Jerome Holtzman | |
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| Born | (1926-07-12)July 12, 1926 Chicago, Illinois, U.S. |
| Died | July 19, 2008(2008-07-19) (aged 82) Evanston, Illinois, U.S. |
| Occupation(s) | Sportswriter, author |
| Known for | MLB official historian (1999–2008) |
| Awards | J. G. Taylor Spink Award (1991)Red Smith Award (1997) |
Jerome Holtzman (July 12, 1926[1] – July 19, 2008) was an Americansportswriter known for his writings onbaseball who served as the official historian forMajor League Baseball (MLB) from 1999 until his death.
Born inChicago, Illinois, Holtzman wrote for his hometown papers for over 50 years. Beginning as a copyboy at theChicago Daily News in 1943, Holtzman wrote for the paper through its merger with theChicago Sun. His influence and viewpoints made him something of a legend among newspapermen. Southern humoristLewis Grizzard, who was sports editor of theSun-Times for part of Holtzman's career, called him "the dean of American baseball writers," and went on to say "He never smiled, but he had the keys toCooperstown. No major leaguer ever got into theHall of Fame if Holtzman didn't want him there. He had tremendous sources. He was writing about the possibility of a baseball players union and a baseball players strikelong before anyone else."[2] Holtzman left theSun-Times in 1981 for theChicago Tribune, remaining there until his retirement in 1999.[3]
Holtzman was awarded the 1991J. G. Taylor Spink Award by theBaseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA). He was honored by theAssociated Press Sports Editors in 1997, who awarded him theRed Smith Award, which is America's most prestigious sports writing honor. He was elected to theNational Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association Hall of Fame in 2004 and theInternational Jewish Sports Hall of Fame in 2005.
Among Holtzman's contributions to the game during his career was the creation of thesave statistic in 1959. It was adopted as an official statistic for the 1969 season, the first official new statistic since therun batted in (RBI) in 1920.[1]
On July 15, 2008, Holtzman suffered a stroke inEvanston, Illinois, and died on July 19.[4]
In 1999, Holtzman retired as a newspaper writer and was named the official historian ofMajor League Baseball. He wrote occasional columns on theMLB.com website.[3] In 2001, Holtzman decided to revert to countingwalks in1887 ashits, reviving an old debate; 1887 was the only season in which walks were counted as hits, an experiment which proved unpopular, but Holtzman took the point of view that once something is counted as a hit it must always remain so. Revised statistics appeared in the seventh edition ofTotal Baseball, then the official encyclopedia of Major League Baseball. Holtzman's successor as MLB historianJohn Thorn, noting the move years later, stated "Today Holtzman’s edict is observed largely in the breach."[5]
Holtzman wrote or edited more than a dozen books, includingNo Cheering in the Press Box, a collection of interviews with 18 sportswriters that was published in 1974. A revised edition in 1995 added interviews with six new subjects. Among his other notable books areThe Commissioners, which contained biographies of baseball's commissioners and a history of the office, andBaseball Chicago Style, a history of theChicago Cubs andChicago White Sox.
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