Watson Spoelstra
Encyclopedia
Watson N. "Waddy" Spoelstra (April 5, 1910 - July 20, 1999) was an American
sportswriter
for The Detroit News
from 1945 to 1973. He served as the president of the Baseball Writers Association of America
in 1968. After retiring from The Detroit News, he founded the Baseball Chapel, a Christian ministry for professional baseball players, which he led from 1973 to 1982.
Spoelstra was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan
in 1910. He attended Hope College
where he played baseball and basketball. He became Hope College's all-time leading scorer in basketball. He graduated from Hope College in 1932.
After graduating from college, Spoelstra was hired as a sportswriter by the Associated Press
, assigned to Detroit. In approximately 1945, Spoelstra was hired by The Detroit News
, where he remained for nearly 30 years.
His grandson Eric Spoelstra became the head coach of the Miami Heat
starting with the 2008–09 NBA season
..
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
sportswriter
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...
for The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
from 1945 to 1973. He served as the president of the Baseball Writers Association of America
Baseball Writers Association of America
The Baseball Writers' Association of America is a professional association for baseball journalists writing for daily newspapers, magazines and qualifying Web sites. The BBWAA was founded on October 14, 1908, to improve working conditions for sportswriters in the early part of the 20th century...
in 1968. After retiring from The Detroit News, he founded the Baseball Chapel, a Christian ministry for professional baseball players, which he led from 1973 to 1982.
Spoelstra was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids, Michigan
Grand Rapids is a city in the U.S. state of Michigan. The city is located on the Grand River about 40 miles east of Lake Michigan. As of the 2010 census, the city population was 188,040. In 2010, the Grand Rapids metropolitan area had a population of 774,160 and a combined statistical area, Grand...
in 1910. He attended Hope College
Hope College
Hope College is a medium-sized , private, residential liberal arts college located in downtown Holland, Michigan, a few miles from Lake Michigan. It was opened in 1851 as the Pioneer School by Dutch immigrants four years after the community was first settled...
where he played baseball and basketball. He became Hope College's all-time leading scorer in basketball. He graduated from Hope College in 1932.
After graduating from college, Spoelstra was hired as a sportswriter by the Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, assigned to Detroit. In approximately 1945, Spoelstra was hired by The Detroit News
The Detroit News
The Detroit News is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival Free Press's building. The News absorbed the Detroit Tribune on February 1, 1919, the Detroit Journal on July 21, 1922, and on November 7, 1960,...
, where he remained for nearly 30 years.
His grandson Eric Spoelstra became the head coach of the Miami Heat
Miami Heat
The Miami Heat is a professional basketball team based in Miami, Florida, United States. The team is a member of the Southeast Division in the Eastern Conference of the National Basketball Association . They play their home games at American Airlines Arena in Downtown Miami...
starting with the 2008–09 NBA season
2008–09 NBA season
The 2008–09 NBA season was the 63rd season of the National Basketball Association . The 1,230-game regular season began on Tuesday, October 28, 2008, and ended on Wednesday, April 15, 2009...
..
Selected articles by Spoelstra
- Penn Victory Would Be Heart-Rending for Wolverines, October 25, 1940
- Harmon Within One Touchdown of Red Grange's Record (Tom HarmonTom HarmonThomas Dudley Harmon was a star player in American college football, a sports broadcaster, and patriarch of a family of American actors...
), November 17, 1940 - Joe Louis Trains for Simon Bout in Down-Town Ballroom (Joe LouisJoe LouisJoseph Louis Barrow , better known as Joe Louis, was the world heavyweight boxing champion from 1937 to 1949. He is considered to be one of the greatest heavyweights of all time...
), March 13, 1941 - Texas Star Replaces Gehringer (Dutch MeyerL. D. MeyerLambert Dalton "Little Dutch" Meyer was college football player and baseball manager, as well as the nephew of the famous and similarly named Texas Christian University football coach Leo "Dutch" Meyer....
), July 17, 1941 - Tigers Rookie Star Seeking First Win (Floyd GiebellFloyd GiebellFloyd George Giebell was an American Major League Baseball player who is best remembered as the pitcher who shut out Bob Feller and the Cleveland Indians in his third career start to clinch the American League pennant for the Detroit Tigers over the Indians.Born in Pennsboro, West Virginia,...
), July 19, 1941 - Yost Suspects Michigan May Get Back Jug (Little Brown Jug), October 21, 1941
- Dorais Has Ace Passer in Soph (Gus DoraisGus DoraisCharles Emile "Gus" Dorais was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913, and then professionally with the Fort Wayne Friars and Massillon Tigers...
/"Tippy" MadarikElmer MadarikElmer Laurence Madarik was an American football running back in the National Football League for the Detroit Lions and Washington Redskins. He played college football at the University of Detroit Mercy and was drafted in the 18th round of the 1944 NFL Draft....
), November 10, 1941 - Gehringer Nearing End of Playing Days (Charlie GehringerCharlie GehringerCharles Leonard Gehringer , nicknamed “The Mechanical Man,” was a German-American Major League Baseball second baseman who played 19 seasons for the Detroit Tigers...
), November 18, 1941 - Wartime Sports Program Slated, December 29, 1941
- Kuzma Seen as Key to Michigan Success (Tom KuzmaTom KuzmaTom George Kuzma was an American football player for the University of Michigan. He was the starting left halfback for Fritz Crisler's Michigan teams in 1941 and 1942....
), September 24, 1942 - Tigers Name O'Neill To Succeed Baker as Pilot (Steve O'NeillSteve O'NeillStephen Francis O'Neill was an American catcher, manager, coach and scout in Major League Baseball.Born to Irish immigrants in Minooka, Pennsylvania , O'Neill was one of six brothers who escaped a life in the coal mines by playing in the major leagues...
), November 29, 1942 - Dorais to Coach Detroit Lions (Gus DoraisGus DoraisCharles Emile "Gus" Dorais was an American football player and coach of football, basketball, and baseball. He played college football as a quarterback at the University of Notre Dame, where he was an All-American in 1913, and then professionally with the Fort Wayne Friars and Massillon Tigers...
), January 10, 1943 - Jake LaMotta Rations Sugar (Jake LaMottaJake LaMottaGiacobbe LaMotta , better known as Jake LaMotta, nicknamed "The Bronx Bull" and "The Raging Bull", is a former American world middleweight champion boxer...
), February 6, 1943 - Detroit Tigers Expect To Be Strong Contender (1943 Detroit Tigers1943 Detroit Tigers seasonThe Detroit Tigers season was a season in American baseball. The team finished fifth in the American League with a record of 78-76, 20 games behind the New York Yankees.- Offseason :...
), February 8, 1943 - Call Overmire Another Kerr (Stubby OvermireStubby OvermireFrank W. Overmire was a Major League Baseball pitcher who played ten seasons for the Detroit Tigers , St. Louis Browns , and New York Yankees . In ten seasons, Overmire won 58 games and lost 67 with a 3.96 earned run average...
), June 9, 1943 - Ford Industrial Empire Boasts Sports Notables (Harry BennettHarry BennettHarry Bennett , a former boxer and ex-Navy sailor, was an executive at Ford Motor Company during the 1930s and 1940s. He was best known as the head of Ford’s Service Department, or Internal Security. While working for Ford, his union busting tactics, of which The Battle of the Overpass was a prime...
), July 12, 1943 - War Worker Is Hockey Flash (Syd HoweSyd HoweSydney Harris Howe was a Canadian professional ice hockey left winger who played 17 seasons in the National Hockey League for the Ottawa Senators, Philadelphia Quakers, Toronto Maple Leafs, St...
), February 4, 1944 - He Can Still Run! (Jesse OwensJesse OwensJames Cleveland "Jesse" Owens was an American track and field athlete who specialized in the sprints and the long jump. He participated in the 1936 Summer Olympics in Berlin, Germany, where he achieved international fame by winning four gold medals: one each in the 100 meters, the 200 meters, the...
), March 8, 1944 - Michigan, Detroit Bid For Westfall: Big Back Is Out of Army (Bob WestfallBob WestfallRobert Barton "Bullet Bob" Westfall was an American football fullback who played for the University of Michigan and the Detroit Lions . He was a consensus first-team All-American in 1941 and a first-team All-Pro player in 1945...
), May 21, 1944 - One-Two Gives Zip To Tigers) (Hal NewhouserHal NewhouserHarold "Prince Hal" Newhouser was an American pitcher for Major League Baseball who played 17 seasons from 1939 to 1955, mostly with the Detroit Tigers of the American League...
/Dizzy TroutDizzy TroutPaul Howard "Dizzy" Trout was a Major League Baseball pitcher primarily for the Detroit Tigers. Born in Sandcut, Indiana, he first played professionally in 1935 with the Terre Haute Tots in the Three-I League before signing with Detroit in 1939.Trout played for the Tigers for fourteen seasons,...
), June 1, 1944 - Stay-at-Home 'Ivory Hunter' Bags Big Prizes for Tigers (Wish EganWish EganAloysius Jerome "Wish" Egan was a Major League Baseball player and scout.-Playing career:Born in Evart, Michigan, Egan played three seasons as a pitcher for the Detroit Tigers and St. Louis Cardinals . He started 3 games for the Tigers in September 1902...
), July 8, 1944 - It's Open Season for Trout as Talker (Dizzy TroutDizzy TroutPaul Howard "Dizzy" Trout was a Major League Baseball pitcher primarily for the Detroit Tigers. Born in Sandcut, Indiana, he first played professionally in 1935 with the Terre Haute Tots in the Three-I League before signing with Detroit in 1939.Trout played for the Tigers for fourteen seasons,...
), The Sporting News, January 3, 1946 - Hank Whacks Tiger Pitch for $60,000: Greenberg Signs Contract Without Any Fuss in Press (Hank GreenbergHank GreenbergHenry Benjamin "Hank" Greenberg , nicknamed "Hammerin' Hank" or "The Hebrew Hammer," was an American professional baseball player in the 1930s and 1940s. A first baseman primarily for the Detroit Tigers, Greenberg was one of the premier power hitters of his generation...
), February 21, 1946, page 3 - $100 Gold Rings Given to Members of '45 Club, The Sporting News, June 26, 1946
- "Clouter Kell Rings Bell With Detroit's Fandom," The Sporting News, Augsut 14, 1946, page 7
- Here's How to Break in Your Glove, Baseball Digest, July 1947
- "Those Drives to Left Surprise Ted, Too" (Ted WilliamsTed WilliamsTheodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
), The Sporting News, June 30, 1948, page 3 - "Rolfe Pledges 'Hard Work' by Tigers" (Red RolfeRed RolfeRobert Abial "Red" Rolfe was an American third baseman, manager and front-office executive in Major League Baseball. A native of Penacook, New Hampshire, he is one of the most prominent players to come from the Granite State...
), The Sporting News, November 24, 1948, page 3 - Michigan Sets Sights on Third Title in Row (1949 Michigan Wolverines football team1949 Michigan Wolverines football teamThe 1949 Michigan Wolverines football team represented the University of Michigan in the 1949 college football season. The team's head coach was Bennie Oosterbaan...
), September 17, 1949 - "Kuzava Says Snider's Pop-Up Decided Classic" (Bob KuzavaBob KuzavaRobert Leroy Kuzava is a retired American professional baseball player, a left-handed pitcher for the Cleveland Indians , Chicago White Sox , Washington Senators , New York Yankees , Baltimore Orioles , Philadelphia Phillies , Pittsburgh Pirates and St...
), The Sporting News, January 7, 1953, page 3 - "Keen Play of Kuenn Tigers' Top '53 Tale" (Harvey KuennHarvey KuennHarvey Edward Kuenn was an American player, coach and manager in Major League Baseball. As a shortstop and outfielder, he played with the Detroit Tigers , Cleveland Indians , San Francisco Giants , Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia Phillies . He batted and threw right-handed...
), The Sporting News, September 16, 1953, page 6 - "McHale Served Six Years as Farm Aide" (John McHaleJohn McHaleJohn Joseph McHale was an American first baseman and executive in Major League Baseball who served as the general manager of three teams: the Detroit Tigers, Milwaukee/Atlanta Braves, and Montreal Expos...
), The Sporting News, November 11, 1953, page 2 - 'Hardest loser' Martin made the difference (Billy MartinBilly MartinAlfred Manuel "Billy" Martin, Jr. was an American Major League Baseball second baseman and manager. He is best known as the manager of the New York Yankees, a position he held five different times...
/1972 Detroit Tigers1972 Detroit Tigers seasonThe Detroit Tigers won the American League East division championship with a record of 86-70 , finishing one-half game ahead of the Boston Red Sox. They played one more game than the Red Sox due to a scheduling quirk caused by the 1972 Major League Baseball strike -- a game which turned out to...
), October 6, 1972