John Steadman (February 14, 1927 – January 1, 2001) 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 ...

for ''

The Baltimore Sun ''The Baltimore Sun'' is the largest general-circulation daily newspaper based in the U.S. state of Maryland and provides coverage of local and regional news, events, issues, people, and industries. Founded in 1837, it is currently owned by Tr ...

''. His career spanned seven decades and he attended and reported on every

Super Bowl The Super Bowl is the annual final playoff game of the National Football League (NFL) to determine the league champion. It has served as the final game of every NFL season since 1966, replacing the NFL Championship Game. Since 2022, the game ...

from its inception until his death.

Background

Steadman was a student at Blessed Sacrament School on Old York Road and East 41st Street. Following his graduation after the eighth grade, heattended

Baltimore City College Baltimore City College, known colloquially as City, City College, and B.C.C., is a college preparatory school with a liberal arts focus and selective admissions criteria located in Baltimore, Maryland. Opened in October 1839, B.C.C. is the thir ...

high school where he played catcher on the varsity team. This propelled him to try his hand as a minor league

baseball player Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

. He decided to leave baseball in order to become a sportswriter.

Career

He was originally hired by the ''

Baltimore News-Post The ''Baltimore News-American'' was a broadsheet newspaper published in downtown Baltimore, Maryland until May 27, 1986. It had a continuous lineage (in various forms) of more than 200 years. For much of the mid-20th century, it had the largest ...

'' in 1945 as a sports reporter, earning 14 dollars a week. In 1952, Steadman revealed that Baltimore would regain an NFL franchise. Steadman would attend every Baltimore Football game from 1947 to December 10, 2000, a streak of 719 games. He was also one of only eight writers to attend all 34 Super Bowls, through

Super Bowl XXXIV Super Bowl XXXIV was an American football game played at the Georgia Dome in Atlanta on January 30, 2000, to determine the National Football League (NFL) champion for the 1999 NFL season, 1999 season. The National Football Conference (NFC) champ ...

. He was inducted into the

National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports Pr ...

Hall of Fame in 2000. Steadman served as a

color commentator A color commentator or expert commentator is a sports commentator who assists the main (play-by-play) commentator, typically by filling in when play is not in progress. The phrase "colour commentator" is primarily used in Canadian English and t ...

on Colts radio broadcasts from 1955–58 and again from 1963–66. In 1959, he wrote the book "The Greatest Football Game Ever Played: When the Baltimore Colts and New York Giants Faced Sudden Death". Steadman was honored by 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 as the posthumous recipient of the

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 ...

, America's most prestigious sports writing honor, on June 29, 2001.McKee, Sandra. "Steadman worth 'all the fuss,' peers say," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Saturday, June 30 2001.
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Family

In 1973, the John F. Steadman firehouse, at the base of Baltimore's Bromo-Seltzer Tower was named for sportswriter John Steadman's father, John F. Steadman, a

Baltimore City Fire Department The Baltimore City Fire Department (BCFD) provides fire protection and emergency medical services to the city of Baltimore, Maryland, United States. Founded in 1797 and established in 1859, the Baltimore City Fire Department covers an area of o ...

Deputy Chief.

References

External links

Klingaman, Mike. "Steadman wins Red Smith Award," ''The Baltimore Sun'', Wednesday, May 2, 2001.

Rasmussen, Frederick N. "John Steadman, 'fireman's fireman,'" ''The Baltimore Sun'', Saturday, October 2, 2004.
1927 births 2001 deaths American sportswriters Baltimore City College alumni Baltimore Colts announcers Dick McCann Memorial Award recipients National Football League announcers Red Smith Award recipients Deaths from cancer in Maryland {{US-sportswriter-stub