Smasher_Sloan
Active Member
Oct 8, 11:04 PM EDT
Longtime Inquirer sports columnist Frank Dolson dead at 73
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Frank Dolson, the longtime Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist who later was a New York Yankees special assistant, died Sunday. He was 73.
Former Penn basketball player Decker Uhlhorn, a close friend, told the Inquirer that Dolson died in his sleep early Sunday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, hours after his beloved Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs.
Dolson, a native New Yorker, attended the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in Philadelphia and was hired by Sports Illustrated after he graduated in 1954. A year later, the Inquirer made him the city's youngest columnist.
After he retired from the Inquirer in 1995, he was hired by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner as a special assistant.
"Frank was at so many games after he retired that Steinbrenner finally said, `Why don't you come work for me?'" Uhlhorn said.
Dolson had an apartment in New York to be closer to Yankee Stadium.
"He literally lived and breathed Yankees. Really his love in life was the Yankees. Frank's mood really was based on how the Yankees did," Yankees spokesman Rick Cerrone said. "It's a sad day. It's sad that he won't be around the press box and in the press room."
In his columns, Dolson advocated keeping the simplicity and purity of sports, campaigning against any move toward professionalism in the Olympics and with disdain for the designated hitter and exploding scoreboards.
"His biases were obvious and consistent," said writer Dan Rottenberg, also a Penn graduate. "He preferred amateurs over pros, athletes over administrators, minor leagues over majors, small schools over powerhouses, nice losers over pompous winners."
In April, he established a $1.25 million endowment at the University of Pennsylvania and the Penn Relays' director position was named in his honor. Dolson covered the Penn Relays for nearly 50 years.
---
Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com
Longtime Inquirer sports columnist Frank Dolson dead at 73
PHILADELPHIA (AP) -- Frank Dolson, the longtime Philadelphia Inquirer sports columnist who later was a New York Yankees special assistant, died Sunday. He was 73.
Former Penn basketball player Decker Uhlhorn, a close friend, told the Inquirer that Dolson died in his sleep early Sunday at the Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, hours after his beloved Yankees were eliminated from the playoffs.
Dolson, a native New Yorker, attended the University of Pennsylvania's Wharton School in Philadelphia and was hired by Sports Illustrated after he graduated in 1954. A year later, the Inquirer made him the city's youngest columnist.
After he retired from the Inquirer in 1995, he was hired by Yankees owner George Steinbrenner as a special assistant.
"Frank was at so many games after he retired that Steinbrenner finally said, `Why don't you come work for me?'" Uhlhorn said.
Dolson had an apartment in New York to be closer to Yankee Stadium.
"He literally lived and breathed Yankees. Really his love in life was the Yankees. Frank's mood really was based on how the Yankees did," Yankees spokesman Rick Cerrone said. "It's a sad day. It's sad that he won't be around the press box and in the press room."
In his columns, Dolson advocated keeping the simplicity and purity of sports, campaigning against any move toward professionalism in the Olympics and with disdain for the designated hitter and exploding scoreboards.
"His biases were obvious and consistent," said writer Dan Rottenberg, also a Penn graduate. "He preferred amateurs over pros, athletes over administrators, minor leagues over majors, small schools over powerhouses, nice losers over pompous winners."
In April, he established a $1.25 million endowment at the University of Pennsylvania and the Penn Relays' director position was named in his honor. Dolson covered the Penn Relays for nearly 50 years.
---
Information from: The Philadelphia Inquirer, http://www.philly.com
