Lillian Vickers-Smith (September 7, 1896;

Rutland, Vermont Rutland, Vermont may refer to: *Rutland (city), Vermont * Rutland (town), Vermont *Rutland County, Vermont *West Rutland, Vermont West Rutland is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,214 at the 2020 census. The t ...

– July 4, 1971;

Asheville, North Carolina Asheville ( ) is a city in, and the county seat of, Buncombe County, North Carolina. Located at the confluence of the French Broad and Swannanoa rivers, it is the largest city in Western North Carolina, and the state's 11th-most populous cit ...

) is regarded as the first woman sports editor for a newspaper when she obtained the title working for The Leesburg Commercial in Florida in 1938.

Early life

She was born Lillian Dyer to parents Horace E. Dyer and Lillian G. Hasler in

on September 7, 1896.

Career

In Florida, she began her writing career. Lillian Vickers-Smith first began serving as Press Correspondent for the town of Fruitland Park, Florida after news writing with the Fruitland Park

Chamber of Commerce A chamber of commerce, or board of trade, is a form of business network. For example, a local organization of businesses whose goal is to further the interests of businesses. Business owners in towns and cities form these local societies to ad ...

. She wrote the History of Fruitland Park in 1924. She co-authored the History of Lake County, Florida in 1929. She began her career with The Leesburg Commercial newspaper as the first Fruitland correspondent and later became a staff member in their society department. At the time, The Leesburg Commercial did not have a sports writer despite the rising success of the Leesburg athletic teams, and Lillian took up an informal role of

sports writing 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 ...

to meet this need. On September 7, 1938, the Leesburg Commercial newspaper staff promoted her to the title of “Sports Editor," thus making her the first female sports editor for a newspaper. She later became a correspondent for the Orlando Sentinel newspaper as well. She also complied many volumes detailing local military service in World War II which was later used to erect a

memorial A memorial is an object or place which serves as a focus for the memory or the commemoration of something, usually an influential, deceased person or a historical, tragic event. Popular forms of memorials include landmark objects or works of a ...

in their honor in 1994. The

American Legion The American Legion, commonly known as the Legion, is a non-profit organization of U.S. war War is an intense armed conflict between states, governments, societies, or paramilitary groups such as mercenaries, insurgents, and militi ...

Post 219 presented the City of Leesburg with a plaque in honor of her dedication that year.

Personal life

After her marriage to Ormond Vickers-Smith on March 20, 1919, Lillian moved to

Fruitland Park, Florida Fruitland Park is a city in Lake County, Florida, United States. The population was 4,078 at the 2010 census. The Census Bureau estimated the population in 2018 to be 10,122. It is part of the Orlando–Kissimmee–Sanford Metropolitan St ...

. During her residence in Florida, she began a family and had two sons (Harold Dyer, John Edward) and one daughter (Nathalie Vivien).

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Vickers-Smith, Lillian 1896 births 1971 deaths Journalists from Vermont American women sportswriters People from Rutland, Vermont American women editors American women journalists