The Frank Deford Award
Frank Deford, May 2004 |
Presented annually to the top student Sports Information Assistant at Williams College since 1990. The Deford Award is believed to be the only one of its kind in the nation.
Frank Deford was named the best living sportswriter in the nation by GQ magazine in 1989. For many years Deford was the top writer at Sports Illustrated and later served as the Editor of 'The National' -- the first national sports daily in America. Deford has also penned more than a dozen books and at least two have become movies -- Alex: The Life of a Child and Everybody's All-American. Deford has since returned to Sports Illustrated as a writer and serves as a commentator on National Public Radio.
Deford is a Princeton graduate, but his love of the color purple and his involvement with the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation were contributing reasons for the award being created in his name.
Shortly after arriving at Williams in the fall of 1989 Sports Information Director Dick Quinn wanted to create a way to recognize the outstanding contributions of the student sports information assistants.
Quinn remembered an article by Deford years ago in Sports Illustrated bemoaning the fact that his favorite color purple seemed to be worn by teams that could never win the big game. Deford lamented that his favorite color could never grab the golden ring -- the Vikings in the Super Bowl and the Lakers in the NBA Finals (before Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul Jabbar).
Quinn and Deford also shared a life experience that made them kindred spirits. Both Quinn and Deford have lost a daughter who had Cystic Fibrosis.
Quinn contacted Deford and convinced him to allow the Ephs to name the award recognizing the top Eph student sports information assistant in his honor. Quinn assured Deford that the award would be worthy of his good name due to the outstanding talents of the student Sports Information assistants on his staff and the overall quality of the Eph teams.
Dan Shaughnessy & Pete McEntegart '91 |
Deford came to campus to present the first award and a long list of nationally recognized figures in the sports field have followed.
The Deford Award is presented in either late April or early May on campus in an event open to the college and local community.
Frank Deford established the following traditions in his May 1990 visit:
- The evening begins with dinner in a dining hall with selected student sports information assistants.
(This came about as a way to give Frank Deford a different kind of dining experience.)
- Award ceremony must begin at 7:00 PM and end at 8:00 PM and it must be free.
(This was enforced to enable Deford to drive up and back from his Connecticut home on the day of the event.)
- Presenter receives no appearance fee but does get expenses.
(Deford wanted to keep this award 'accessible' to future students.)
- Format: Introduction by Sports Information Director, presentation of the Deford Award and then the presenter talks on a topic of his/her choice for about 20 minutes before taking questions from the audience.
From left to right Eli Lazarus '04, Frank Deford and Mike Needham '04 |
Bob Ryan of the Boston Globe/ESPN fame, center, stands with the 2005 Deford Award winners Monday night. From left to right are Anna Swisher, Bart Clareman, Kyle Acebo and Scott Moskowitz. Ryan was the featured speaker at the 16th Annual Frank Deford Award ceremony. |
| Year |
Winner |
Presenter |
| 1990 |
Jeff Friedman '90 |
Frank Deford |
| 1991 |
Pete McEntegart '91 |
Dan Shaughnessy
Boston Globe |
| 1992 |
Dave Ryan '92 |
Dave Marash '64
ABC's "Nightline" |
| 1993 |
Kevin Greenberg '93 |
Mary Kate Shea '81
Manager Legal Services, NBA |
| 1994 |
Colston Young '95 |
Peter May '73
Boston Globe |
| 1995 |
Neil Glass '95 &
Stacey Whitcomb '95 |
Tim Layden '78
Sports Illustrated |
| 1996 |
Graeme Scandrett '96 |
Beth Schmidt '86
Dir. Research, ABC Sports |
| 1997 |
Dylan Ragozin '97 |
------------------- |
| 1998 |
Andy Doyle '98 |
*Pete McEntegart '91
Sports Illustrated |
| 1999 |
Scott Reynolds '99 |
Jack McCallum
Sports Illustrated |
| 2000 |
Sawyer Haig '00 |
John Walters
Sports Illustrated |
| 2001 |
David Gise '01 |
Jonathan Kraft '86
NE Patriots/NE Revolution |
| 2002 |
Sergio Espinosa '03 and Chrissy Fletcher '03 |
Harry Sheehy '75
Williams Athletic Director |
| 2003 |
Matt Casey '03, Dan Gittes '04 and Leo Salinger '04 |
Ethan Brooks '96
Baltimore Ravens |
| 2004 |
Eli Lazarus '04 and Mike Needham '04 |
Frank Deford |
| 2005 |
Anna Swisher '05, Bart Clareman '05, Kyle Acebo '05, and Scott Moskowitz '05 |
Bob Ryan
Boston Globe/ESPN |
| 2006 |
Katie Baldiga '07 and Mike Overend '06 |
Fay Vincent '60
Former Commissioner of Baseball |
| 2007 |
Ryan Fote '07, Taya Latham '07, Meghan Stetson '07 and Alex Tanton '07 |
Ernie Accorsi
Former GM NY Giants |
|
Jonathan Kraft '86 |
Dave Marash '64 |
Beth Schmidt '86
and Graeme Scandrett '96 |
Jack McCallum
Sports Illustrated |
|
| * First Deford Award winner to be a presenter. |
