Sports Journalist, Author. A writer with Sports Illustrated for fifty-years, he will also be remembered as a contributor to the TV program "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" for 20-years (1995 to 2015). In addition, he was familiar to radio audiences for thirty-seven years with his commentaries on the National Public Radio program "Morning Edition." Born Benjamin Franklin Deford, III, he was educated at Princeton University, prior to landing the position of information gatherer for Sports Illustrated in 1962. He gradually was given writing assignments and among one of his earliest pieces was a story on fellow Princeton graduate, basketball star Bill Bradley. After this, he expanded his writing to cover tennis and hockey, in addition to other sports. During the 1970s, he began to author books, initially with "Five Strides on the Banked Track: The Life and Times of the Roller Derby" (1971). His 1981 novel "Everybody's All-American" was made into a 1988 motion picture adaptation which starred Dennis Quaid and Jessica Lange and in 1988, he penned the screenplay for the film "Trading Hearts." His 1984 work "Alex: The Life of a Child" was written in memory of his daughter who died from cystic fibrosis in 1980. Deford would go on to become an advocate to find a cure for the disease and serve as chairman of the cystic fibrosis foundation. The book was made into a 1986 TV-Movie adaptation of which starred Craig T. Nelson who portrayed Deford. He was inducted into the National Sports Media Association Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 1998. During the course of his career, he received an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, was named Magazine Writer of the Year twice and became the first magazine writer to receive the Red Smith Award in 2012. In 2013, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal from President Obama.
Sports Journalist, Author. A writer with Sports Illustrated for fifty-years, he will also be remembered as a contributor to the TV program "Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel" for 20-years (1995 to 2015). In addition, he was familiar to radio audiences for thirty-seven years with his commentaries on the National Public Radio program "Morning Edition." Born Benjamin Franklin Deford, III, he was educated at Princeton University, prior to landing the position of information gatherer for Sports Illustrated in 1962. He gradually was given writing assignments and among one of his earliest pieces was a story on fellow Princeton graduate, basketball star Bill Bradley. After this, he expanded his writing to cover tennis and hockey, in addition to other sports. During the 1970s, he began to author books, initially with "Five Strides on the Banked Track: The Life and Times of the Roller Derby" (1971). His 1981 novel "Everybody's All-American" was made into a 1988 motion picture adaptation which starred Dennis Quaid and Jessica Lange and in 1988, he penned the screenplay for the film "Trading Hearts." His 1984 work "Alex: The Life of a Child" was written in memory of his daughter who died from cystic fibrosis in 1980. Deford would go on to become an advocate to find a cure for the disease and serve as chairman of the cystic fibrosis foundation. The book was made into a 1986 TV-Movie adaptation of which starred Craig T. Nelson who portrayed Deford. He was inducted into the National Sports Media Association Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame in 1998. During the course of his career, he received an Emmy Award, a Peabody Award, was named Magazine Writer of the Year twice and became the first magazine writer to receive the Red Smith Award in 2012. In 2013, he was awarded the National Humanities Medal from President Obama.
Bio by: C.S.
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