13 Facts About Frank Deford

Benjamin Franklin Deford III was an American sportswriter and novelist.

In 2012, Frank Deford became the first magazine recipient of the Red Smith Award.

Frank Deford's archives are held by the University of Texas at Austin, where an annual lecture is presented in his name.

Frank Deford was a long-time advocate for research and treatment of cystic fibrosis.

Frank Deford grew up in Baltimore, Maryland, the oldest of three sons, and attended the Calvert School and Gilman School in Baltimore.

Frank Deford is a graduate of Princeton University and resided in Key West, Florida, with his wife, the former Carol Penner, who had been a fashion model.

Frank Deford met his wife in Delaware and they were married in Newport, Rhode Island in 1965.

Frank Deford was a regular Wednesday commentator for NPR's Morning Edition from 1980 to 2016, when his essays became monthly until he retired in May 2017.

Frank Deford was the screenwriter on the films Trading Hearts and Four Minutes.

In 1989, Frank Deford became editor-in-chief of The National, the first daily US sports newspaper.

Frank Deford served as chairman of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation from 1982 until 1999 and was chairman emeritus after that.

Frank Deford became a cystic-fibrosis advocate after his daughter Alexandra was diagnosed with the illness in 1972.

Frank Deford died on May 28,2017, at the age of 78, at his home in Key West, Florida.