Golf writers on both sides of the Atlantic rejoiced at the welcome news: sportswriter Art Spander, read eagerly by generations of sports fans across the globe for half a century, has been honored by the PGA of America with their Lifetime Achievement Award in Journalism. Spander, 70, who has been a fixture for almost fifty years at every major sporting event on Earth, has covered 120 major golf championships, including 43 consecutive Masters Tournaments, 40 U.S. Opens, and 29 British Opens. He has also covered 32 Super Bowls, 25 Final Fours, and 25 Wimbledon Championships, and been beat writer for the L.A. Dodgers and L.A. Rams.
Long revered as “a sportswriter’s sportswriter,” a straight-shooter with a crisp style and sharp analysis mind, Spander is revered for cutting through the hype and buzz, and presenting the real events and compelling stories with brevity, wit, and laser precision. “He’s a throwback to the old guard,” said one of his colleagues, who traded anonymity for some fond, fun remembrances. “He’s old school, you can still smell the newsprint on him when you walk by.”
“You mean IF you can walk by!” roared venerable Pittsburgh sportswriter Marino Parascenzo, one of Spander’s oldest and closest friends in the media tent. “He blocks the aisle with his chair all the time. I tell him to move, he’s in the way, and he snarls at me,” Parascenzo finished, barely holding in his laughter, referencing Spander’s penchant for sitting sideways in the press tent, laptop in his lap rather than on his desk.
“It doesn’t matter how he sits,” responds the other writer with an equally wide grin, “it’s what he sees from that vantage point. Spander has always had the ability to read between the stats, see the bigger picture, and present the real character of the sports figures he covers. That’s why he’s still a titan to this day.”
Parascenzo is obviously in agreement. “To say that Art deserves this award is understatement. In doing the work he loves, he has also done great service to golf.” That’s definitely the pot calling the kettle black. Parascenzo, who has also covered major sports events for over fifty years, won the same award last year. That back-to-back tandem is the golf writing world’s rejoinder to having back-to-back U.S. Opens at Oakmont and Winged Foot, (although, since he hails from Oakland, Ca., my guess is Spander would want me to say Olympic Club instead…)
Even so, Parascenzo echoes the joy which so many of Spander’s peers felt when they heard. It’s not just that they love and respect Spander, but they respect his words as well. His cheeky, but earnest quip about the clubhouse at Royal Lytham – “it looks like the former home of Count Dracula, but if you really want to get scared, go look at the golf course” – is still widely quoted and celebrated thirty years later. His laconic appraisal of politics – “the great thing about democracy is that it gives every voter a chance to do something stupid.” – is renowned as one of America’s most famous quotes. Best of all for golf fans, he won’t sell you a story with overcooked hype, he’ll simply tell you the story instead – warts and all – and let you make up your mind what to think.
“Art Spander’s presence at a sporting event adds just a dose more of spice to the commentary, the right pitch to describing the competition, and leaves us with thought-provoking messages that have been his signature to for nearly a half century,” said PGA of America President Jim Remy in the PGA’s press release announcing the award.
In his official response, which was included in the PGA’s release, Spander credited the counsel and friendship he received over the years in journalism by the late Jim Murray, the 1993 recipient of the Lifetime Achievement Award, and award-winning author Dan Jenkins, who received the same honor in 1995.
“It’s a great group of people who have preceded me in receiving this award, and when I view the list of honorees on a wall at a PGA Championship, all I can say is ‘wow!’ To me this is our profession’s Hall of Fame,” said Spander. He then sounded every bit as gracious as his friend Parascenzo, when Marino accepted the same award last year. “What we do in this business is so fulfilling. I’ve always liked to see the event and then sit down and describe just what went on to the reader. Awards are secondary when you are given the opportunity to be able to be at the great events. I am very honored to be recognized by my peers.”
Spander is the 20th individual to be so honored. Past recipients were: 1991 Dick Taylor 1992 Herbert Warren Wind 1993 Jim Murray 1994 Frank Chirkinian/Bob Green 1995 Dan Jenkins 1996 Furman Bisher 1997 Jack Whitaker 1998 Dave Anderson 2000 Jim McKay 2001 Kaye Kessler 2002 Nick Seitz 2003 Renton Laidlaw 2004 Bob Verdi 2005 Al Barkow 2006 Ron Green Sr. 2007 Jack Berry 2008 Marino Parascenzo. The Award will be presented on April 8, at the 37th Golf Writers Association of America’s Annual Spring Dinner and Awards Ceremony at the Savannah Rapids Pavilion in Augusta, Ga.
Called by some, “a living treasure trove of sports history,” Spander was presented the 1999 Dick McCann Award, which earned him a niche in the Pro Football Hall of Fame’s “Writer’s Wing,” and he was honored in 2007 with the Masters Major Achievement Award. He was voted the 1980 California Sports Writer of the Year. He has also written for GolfObserver.com, The Telegraph, and many other golf publications. He just launched his own website at www.artspander.com.
And hey, for what its worth, now he can tell Parascenzo to walk out the other side of the row if he wants to get to the aisle.
