Dan Stoneking

Danny Alan Stoneking (November 5, 1942 – January 29, 2007) was an American journalist who was sports editor of the Minneapolis Star and president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association. Stoneking covered National Hockey League and World Hockey Association games, the Minnesota Twins, sports at University of Minnesota, and promoted high school sports. He was the Minneapolis Star sports editor from 1974 until his suspension for plagiarism in 1984.

Stoneking pushed for equal access to locker rooms for male and female sportswriters, and was an executive of the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers' Association of America and the Minnesota Associated Press Sports Editors. He graduated from Northwestern University, was a United States Army sergeant during the Vietnam War, and was editor of the Stars and Stripes. In his later career, he reported on the Minnesota North Stars while hosting radio shows on KSTP and WTCN, and taught English and mass media.

Early life and education Danny Alan Stoneking was born on November 5, 1942, at the Moline Lutheran Hospital, in Moline, Illinois, the son of Albert E. Stoneking and Martha L. Stivers. Growing up in nearby Rock Island he graduated from Rock Island High School in 1960. He began in journalism as a correspondent for the Rock Island Argus during high school, After earning an undergraduate degree in 1964, he remained at Northwestern completing a master's degree in journalism in 1965. then its vice-president in 1972. He became a director of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) in 1971, then elected its vice-president in 1974. Later in the same year, he was named the Minneapolis Star sports editor, while covering National Hockey League (NHL) and World Hockey Association games. serving two years until succeeded by Bob Verdi. As president, Stoneking oversaw the PHWA mandate of improved media access to cover professional ice hockey.

Following a physical altercation between Detroit Red Wings' coach Doug Barkley and a Newark Star-Ledger reporter during the 1975–76 season, Stoneking protested to NHL president Clarence Campbell writing that the PHWA was "appalled, disgusted and angered over the incident" which denied post-game access to the team locker room, and demanded a public apology while the assault charges were under investigation. During the 1976 Stanley Cup Final, Stoneking supported equal access to locker rooms for male and female sportswriters. When Montreal Canadiens' coach Scotty Bowman opposed females in the locker room until the players were dressed, female reporters contested that access was required to do their job as timely as their male counterparts to meet publication deadlines. Stoneking presented the PHWA case to NHL president Campbell that both males and females should be allowed or neither. He wrote featured articles on the North American Soccer League in 1978, and arranged exhibition games to showcase the talents of Minnesota Golden Gophers women's ice hockey.

Stoneking received several awards from the Minnesota Associated Press Sports Editors including; first place for special sections, second place for sports series, and third place for spot news in 1980; first place for his column on Terry Bradshaw, second place for his column on Harmon Killebrew, and third place for spot news reports on Minnesota North Stars playoffs in 1981; and second place for spot news in 1982. He was also inducted into the World Hockey Association Hall of Fame as a beat writer for the Minnesota Fighting Saints.

Later career and radio The Minneapolis Star suspended Stoneking for plagiarism of a report on the Minnesota Twins in 1984. Never returning, he instead covered the Minnesota North Stars on radio. North Stars' general manager Lou Nanne stated that Stoneking was trusted with team secrets, and subjected to player pranks as an "honorary teammate". He was a candidate to be the Minnesota North Stars radio announcer in the 1990–91 season.

Stoneking wrote for the Stillwater Gazette, and had work published by Sports Illustrated. In the 1990s, he taught English and mass media at a college in Mexico. He once had the personalized license plate "Mr. Puck", had cancer for twelve years, and moved to Chetumal, Mexico, for the last two years of his life, where he died from pneumonia at age 64, on January 29, 2007.