Richard Herbert Beddoes ( – 24 August 1991) was a Canadian sports journalist. He was a columnist for ''

The Vancouver Sun The ''Vancouver Sun'', also known as the ''Sun'', is a daily broadsheet newspaper based in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. The newspaper is currently published by the Pacific Newspaper Group, a division of Postmedia Network. Published six ...

'' and '' The Globe and Mail'' and later appeared on television and radio.

Early life

Beddoes was born in Daysland,

Alberta Alberta ( ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is part of Western Canada and is one of the three prairie provinces. Alberta is bordered by British Columbia to the west, Saskatchewan to the east, the Northwest Ter ...

at his family's farm residence. He referred to his home town as "Sheep Tracks, Alberta". He attended the

University of Alberta The University of Alberta, also known as U of A or UAlberta, is a public research university located in Edmonton, Alberta, Canada. It was founded in 1908 by Alexander Cameron Rutherford,"A Gentleman of Strathcona – Alexander Cameron Ruth ...

, first in the agriculture program, then transferring to its education faculty.

Career

In 1951, Beddoes joined the '' Edmonton Bulletin, '' just before that historic newspaper folded. Later that year, he joined the ''Vancouver Sun'' as a police reporter, writing his first sports columns by late 1951. In 1959, Beddoes won the British Columbia men's curling championship playing lead for the Barry Naimark rink. They represented the province at the 1959 Macdonald Brier. He moved to Toronto to work for '' The Globe and Mail'' in 1964. As the paper's senior sports columnist, he wrote a column which predicted that the Canadian team would win every game of the 1972

Summit Series The Summit Series, Super Series 72, Canada–USSR Series (russian: Суперсерия СССР — Канада, Superseriya SSSR — Kanada), or Series of the Century (french: Série du siècle, Séries of the Century), was an eight-game i ...

against the Soviet Union. After the Soviet team won the first game of that series, Beddoes ate a printed copy of that column after covering it with

borscht Borscht () is a sour soup common in Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. In English, the word "borscht" is most often associated with the soup's variant of Ukrainian origin, made with red beetroots as one of the main ingredients, which g ...

. He remained on staff with the ''Globe and Mail'' until his column on 3 September 1980 was revealed to have contained substantial, unattributed material from the ''New York Times''. After publishing an apology, Beddoes left print media and was subsequently appointed sports director at

CHCH-TV CHCH-DT (channel 11) is an independent television station in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Owned by Channel Zero, the station maintains studios on Innovation Drive in the west end of Hamilton; prior to 2021, it was located near the corner of Jack ...

in Hamilton where he remained until his dismissal in 1988. In January 1990, he joined

CFRB CFRB (1010 kHz) is a commercial AM radio station in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. It is owned by Bell Media and carries a News/Talk radio format. Its studios and offices are in the Entertainment District at 250 Richmond Street West. CFRB is a c ...

radio in Toronto as host of ''The Sports Connection'' talk show. Most other available obituaries claimed age 65. Beddoes also ghost-wrote a syndicated column on behalf of hockey player

Bobby Orr Robert Gordon Orr (born March 20, 1948) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, widely acknowledged as one of the greatest of all time. Orr used his ice skating speed, scoring, and play-making abilities to revolutionize the pos ...

in the late 1960s. Beddoes was known for his variety of clothing colours and his numerous hats, He directly influenced

Don Cherry Donald Stewart Cherry (born February 5, 1934) is a Canadian former ice hockey player, coach, and television commentator. Cherry played one game in the National Hockey League (NHL) with the Boston Bruins, and later coached the team for five se ...

's broadcasting career and clothing choices.

Politics

Beddoes was a resident of

Etobicoke Etobicoke (, ) is an administrative district of, and one of six municipalities amalgamated into, the city of Toronto, Ontario, Canada. Comprising the city's west-end, Etobicoke was first settled by Europeans in the 1790s, and the municipalit ...

and served a term on the Etobicoke borough council as

alderman An alderman is a member of a municipal assembly or council in many jurisdictions founded upon English law. The term may be titular, denoting a high-ranking member of a borough or county council, a council member chosen by the elected members them ...

for Ward 2 after winning a seat in the 1969 municipal election.

Death

Beddoes died of liver cancer in August 1991 at a Toronto hospital.

Books

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References

External links

Dick Beddoes at Sports Media Canada
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beddoes, Dick 1920s births 1991 deaths The Globe and Mail columnists Canadian sportswriters Canadian television sportscasters Canadian talk radio hosts Journalists from Ontario People from Flagstaff County Curlers from Toronto Deaths from liver cancer Deaths from cancer in Ontario University of Alberta alumni Curlers from Alberta Curlers from British Columbia Canadian male curlers Ontario municipal councillors Canadian sportsperson-politicians