Osage" because of his daring, aggressive baserunning ab ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', November 1954
Room with Two Great Guys
(

Red Schoendienst Albert Fred "Red" Schoendienst (; February 2, 1923 – June 6, 2018) was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB), and is largely known for his coaching, managing, and playing years wi ...

/ Stan Musial), ''Baseball Digest'', October 1955
Everybody Loves Yogi
(

), ''Baseball Digest'', January 1956
The Man's Non-Stop Run: Musial sets exclusive 3,000th hit as goal
( Stan Musial), ''Baseball Digest'', July 1956
Frisch and His All-Stars
''Baseball Digest'', Jan 1957
In Which an Old Umpire-Rider Gets Taken for a Ride
(

Beans Reardon John Edward "Beans" Reardon (November 23, 1897 – July 31, 1984) was an American umpire in Major League Baseball who worked in the National League from 1926 to 1949. He worked five World Series and three All-Star Games. Early life and caree ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', September 1957
The Big Gap in the Ravine: L.A. mayor's slip of the tongue turns out to be prophetic
(

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) West division. Established in 1883 in the city of Brooklyn ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', September 1958
Are Hitters Asking For It?
(

Beanball "Beanball" is a colloquialism used in baseball, for a ball thrown at an opposing player with the intention of striking them such as to cause harm, often connoting a throw at the player's head (or "bean" in old-fashioned slang). A pitcher who thro ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', October 1958
Tony Lazzeri Was Like This
(

Tony Lazzeri Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * Motu Tony (born 1981), New Zealand international rugby leag ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', February 1959
What's So Funny About Yogi? Nothing, especially not his base-running or memory
(

), ''Baseball Digest'', June 1959
Only the First Trade's a Shock
(

), ''Baseball Digest'', February 1960
The Youngs McGraw Never Forgot: Though he lived only to 30, he became Giant immortal
(

Ross Youngs Ross Middlebrook "Pep" Youngs (April 10, 1897 – October 22, 1927) was an American professional baseball player. Nicknamed "Pep", he played ten seasons in Major League Baseball for the New York Giants from 1917 through 1926, playing right field ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', February 1960
Of Grimes and Douglas: They were masters of the spitball
(

Burleigh Grimes Burleigh Arland Grimes (August 18, 1893 – December 6, 1985) was an American professional baseball player and manager, and the last pitcher officially permitted to throw the spitball. Grimes made the most of this advantage, as well as his unshav ...

/ Phil Douglas), ''Baseball Digest'', February 1962
There Was Only One Benny Kauff: He was one of the most colorful of all Giants
( Benny Kauff), ''Baseball Digest'', February 1962
The Year Babe Hit His 60: They knew him in hot spots and tank towns
(

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth Jr. (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nicknamed "the Bambino" and "the Su ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', March 1962
The Joe McCarthy Method: He was tolerant or harsh, as the case indicated
( Joe McCarthy), ''Baseball Digest'', March 1962
Mickey Mantle, M.V.P.
(

), ''Baseball Digest'', February 1963
The Making of an Outfielder
(

Leon Wagner Leon Lamar Wagner (May 13, 1934 – January 3, 2004) was an American professional baseball left fielder who played Major League Baseball (MLB) for the San Francisco Giants (–, ), St. Louis Cardinals (), Los Angeles Angels (–), Cleveland Indi ...

), ''Baseball Digest'', February 1963
In Holland It's Honkball
''Baseball Digest'', May 1964
The Puzzling Giants of '27
( 1927 New York Giants), ''Baseball Digest'', August 1964

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Graham, Frank 1893 births 1965 deaths Baseball writers Writers from New Rochelle, New York People from Harlem Sportswriters from New York (state) BBWAA Career Excellence Award recipients