Frank Deford could and did write the game stories better than anyone but he also poked his nose into the many dark corners of sports. He was the champion of opportunity for all and the enemy of hypocrisy and sham. The quality of his writing kept him in demand and being in demand allows a writer to be fearless. Frank wrote about the serious and the ridiculous. He had a book about roller derby and another about Miss America, yet he also wrote a book about the hardships endured by gay tennis legend Bill Tilden and another book about his daughter Alex’s losing battle with cystic fibrosis. Frank wrote screenplays. If I’m not mistaken, he wrote a novel inspired by a painting. His novel Everybody’s All-American was made into a nice movie starring Dennis Quaid, Jessica Lange, John Goodman and, in a cameo role as a Baltimore diner counterman, Frank Deford. He won Emmys for his TV work and he was on Morning Edition a lot longer than I was. But more important than all that, he was a righteous dude and always a gentleman. I miss him already.
Listen to Bob’s 2012 conversation with Frank Deford.
Producer Chad Campbell’s comments about Frank Deford.