Watson N. "Waddy" Spoelstra (April 5, 1910 – July 20, 1999) was an American sportswriter for ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the '' Detroit Tribune'' on Februa ...

'' from 1945 to 1973. He served as the president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 1968. After retiring from ''The Detroit News'', he founded Baseball Chapel, a Christian ministry for professional baseball players, which he led from 1973 to 1982. Spoelstra was born in

Grand Rapids, Michigan Grand Rapids is a city and county seat of Kent County, Michigan, Kent County in the U.S. state of Michigan. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the city had a population of 198,917 which ranks it as the List of municipalities in Mi ...

in 1910. He attended Hope College where he played baseball and basketball. He became Hope College's all-time leading scorer in basketball. He graduated from Hope College in 1932. After graduating from college, Spoelstra was hired as a sportswriter 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 ...

, assigned to Detroit. In approximately 1945, Spoelstra was hired by ''

'', where he remained for nearly 30 years. His son Jon Spoelstra is a former

National Basketball Association The National Basketball Association (NBA) is a professional basketball league in North America. The league is composed of 30 teams (29 in the United States and 1 in Canada) and is one of the major professional sports leagues in the United S ...

executive and his grandson

Erik Spoelstra Erik Jon Spoelstra ( ; born November 1, 1970) is an American professional basketball coach who is the head coach for the Miami Heat of the National Basketball Association (NBA). He has won two NBA championships as the head coach of the Heat. A Fi ...

is the current head coach of the Miami Heat.

Selected articles by Spoelstra

Penn Victory Would Be Heart-Rending for Wolverines
October 25, 1940

( Tom Harmon), November 17, 1940 * ttps://news.google.com/newspapers?id=rKARAAAAIBAJ&sjid=l-gDAAAAIBAJ&pg=3450,2727275&dq=spoelstra&hl=en Joe Louis Trains for Simon Bout in Down-Town Ballroom(

Joe Louis Joseph Louis Barrow (May 13, 1914 – April 12, 1981) was an American professional boxer who competed from 1934 to 1951. Nicknamed the Brown Bomber, Louis is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential boxers of all time. He rei ...

), March 13, 1941
Texas Star Replaces Gehringer
( Dutch Meyer), July 17, 1941
Tigers Rookie Star Seeking First Win
(

Floyd Giebell Floyd George Giebell (December 10, 1909 – April 28, 2004) was an American baseball player who is best remembered as the pitcher who, in his third career start, shut out Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians to clinch the 1940 American League p ...

), July 19, 1941
Yost Suspects Michigan May Get Back Jug
( Little Brown Jug), October 21, 1941
Dorais Has Ace Passer in Soph
( Gus Dorais/ "Tippy" Madarik), November 10, 1941
Gehringer Nearing End of Playing Days
(

Charlie Gehringer Charles Leonard Gehringer (May 11, 1903 – January 21, 1993), nicknamed "the Mechanical Man", was an American professional baseball second baseman, coach, general manager, and team vice president, who played in Major League Baseball (MLB) for t ...

), November 18, 1941
Wartime Sports Program Slated
December 29, 1941
Kuzma Seen as Key to Michigan Success
( Tom Kuzma), September 24, 1942
Tigers Name O'Neill To Succeed Baker as Pilot
( Steve O'Neill), November 29, 1942
Dorais to Coach Detroit Lions
( Gus Dorais), January 10, 1943
Jake LaMotta Rations Sugar
( Jake LaMotta), February 6, 1943
Detroit Tigers Expect To Be Strong Contender
( 1943 Detroit Tigers), February 8, 1943
Call Overmire Another Kerr
(

Stubby Overmire Frank W. Overmire (May 16, 1919 – March 3, 1977) was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played ten seasons for the Detroit Tigers (1943–1949), St. Louis Browns (1950–1952), and New York Yankees (1951). In ten seasons, Overmire won 58 games ...

), June 9, 1943
Ford Industrial Empire Boasts Sports Notables
( Harry Bennett), July 12, 1943
War Worker Is Hockey Flash
(

Syd Howe Sydney Harris Howe (September 18, 1911 – May 20, 1976) was a Canadian professional ice hockey player. Howe played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League (NHL) for the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Quakers, Toronto Maple Leafs, St. Louis Eagl ...

), February 4, 1944
He Can Still Run!
(

Jesse Owens James Cleveland "Jesse" Owens (September 12, 1913March 31, 1980) was an American track and field athlete who won four gold medals at the 1936 Olympic Games. Owens specialized in the sprints and the long jump and was recognized in his lifet ...

), March 8, 1944
Michigan, Detroit Bid For Westfall: Big Back Is Out of Army
( Bob Westfall), May 21, 1944
One-Two Gives Zip To Tigers
( Hal Newhouser/

Dizzy Trout Paul Howard "Dizzy" Trout (June 29, 1915 – February 28, 1972) was an American professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a right-handed pitcher from to , most notably as a member of the Detroit Tigers team that finishe ...

), June 1, 1944
Stay-at-Home 'Ivory Hunter' Bags Big Prizes for Tigers
( Wish Egan), July 8, 1944
It's Open Season for Trout as Talker
(

), ''The Sporting News'', January 3, 1946
Hank Whacks Tiger Pitch for $60,000: Greenberg Signs Contract Without Any Fuss in Press
( Hank Greenberg), February 21, 1946, page 3
$100 Gold Rings Given to Members of '45 Club
''The Sporting News'', June 26, 1946 *"Clouter Kell Rings Bell With Detroit's Fandom", ''The Sporting News'', August 14, 1946, page 7
Here's How to Break in Your Glove
''Baseball Digest'', July 1947 *"Those Drives to Left Surprise Ted, Too" (

Ted Williams Theodore Samuel Williams (August 30, 1918 – July 5, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 19-year Major League Baseball (MLB) career, primarily as a left fielder, for the Boston Red Sox from 1939 ...

), ''The Sporting News, June 30, 1948, page 3 *"Rolfe Pledges 'Hard Work' by Tigers" (

Red Rolfe Robert Abial "Red" Rolfe (October 17, 1908 – July 8, 1969) was an American third baseman, manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball. A graduate of Phillips Exeter Academy, Rolfe also was an Ivy Leaguer: a graduate, then long- ...

), ''The Sporting News'', November 24, 1948, page 3
Michigan Sets Sights on Third Title in Row
(

1949 Michigan Wolverines football team The 1949 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1949 Big Nine Conference football season. In their second season under head coach Bennie Oosterbaan, the Wolverines compiled a 6–2–1 record (4–1–1 ...

), September 17, 1949 *"Kuzava Says Snider's Pop-Up Decided Classic" (

Bob Kuzava Robert Leroy "Sarge" Kuzava (May 28, 1923 – May 15, 2017) was an American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians (1946–1947), Chicago White Sox (1949–1950), Washington Senators (1950–1951), New York ...

), ''The Sporting News'', January 7, 1953, page 3 *"Keen Play of Kuenn Tigers' Top '53 Tale" (

Harvey Kuenn Harvey Edward Kuenn (; December 4, 1930 – February 28, 1988) was an American professional baseball player, coach, and manager in Major League Baseball (MLB). As a shortstop and outfielder, he played with the Detroit Tigers (1952–1959), Clevela ...

), ''The Sporting News'', September 16, 1953, page 6 *"McHale Served Six Years as Farm Aide" ( John McHale), ''The Sporting News'', November 11, 1953, page 2
'Hardest loser' Martin made the difference
( Billy Martin/ 1972 Detroit Tigers), October 6, 1972

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoelstra, Watson 1910 births 1999 deaths Baseball writers The Detroit News people Sportswriters from Michigan 20th-century American non-fiction writers 20th-century American businesspeople Writers from Grand Rapids, Michigan Hope College alumni