Rick Hummel

Richard Lowell Hummel (February 25, 1946 – May 20, 2023) was an American author and sports columnist best known for his work for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. Hummel was honored in 2007 with the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for baseball writing. Known throughout baseball by his nickname "The Commish", he was a former president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

Early life Richard Lowell Hummel was born on February, 25, 1946, in Quincy, Illinois. He graduated from Quincy Senior High School in 1964.

Professional career Following graduation from the University of Missouri in 1968, Hummel served three years in the U.S. Army. and for his exhaustive knowledge of the rules involved in the softball, football, and bowling leagues he and Post-Dispatch teammates participated in.

In 2007, Hummel won the J.G. Taylor Spink Award. He was inducted into the Missouri Sports Hall of Fame the following year. Hummel was a three-time "Missouri Sportswriter of the Year" as selected by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association,

Personal life Hummel had three children, one son and two daughters. Hummel's last wife was Melissa.

Hummel died at his home on May 20, 2023, at the age of 77.

Books 2012 – One Last Strike: Fifty Years in Baseball, Ten and a Half Games Back, and One Final Championship Season, written with Tony La Russa 2007 – The Commish and the Cardinals: The Most Memorable Games, as Covered by Hall of Famer Rick Hummel for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch 1989 – Tom Seaver's Scouting Notebook written with Tom Seaver and Bob Nightengale