Jerome Field Magee (April 11, 1928 – January 2, 2019) was an American newspaper

columnist A columnist is a person who writes for publication in a series, creating an article that usually offers commentary and opinions. Column (newspaper), Columns appear in newspapers, magazines and other publications, including blogs. They take the fo ...

. Magee was a sports writer in San Diego for 52 years, retiring from the ''

San Diego Union-Tribune ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' in 2008. He began his career more than five decades earlier at the then-''

San Diego Union ''The San Diego Union-Tribune'' is a metropolitan daily newspaper published in San Diego, California, that has run since 1868. Its name derives from a 1992 merger between the two major daily newspapers at the time, ''The San Diego Union'' and ...

'' and also wrote for ''

Pro Football Weekly ''Pro Football Weekly'' (sometimes shortened to ''PFW'') is an American sports magazine, founded in 1967, and website that covers the National Football League (NFL). It was owned by Pro Football Weekly LLC and headquartered in Riverwoods, Illinoi ...

''.

Biography

Magee, who was born in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolita ...

, was raised in Nebraska. He graduated in 1950 from the

University of Nebraska A university () is an institution of higher (or tertiary) education and research which awards academic degrees in several academic disciplines. Universities typically offer both undergraduate and postgraduate programs. In the United States, the ...

. He served in the Army in Korea.

Career

His first job newspaper job was as a copyboy at the ''

Omaha World-Herald The ''Omaha World-Herald'' is a daily newspaper in the midwestern United States, the primary newspaper of the Omaha-Council Bluffs metropolitan area. It was locally owned from its founding in 1885 until 2020, when it was sold to the newspaper ch ...

'', where one of his tasks was to mix flour and water into the paste used by copy readers. He joined the ''San Diego Union-Tribune'' in 1956. Magee was called "an

American Football League The American Football League (AFL) was a major professional American football league that operated for ten seasons from 1960 until 1970, when it merged with the older National Football League (NFL), and became the American Football Conference. ...

apologist" by his contemporaries who covered NFL football, adopting it himself and regularly quoting it. He took on what he has called the "NFL apologists," including William Wallace, sports columnist with ''

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 ...

'', and Jerry Green of 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 ...

'', in Magee's attempt to puncture what he called "NFL myths." Magee brought attention to the AFL's style of football, including writing about

Will McDonough William McDonough (July 6, 1935 – January 9, 2003) was an American sportswriter for ''The Boston Globe'' who also worked as an on-air football reporter for CBS and NBC. Biography Newspaper career The youngest of nine children of Irish immigran ...

and his service on the American Football League

Hall of Fame A hall, wall, or walk of fame is a list of individuals, achievements, or other entities, usually chosen by a group of electors, to mark their excellence or Wiktionary:fame, fame in their field. In some cases, these halls of fame consist of actu ...

board of selectors. Magee wrote frequently about interviews he had with

superfan, archivist and historian Ange Coniglio. Upon Magee's retirement in September 2008, the ''Union-Tribune'' published a tribute article about Magee that was written by people he covered and worked with, including former

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team that played in San Diego from 1961 until the end of the 2016 season, before relocating to Los Angeles, where the franchise had played its inaugural 1960 season. The team is now ...

running back

Hank Bauer Henry Albert Bauer (July 31, 1922 – February 9, 2007) was an American right fielder and manager in Major League Baseball. He played with the New York Yankees (–) and Kansas City Athletics (–); he batted and threw right-handed. He served as ...

Recognition

October 29, 2008 was proclaimed "Jerry Magee Day" by the

San Diego City Council The San Diego City Council is the legislative branch of government for the city of San Diego, California. The city council was first established in San Diego in 1850. The council uses a strong mayor system with a separately elected mayor who acts ...

in recognition of his more than 50 years as "one of the region's top sports writers." In 1987, Magee was given 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 Professional Football Writers of America organization, which is handed out to reporters who have made "a long and distinguished contribution" to pro football through coverage.Pro Football Writers, "PFWA Announces Winners' (scroll down to previous winners)

References

External links

''San Diego Union-Tribune'' Staff articles by Jerry Magee
{{DEFAULTSORT:Magee, Jerry Sportswriters from Illinois Writers from Chicago Military personnel from Illinois University of Nebraska alumni American Football League contributors Bill Nunn Memorial Award recipients 1928 births 2019 deaths Sportswriters from California Writers from San Diego