1985 – Si Burick
Born in Dayton, Ohio, on June 14, 1909, sportswriting legend Si Burick
was named Ohio Sportswriter of the Year 19 times during his 58 year
career. Burick was also the first recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink
Award that was from a non Major League city, and the first writer
inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame from a non Major League city.
His career began in 1926, when he joined the Dayton Daily News. Then in
1928, he was persuaded by the papers editor to take the sports editor
position rather than going to college. Burick remained sports editor,
and columnist, at the Dayton Daily News until his death in 1986. During
that time he wrote four to seven columns a week covering all major
sporting events. His column “Si-ings” and Burick himself were known for
their wit and use of puns. During his career Burick also worked for WHIO
and WHIO-TV where he broadcast sporting events and was the host of a
sports show. Burick was inducted into the National Sportscasters and
Sportswriters Hall of Fame on April 8, 1985.