George Gross

George Gross O.Ont (born Juraj Gross; January 23, 1923 – March 21, 2008) was a Slovak-born Canadian sports journalist and soccer executive. He worked for several newspapers, most notably the Toronto Sun. He was a co-founder of the Eastern Canada Professional Soccer League.

Early life and defection Gross was born in Bratislava, Slovakia in January 1923. As a journalist in Bratislava, he had been jailed by the post-Second World War Communist regime in Czechoslovakia for his political views. He eventually escaped from Austria by rowing, or swimming, across the Danube River.

In 1949, Gross and a companion orchestrated an escape from Czechoslovakia by posing as local kayakers out for a routine training run on the Danube River, successfully rowing across the border into Austria. He arrived in Canada in 1950 with minimal English skills and $4.50 to his name, initially taking jobs as a farmhand and construction worker while self-teaching the language.

Career After being fired as a farm hand, Gross accepted a freelance position with the Toronto Telegram, where he was eventually hired full-time in 1959. Once the Telegram went bankrupt, he became the first sports editor at the Toronto Sun. During his time with the Sun, Gross won the 1974 National Newspaper Award, Dunlop Award, and authored three books.

While working as the corporate sports editor for the Toronto Sun, Gross achieved a major international media exclusive during the 1988 Summer Olympics in Seoul. Following Canadian sprinter Ben Johnson's positive test for anabolic steroids and subsequent disqualification, Gross bypassed hundreds of international journalists to secure the first exclusive, in-home interview with the athlete. Published in the Toronto Sun, the interview provided the first public window into Johnson's direct claims regarding his training inner circle. The next year, Gross was promoted to corporate sports editor with a weekly column.

Personal life and death Gross married Elizabeth and had a daughter, and a son, George Jr. His son also worked in sports and media, competing as a two-time Canadian Olympic water polo player (1976 and 1984) and later as an on-air television broadcaster. Outside of his journalism career, Gross volunteered for numerous charitable organizations, including the Conacher Cancer Fund, the Special Olympics, the Easter Seals Society, and the Save the Children Fund. He suffered the fatal heart attack while at the Toronto Sun newsroom, where he had collapsed at his desk while preparing to write his weekly column.