Alan J. Gould

Alan Jenks Gould (January 30, 1898 – June 21, 1993) was an American newspaper writer and editor. He was the sports editor of the Associated Press from 1922 to 1938 and the executive editor of the Associated Press from 1941 to 1963.

Early years While still in high school, Gould was hired by Frank Gannett (founder of Gannett media corporation) as a part-time reporter for the Star Gazette in Elmira, New York. He also worked for a time at Gannett's Ithaca Journal. He next became the news editor of the Morning Sun in Binghamton, New York. In 1933, Gould was the first to coin the term "Grand Slam" in respect to winning the four major tennis titles in a calendar year. In 1936, Gould brought another innovation to the sport with the introduction of the AP Poll to rank the country's college football teams and determine a national champion. He polled the editors of AP newspapers to determine the rankings. Gould later recalled, "It was a case of thinking up ideas to develop interest and controversy. Papers wanted material to fill space between games. That's all I had in mind, something to keep the pot boiling. Sports was then living off controversy, opinion, whatever. This was just another exercise in hoopla." The AP Poll quickly became the standard for determining each year's national championship team.

Associated Press executive editor From 1938 to 1941, Gould was the executive aide in charge of Associated Press personnel.

In December 1941, Gould took over editorial responsibility for the Associated Press news and newsphoto services. On his return to the United States, Gould reported that Gen. Dwight Eisenhower was doing a "remarkable job" coordinating the British and American forces and that any invasion would be "covered by the one of the biggest concentrations of foreign correspondents ever assembled."

During Gould's tenure as executive editor, the Associated Press won 14 Pulitzer Prizes. In May 1963, Gould was honored by Sigma Delta Chi, the professional journalism fraternity, with the designation as a fellow.

Family and later years Gould was married to Mary Denton Gould in October 1920 at Elmira, New York. They had two children, Alan J. Gould, Jr., and Mary Ann (Gould) Houseman. His first wife died after undergoing surgery for lung cancer in 1966. He was remarried to Mary Sliter Gould; she died in 1976. He was survived by his two children and by his third wife, Catherine.