Columnist Jim Murray, "whose keen and stylish
observations on life and sports made him one of only four
sportswriters to win a Pulitzer Prize, died at his home late
Sunday night" at the age of 78, according to a front-page
tribute in the L.A. TIMES. Since '61, Murray had
"entertained and enlightened his readers several times each
week, although occasionally sidelined for eye or heart
surgery. His quick-witted style and gentle sarcasm became
widely imitated but seldom matched." Murray wrote his final
column in Sunday's L.A. Times (L.A. TIMES, 8/18).
FROM THE HOME OFFICE: Today's L.A. TIMES runs a full
tribute to Murray, compete with personal recollections from
writers across the U.S. His colleagues at the Times also
offered their thoughts. Among them: Bill Dwyre calls Murray
"a man whose greatness carried with it no accompanying
swagger. He was the pope of sports journalism." Bill
Plaschke: "In a sports world that takes itself so seriously,
he saw humor." Howard Rosenberg: "Despite his vision
problems, Jim Murray continued to see better than anyone
else. His legacy of words is evidence" (L.A. TIMES, 8/18)
REMEMBERING A HERO: In San Antonio, Dan Cook: "The king
is dead" (EXPRESS-NEWS, 8/18). In N.Y., Richard Sandomir
writes, "in a business known for bravado and hyperbole, Mr.
Murray was revered for his modesty" (N.Y. TIMES, 8/18). In
Detroit, Joe Falls: "He was funny, incisive, warm, popular -
- a great writer and a very humble man" (DETROIT NEWS,
8/18). USA TODAY's Steve Hershey: "His needle was the
sharpest, but it betrayed a gentle man with a self-effacing
sense of humor who always had time and a kind word" (USA
TODAY, 8/18). In Boston, Dan Shaughnessy calls Murray
"hilarious, fair, never preachy. He sought to entertain"
(BOSTON GLOBE, 8/18). In L.A., Karen Crouse writes Murray's
voice "rang as true as the man himself. He did not scream
at the reader, demanding to be heard. He did not sermonize
or patronize. His subjects might have been skewered on
occasion but they never felt burned. He was a wordsmith,
not a character assassin" (L.A. DAILY NEWS, 8/18). On CBS
SportsLine, Mike Kahn writes that Murray "changed
sportswriting enough to intrigue an entire generation and to
teach us not to take it all so seriously. ... If imitation
is the greatest form of flattery, then there is an entire
generation of writers all wound up in the spirit of Jim
Murray" (CBS SportsLine, 8/18). In K.C., Joe Posnanski: "He
changed the rules. He made sports fun. He also spawned a
generation of sportswriters and broadcasters and radio talk
show hosts who unleashed their own lousy one-liners on the
world" (K.C. STAR, 8/18). In Chicago, Ron Rapoport:
"Murray's record of sustained comic brilliance sometimes
obscured the range of his talent" (SUN-TIMES, 8/18). In
Baltimore, Peter Schmuck calls him "one of the five most
influential sportswriters of all time" (SUN, 8/18). MSNBC's
Keith Olbermann called him "simply, the best sportswriter in
the world," who "wasn't just good, he was right" ("The Big
Show," 8/17). In DC, Michael Wilbon writes Murray's
"unequaled ability to put concepts and images together with
words ... left me wondering whether it was wise to say we
were in the same profession" (WASH. POST, 8/18). On ESPN
SportsZone, Peter Gammons writes that Murray "was an
absolute genius of the written word, probably better than
most urban and political columnists" (SportsZone, 8/18).
FOR MORE: The L.A. Times is posting some of Murray's
most-remembered columns at www.latimes.com/murray.
