Sports writer and commentator Frank Deford dies

Former Sports Illustrated writer and NPR commentator Frank Deford died Sunday at his home in Key West, Fla., according to his wife. He was 78. Deford, who was born in Baltimore, Md., in 1938, started writing for Sports Illustrated in 1962 and began his commentaries for NPR’s Morning Edition in 1980. His final NPR commentary aired on May 3. “I’ve been blessed with you,” he told listeners that day, “with a broad and intelligent audience—even if large portions thereof haven’t necessarily given a hoot about sports. … Thank you for listening. Thank you for abiding me.” Deford received the U.S. Sportswriter of the Year award six times and was inducted into the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame. Former President Barack Obama awarded Deford the National Humanities Medal in 2013. Deford authored 18 books, including Everybody’s All-American, a novel that was made into a movie starring Dennis Quaid, and Alex: The Life of a Child, which told the story of his daughter Alexandra, who was born with cystic fibrosis, given just two years to live, and died at age 8. His wife Carol and two adult children, Christian and Scarlet, survive him.

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