Shirley Povich

Shirley Lewis Povich (15 July 1905 – 4 June 1998) was an American sports columnist and reporter for The Washington Post.

Biography

Povich's parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Having grown up in coastal Bar Harbor, Maine (then known as Eden), far from a major league team, the first baseball game he ever saw was a game for which he wrote the game story.

Journalism career

Povich joined the Post as a reporter in 1923 during his second year as a Georgetown University law student, and in 1925 was named Editor of Sports. In 1933, he became a sports columnist, a responsibility that continued until his death, with only one interruption. In 1944, Povich took on the assignment of war correspondent for The Washington Post in the Pacific Theater. Following World War II, he returned to his sports desk. He was the sports editor for the Post for forty-one years. President Richard Nixon once told Post publisher Phil Graham: "Shirley Povich is the only reason I read your newspaper."