Vic Ziegel
Encyclopedia
Victor "Vic" Ziegel was an American
sports writer
, columnist, and editor for the New York Post
and the New York Daily News. His writing frequently centered on baseball
, boxing
, and horse racing
.
Ziegel was raised in the Bronx
, New York
. His parents, Morris and Gilda, were immigrants from Eastern Europe. Ziegel attended Yeshiva Salanter and William Howard Taft High School
. He went to City College of New York
, where he wrote for The Campus
, the student-run newspaper. While in college, Ziegel also wrote about high-school basketball
for the Long Island Press
.
Ziegel wrote for the New York Post during the 1960s and 1970s. He also wrote for magazines, including Inside Sports
, New York
, and Rolling Stone
. In 1985, Ziegel became executive sports editor at the Daily News, where he also wrote a regular sports column. He accepted a retirement package from the newspaper in 2009, but continued to write occasional columns for the Daily News as a freelance writer.
In 1976, Ziegel worked with retired baseball player Jim Bouton
on Ball Four, a short-lived television series based on Bouton's best-selling book of the same name
. In 1978 Ziegel co-wrote (with Lewis Grossberger) The Non-Runner's Book, which satirized the then-popular sport of marathon
running
. He wrote Summer in the City: New York Baseball 1947–1957 in 2004.
Ziegel, who was a non-smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer
in November 2009. He died of the disease at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx on July 23, 2010.
Award for boxing writing (1983) and the Red Smith
Writing Award for his Kentucky Derby
coverage (1992 and 1998).
By others
People of the United States
The people of the United States, also known as simply Americans or American people, are the inhabitants or citizens of the United States. The United States is a multi-ethnic nation, home to people of different ethnic and national backgrounds...
sports writer
Sports journalism
Sports journalism is a form of journalism that reports on sports topics and events.While the sports department within some newspapers has been mockingly called the toy department, because sports journalists do not concern themselves with the 'serious' topics covered by the news desk, sports...
, columnist, and editor for the New York Post
New York Post
The New York Post is the 13th-oldest newspaper published in the United States and is generally acknowledged as the oldest to have been published continuously as a daily, although – as is the case with most other papers – its publication has been periodically interrupted by labor actions...
and the New York Daily News. His writing frequently centered on baseball
Baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each. The aim is to score runs by hitting a thrown ball with a bat and touching a series of four bases arranged at the corners of a ninety-foot diamond...
, boxing
Boxing
Boxing, also called pugilism, is a combat sport in which two people fight each other using their fists. Boxing is supervised by a referee over a series of between one to three minute intervals called rounds...
, and horse racing
Horse racing
Horse racing is an equestrian sport that has a long history. Archaeological records indicate that horse racing occurred in ancient Babylon, Syria, and Egypt. Both chariot and mounted horse racing were events in the ancient Greek Olympics by 648 BC...
.
Ziegel was raised in the Bronx
The Bronx
The Bronx is the northernmost of the five boroughs of New York City. It is also known as Bronx County, the last of the 62 counties of New York State to be incorporated...
, New York
New York
New York is a state in the Northeastern region of the United States. It is the nation's third most populous state. New York is bordered by New Jersey and Pennsylvania to the south, and by Connecticut, Massachusetts and Vermont to the east...
. His parents, Morris and Gilda, were immigrants from Eastern Europe. Ziegel attended Yeshiva Salanter and William Howard Taft High School
William Howard Taft High School (New York City)
William Howard Taft High School was a high school in Southwest section of the Bronx, New York City.The school was operated by the New York City Department of Education....
. He went to City College of New York
City College of New York
The City College of the City University of New York is a senior college of the City University of New York , in New York City. It is also the oldest of the City University's twenty-three institutions of higher learning...
, where he wrote for The Campus
The Campus (CCNY)
The Campus is the oldest student-run newspaper within the CUNY system. It was founded in 1909, when the City College of New York relocated its main campus from East 23rd Street to Hamilton Heights...
, the student-run newspaper. While in college, Ziegel also wrote about high-school basketball
Basketball
Basketball is a team sport in which two teams of five players try to score points by throwing or "shooting" a ball through the top of a basketball hoop while following a set of rules...
for the Long Island Press
Long Island Press
The Long Island Press is a free newsweekly serving Long Island with extensive coverage of arts and entertainment, sports, and alternative political viewpoints. The newspaper started in 2003 after its parent company, Morey Publishing, bought The Long Island Ear, which was a free bi-monthly...
.
Ziegel wrote for the New York Post during the 1960s and 1970s. He also wrote for magazines, including Inside Sports
Inside Sports
Inside Sports magazine was a major general interest sports magazine in the United States. Launched in 1979 by Newsweek, it was designed as an edgier, monthly alternative to the longer-running Sports Illustrated and SPORT Magazine brands...
, New York
New York (magazine)
New York is a weekly magazine principally concerned with the life, culture, politics, and style of New York City. Founded by Milton Glaser and Clay Felker in 1968 as a competitor to The New Yorker, it was brasher and less polite than that magazine, and established itself as a cradle of New...
, and Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone
Rolling Stone is a US-based magazine devoted to music, liberal politics, and popular culture that is published every two weeks. Rolling Stone was founded in San Francisco in 1967 by Jann Wenner and music critic Ralph J...
. In 1985, Ziegel became executive sports editor at the Daily News, where he also wrote a regular sports column. He accepted a retirement package from the newspaper in 2009, but continued to write occasional columns for the Daily News as a freelance writer.
In 1976, Ziegel worked with retired baseball player Jim Bouton
Jim Bouton
James Alan "Jim" Bouton is a former American Major League Baseball pitcher. He is also the author of the controversial baseball book Ball Four, which was a combination diary of his season and memoir of his years with the New York Yankees, Seattle Pilots, and Houston Astros.-Amateur and college...
on Ball Four, a short-lived television series based on Bouton's best-selling book of the same name
Ball Four
Ball Four is a book written by former Major League Baseball pitcher Jim Bouton in . The book is a diary of Bouton's 1969 season, spent with the Seattle Pilots and then the Houston Astros following a late-season trade. In it Bouton also recounts much of his baseball career, spent mainly with the...
. In 1978 Ziegel co-wrote (with Lewis Grossberger) The Non-Runner's Book, which satirized the then-popular sport of marathon
Marathon
The marathon is a long-distance running event with an official distance of 42.195 kilometres , that is usually run as a road race...
running
Running
Running is a means of terrestrial locomotion allowing humans and other animals to move rapidly on foot. It is simply defined in athletics terms as a gait in which at regular points during the running cycle both feet are off the ground...
. He wrote Summer in the City: New York Baseball 1947–1957 in 2004.
Ziegel, who was a non-smoker, was diagnosed with lung cancer
Lung cancer
Lung cancer is a disease characterized by uncontrolled cell growth in tissues of the lung. If left untreated, this growth can spread beyond the lung in a process called metastasis into nearby tissue and, eventually, into other parts of the body. Most cancers that start in lung, known as primary...
in November 2009. He died of the disease at Calvary Hospital in the Bronx on July 23, 2010.
Awards
Ziegel won several awards, including the Nat FleischerNat Fleischer
Nathaniel Stanley Fleischer was a noted American boxing writer and collector. Fleischer inaugurated in 1922, encouraged by Tex Rickard, the Ring Magazine publication...
Award for boxing writing (1983) and the Red Smith
Red Smith (sportswriter)
For other uses, see: Red Smith Walter Wellesley "Red" Smith was an American sportswriter who rose to become one of America's most widely read sports columnists.-Career:After graduating from Green Bay East High School, site of Packers home games until 1957, Smith moved on to...
Writing Award for his Kentucky Derby
Kentucky Derby
The Kentucky Derby is a Grade I stakes race for three-year-old Thoroughbred horses, held annually in Louisville, Kentucky, United States on the first Saturday in May, capping the two-week-long Kentucky Derby Festival. The race is one and a quarter mile at Churchill Downs. Colts and geldings carry...
coverage (1992 and 1998).
Further reading
By Ziegel- Articles by Vic Ziegel at the New York Daily News
By others