George Puscas ( ro, Puşcaş; April 8, 1927 – April 25, 2008) was an American

sports writer 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 ...

for the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' is the largest daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, US. The Sunday edition is titled the ''Sunday Free Press''. It is sometimes referred to as the Freep (reflected in the paper's web address, www.freep.com). It primari ...

''. He joined the ''Free Press'' as a copyboy in September 1941 at age 14, was a full-time sports writer until 1992, and continued to be associated with the paper as a columnist until 2006. Puscas was born in Detroit in 1927. His father Nicholas (Nicolae) Puscas was a grocer on Detroit's east side. After working at the ''Free Press'' as a teenager, Puscas joined the military during

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 ...

. Puscas had his first

byline The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably ''Reader's D ...

with the ''Free Press'' in October 1946. In his first few years with the paper, he was a student at

Wayne University Wayne State University (WSU) is a public research university in Detroit, Michigan. It is Michigan's third-largest university. Founded in 1868, Wayne State consists of 13 schools and colleges offering approximately 350 programs to nearly 25,000 ...

, and he covered the

Wayne Tartars The Wayne State Warriors are the athletic teams that represent Wayne State University, located in Detroit, Detroit, Michigan, in NCAA Division II intercollegiate sporting competitions. The Warriors compete as members of the Great Lakes Intercollegi ...

, University of Detroit, Lawrence Institute of Technology, and Detroit high school athletic events. When the

Fort Wayne Pistons A fortification is a military construction or building designed for the defense of territories in warfare, and is also used to establish rule in a region during peacetime. The term is derived from Latin ''fortis'' ("strong") and ''facere'' ...

moved to Detroit in 1957, Puscas was assigned to the team's beat. Puscas also began handling the

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) North Division. The team play their home games at Ford ...

beat for the ''Free Press'' in 1957. Puscas' "Love Letters", a weekly column in which Puscas responded with humor to letters from readers, began running in the ''Free Press'' in June 1959 and continued for nearly 50 years. In his obituary of Puscas, Matt Fiorito wrote that reader letters "were answered cryptically, acerbically, sarcastically and wittily by Puscas, and readers loved it." Puscas was inducted into the

Michigan Sports Hall of Fame The Michigan Sports Hall of Fame is a Hall of Fame to honor Michigan sports athletes, coaches and contributors. It was organized in 1954 by Michigan Lieutenant Governor Philip Hart, Michigan State University athletic director Biggie Munn, presid ...

in 2004. In his last column, on May 9, 2006, Puscas wrote: "So this is it. That's all there is. Nothing left. Nothing left to do, nothing left to say. All done. Sixty-five years' worth. Imagine that." In his later years, Puscas lived in

Beverly Hills, Michigan Beverly Hills is a village in Oakland County of the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a northern suburb of Metro Detroit and is about north of the city of Detroit. As of the 2010 census, the population was 10,267. Located within Southfield Townsh ...

. He died in 2008 of congestive heart failure at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac; he was 81 years old when he died.

Selected stories by George Puscas

"Nothing to Bark About: Snobbish Dog Just Sniffs at Scribe"
February 29, 1948
"Duffy Spurns Texas Gold for 'Love of MSU'"
December 12, 1957
"Weep for a Child of Tragedy: Another Sad Chapter Is Written in Bratton Story"
January 14, 1962, story about boxer

Johnny Bratton Johnny Bratton, also known as Honey Boy Bratton, (September 9, 1927 – August 15, 1993) was an American professional boxer and briefly reigned as the NBA welterweight champion in 1951. He fought many of the best fighters of his era in the ...

, reprinted in '' Negro Digest'', April 1962
"Travelin' Music for Karras: Jackie Gleason of Lions?"
November 28, 1962

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Puscas, George 1927 births 2008 deaths American military personnel of World War II American people of Romanian descent Detroit Free Press people Journalists from Michigan Sportswriters from Michigan Wayne State University alumni Writers from Detroit 20th-century American journalists American male journalists