Wilbur Wood

Wilbur Wood (1892 – October 3, 1968) was an American sportswriter and editor who worked for The New York Sun from 1924 to 1950.

Early life and education Wood was born in Kansas City, Missouri, United States.

He received his education at Washington University in St. Louis.

Career St. Louis Republic After graduating, Wood started his journalism career as a sportswriter with the St. Louis Republic in 1913. He was named president of the newly revived Illinois–Missouri League in April 1917, following the resignation of Winston Barker.

When the St. Louis Republic folded in 1919, he briefly moved to the St. Louis Post-Dispatch and served on the news copy desk. From St. Louis, he moved on to newspaper work in Akron, Cleveland, and Milwaukee prior to settling in New York.

New York Sun After The Herald combined with the New-York Tribune in 1924, he went to work for the now-defunct New York Sun.

In March 1927, he was elected the first president of the Boxing Writers Association of America. That year, he began compiling an annual consensus ranking known as the National Boxing Consensus. It drew on the opinions of 60 sportswriters, promoters, and boxing authorities who evaluated the top 10 fighters in each weight class.

Wood became sports editor of The Sun in 1934 after the death of Joe Vila. During this period, Edwin B. Dooley, who went on to become chairman of the New York State Athletic Commission, worked as a sports reporter under Wood.

He held his position as sports editor of the Sun until the newspaper was taken over by the New York World-Telegram in 1950.