William Hanna | |
|---|---|
| Born | William Blythe Hanna (1866-01-05)January 5, 1866 |
| Died | November 20, 1930(1930-11-20) (aged 64) |
| Occupation | Americansportswriter |
William Blythe Hanna (January 5, 1866 – November 20, 1930) was an Americansportswriter.[1]
Hanna was an accomplished sports journalist for more than 30 years. Although familiar with virtually all sport activities, he was an acknowledged expert onAmerican football,baseball andbilliards, while working for severalNew York City newspapers.[2]
Born inPlattsmouth, Nebraska, he was the sixth child of Thomas King Hanna, a dry goods store owner, and Judith Joyce Venable, a housewife. At the age of four, he relocated with his family toKansas City, Missouri.[1][2]
In 1878 Hanna was graduated fromLafayette College inEaston, Pennsylvania, and immediately started to work atThe Kansas City Star. He then moved to New York in 1892, and started a long relationship with the city and its citizens.[3]
Hanna joined the staff of theNew York Herald in 1892 and moved to theNew York Press in 1893. He also wrote forThe Sun from 1900 through 1916 before he returned to theHerald from 1916 to 1924. After that, he worked in theNew York Herald Tribune when it bought theHerald in 1924, and remained working there through the rest of his life.[2]
His spare writing style was marked by a specific use of language means, as well as his selection of words were those less chosen, terse, precise, kind, and greatly influenced by the lexical environment.[4]
In May 1930, Hanna suffered astroke (apoplexy) while reporting anArmy–Dartmouth baseball game inWest Point, New York. He was confined to West Point Hospital for three weeks and then, at his request, was transferred toIdylease sanitarium, at his wishes to be near to the home of his brother, Thomas K. Hanna. He died on November 20 inNewfoundland, New Jersey at the age of 64.[4]
Shortly after his death in 1930, William B. Hanna became the first recipient of theSlocum Award, which is presented annually by the New York Baseball Writers Association to a person judged to have a long and meritorious service to baseball.[5] In 1946 he was named to theHonor Rolls of Baseball of theNational Baseball Hall of Fame.