Ralph Wiley
Ralph Wiley | |
---|---|
Born | Ralph Heygood Wiley Jr. April 12, 1952 Memphis,Tennessee,U.S. |
Died | June 13, 2004 Orlando,Florida,U.S. | (aged 52)
Occupation | Journalist, writer |
Education | Knoxville College |
Genre | Non-fiction |
Ralph Heygood Wiley Jr.(April 12, 1952 – June 13, 2004)[1]was an American sports journalist who wrote forSports IllustratedandESPN's Page 2. He was well known for his distinctive literary tone and his writings on race in America.[2]
Early life
[edit]Born inMemphis, Tennessee,Wiley attendedKnoxville Collegefrom 1972 to 1975, where he playedcollege football.[3]After suffering an injury, he landed his first professional journalism job at theKnoxville Spectrum.He was a member ofKappa Alpha Psifraternity.
Career
[edit]Upon graduation, Wiley earned a position at theOakland Tribune,where he quickly climbed up the ranks fromcopy boyto beat writer and eventually became a regular columnist. In 1980, he coined the famous phrase "Billy Ball" to describe the managerial style ofBilly Martin.[3]In 1982, he was hired bySports Illustrated,where he wrote 28 cover stories over a nine-year period,[3]mainly aboutbo xing,football,andbaseball.
Wiley published several books during the course of his career, includingSerenity, A Bo xing Memoir;Why Black People Tend To Shout;andBy Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of Making Malcolm X,withSpike Lee.
Additionally, Wiley wrote articles forGQ,Premiere,andNational Geographic.He was a weekly contributor to ESPN's Page 2, where he wrote more than 240 columns. His presence on TV includedESPN'sThe Sports Reportersand regular guest appearances onSportsCenter.
Style
[edit]Wiley was famous for his well-regarded essays on race in America.[2]He was known for his ability to mix street vernacular with literary references, and for his witty, erudite, and sometimes forceful writing style.[3]When writing for ESPN's Page 2, in skirting the line between sports journalism and literary fiction, Wiley wrote many articles in the third person, featuring discursive, jazz-inflected prose and dialogue conducted between himself and a fictionalized character whose identity the writer left deliberately obscure.[citation needed]
Death
[edit]Wiley died of aheart attackat the age of 52 on June 13, 2004, while watching Game 4 of the2004 NBA Finals.Survivors included his companion, Susan Peacock of Orlando; his mother, Dorothy Brown of Washington, D.C.; a son from his marriage to Holly Cypress, Colen C. "Cole" Wiley; a daughter from his marriage to Monica Valdiviez-Wiley, Magdalena Elizabeth “Maggie” Valdiviez-Wiley; and a half brother, Samuel Graham of Memphis.
References
[edit]- ^"Ralph Wiley (1952-2004)".Find A Grave Memorial.
- ^abThurber, John (June 16, 2004)."Ralph Wiley, 52; Sportswriter and Author of Books on Race".LA Times.RetrievedMay 8,2015.
- ^abcdSchudel, Matt (June 16, 2004)."Sportswriter Ralph Wiley Dies; Essays Probed Black Life".The Washington Post.RetrievedMay 8,2015.