13 Facts About Larry Whiteside

Larry Whiteside graduated from Drake University with a Bachelor of Arts degree in 1959.

Larry Whiteside moved to Milwaukee, Wisconsin, where he covered the Milwaukee Braves as well as civil rights issues for The Milwaukee Journal.

In 1971, Larry Whiteside started The Black List to help sports editors find qualified black journalists to hire.

Larry Whiteside moved to Boston in 1973, where he worked for The Boston Globe through the end of his career.

Larry Whiteside covered many of the most notable events in Boston baseball history, ranging from Bucky Dent's home run to defeat the Boston Red Sox in the 1978 American League East playoff, to the Red Sox losing the 1986 World Series to the New York Mets, to Roger Clemens' second 20-strikeout game.

Larry Whiteside was an expert on Negro league baseball, and was one of the first American journalists to follow baseball in other countries.

Larry Whiteside was part of the panel that chose the Major League Baseball All-Century Team.

Larry Whiteside developed Parkinson's disease early in the 21st century, which led to the end of his reporting career in 2004.

In September 2003, the Red Sox had Larry Whiteside throw out a ceremonial first pitch at Fenway Park.

Larry Whiteside died in Boston in June 2007, survived by his wife and one son.

The day that Larry Whiteside died, the Red Sox observed a moment of silence in his honor prior to their home game against the San Francisco Giants.

In July 2007, Whiteside was selected by a Baseball Writers' Association of America committee as one of three finalists for the J G Taylor Spink Award, and he was announced as the winner on December 5 following a vote by the BBWAA membership; he was honored in July 2008.

Larry Whiteside became the first African-American beat writer to receive the Spink Award.