Stanley Woodward

Rufus Stanley Woodward (June 5, 1895 – November 29, 1965)

Woodward began his career as a news reporter and eventually became the sports editor for the Boston Herald. In 1930, he joined the Herald Tribune as a writer, and he gained a promotion to editor of the sports section in 1938. Except for a period during World War II in which he was a correspondent, Woodward remained in that role until being fired in 1948. After editing and writing for various publications, he returned to the Herald Tribune in 1959 and retired as sports editor emeritus.

Early life and career Born in Worcester, Massachusetts, the son of Rufus and Stella Woodward, In 1919 or 1920 Woodward was hired by his hometown newspaper, the Worcester Gazette, his first job in the field of journalism. Originally employed as a news reporter, he later became the paper's city editor. Woodward left the Gazette in 1922 or 1923 for a job at the Boston Herald. After starting as a makeup man, he served various roles for the Herald, and in 1925 was named the paper's sports editor. though it did include the occasional witticism. For example, after an Army college football coach attributed his team's loss to its center's snapping technique Woodward joked it was "like blaming the Johnstown flood on a leaky toilet in Altoona." Sportswriter Al Laney later wrote that Woodward's intention in using the "ivy" wording "was joyfully needling some of the group, especially Harvard, for their snootiness". The 1933 column is the first known public use of the phrase "ivy" in reference to what have since become recognized as the Ivy League colleges.

Eight of the nine universities mentioned in Woodward's 1933 column went on to form the Ivy League football conference, signing the "Ivy Group Agreement" for their programs in 1945, and expanding it to other sports nine years later. Only Army failed to join. A goal of Woodward was to make the Herald Tribune'''s sports section higher in quality than those in other newspapers. This placed his section in competition with The New York Times, whose sports section had twice as many writers. Woodward believed that the Herald Tribune should avoid competing with the Times on quantity. Jerry Izenberg quoted him as saying, "They've got a lot of people, so we can't outcrap 'em. But, we sure as hell can outwrite 'em." The desire of Woodward was to make the section he led more "interesting" than its local rivals. In choosing sports to cover, Woodward felt that baseball, boxing, football, and horse racing were the most significant. Basketball was among those sports he did not favor; he called it the "goonosphere". His knowledge of the sport earned him the nickname "The Coach" from other writers. Woodward served as the paper's sports editor through 1941, leaving to serve as a war correspondent before returning to his position in 1946. Among the military operations he covered during World War II were the invasion of Arnhem in the Netherlands by the 101st Airborne Division and the Battle of Iwo Jima in the Pacific Theatre. In addition, Woodward brought sportswriter Red Smith to the Herald Tribune in 1945. Though toiling as an unknown for The Philadelphia Record at the time, Smith eventually became a Pulitzer Prize-winning nationally syndicated columnist. In addition to Laney, who handled special assignments in addition to tennis and golf coverage, other writers working under Woodward during his tenure at the Herald Tribune included Jesse Abramson, who covered football and multiple other sports; and Joe H. Palmer, who reported on horse racing.

After Jackie Robinson broke the Major League Baseball color line in 1947, Woodward wrote a story in the May 9, 1947, edition of the Herald Tribune that unidentified St. Louis Cardinals players had been rallying support for a strike by National League teams, in which they would attempt to put pressure on Robinson by not playing against him. Woodward quoted Frick as telling the players involved, "I do not care if half the league strikes. Those who do it will encounter quick retribution. And will be suspended and I don't care if it wrecks the National League for five years." The Cardinals players denied the report, which did not include a source; author Roger Kahn learned from Woodward that Frick was his source. Woodward wrote a follow-up story on May 10, contradicting his original claim that Frick had talked to Cardinals players. The initial story, however, was responsible for increasing the sports media's support for Robinson, and the Frick quote was repeated by writers in future years.

Later career After leaving the Herald Tribune, Woodward successfully pitched the idea of a monthly sports magazine to Dell Publications, which he edited. The magazine was titled Sports Illustrated'', and was not related to the modern-day publication.

Personal life Early in his time working in New York City, Woodward resided in Port Washington and took up yachting as a hobby. He eventually moved to Princeton, New Jersey, where he purchased a farm. Woodward's other hobbies included violin-playing and ornithology.

In 1932, Woodward and Esther Rice were married. The couple had two children, both daughters, and six grandchildren. They remained married at the time of Woodward's death in 1965, when they resided in Brookfield, Connecticut.