Bill Christine

Bill Christine
Born(1938-08-05)August 5, 1938
Illinois, U.S.
DiedAugust 25, 2025(2025-08-25) (aged 87)
Hermosa Beach, California, U.S.
EducationSouthern Illinois University Carbondale
OccupationsJournalist, author, publicist
Employers
AwardsEclipse Award, Outstanding Newspaper Writing (1984)[15]
David F. Woods Memorial Award (1991, 1992)[16]

Willard M. Christine Jr. (August 5, 1938 – August 25, 2025) was an American sportswriter, author and publicist, dealing primarily with baseball and horse racing, who served briefly as sports editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and, for roughly the final half of his career, as a nationally syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

Early life and career

Christine was born in Illinois on August 5, 1938, to Willard M. Christine and Bernice J. Walsh.[17][18][19][20] He graduated from Assumption High School in 1956,[21] and later from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.[21][22] While attending SIUC, he also reported on sports for the Southern Illinoisan.[1]

Christine died from acute myeloid leukemia in Hermosa Beach, California, on August 25, 2025, at the age of 87.[23]

Works

Books

  • "Numero Uno" Roberto! (1973)[24]
  • Bill Hartack : the Bittersweet Life of a Hall of Fame Jockey (2016)[25]
  • They Left Their Hearts in San Francisco : The Lives of Songwriters George Cory and Douglass Cross (2017)[21]

Selected articles

References

  1. ^ a b Christine, Bill (December 22, 1957). "East St. Louis Tourney Folds; All Meets Not Successful". Southern Illinoisan. p. 10.
  2. ^ "Practice Goes Like Clockwork for Cards". Southern Illinoisan. December 2, 1963. p. 16.
  3. ^ Christine, Bill (November 24, 1965). "The Army-Navy Bore". The Courier Journal & Times Magazine. p. 6.
  4. ^ Christine, Bill (September 4, 1966). "Terps Morale Up Under New Coach". The Tampa Tribune. September 4, 1966. p. 12-F.
  5. ^ Christine, Bill (September 22, 1968). "Soph Roller Leads UK Defense in Rolling 'Em Back". The Courier Journal & Times.
  6. ^ Christine, Bill (February 23, 1969). "U of L Play No. 23 Makes King Shots Hit Like a Ringer". The Courier Journal & Times. p. 43.
  7. ^ a b c "Here From Chicago: Christine Joins P-G as Asst. Sports Editor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 30, 1973. p. 16.
  8. ^ a b "Bill Christine Named Editor". Southern Illinoisan. March 3, 1974. p. 11.
  9. ^ "Musick Named Sports Editor Post-Gazette". The Courier-Express. February 5, 1976. p. 17. "Musick replaces Bill Christine, who resigned several months ago."
  10. ^ "The Racing Fronts: Changes at Commodore". The Thoroughbred Record. March 13, 1976. p. .
  11. ^ Halvonik, Steve (May 27, 1984). "Troubled Commodore Downs Returns Under New Reins". The Pittsburgh Press. p. D10. "'It was a shoestring operation,' said Bill Christine, who was LRA's public relations director in 1976–77."
  12. ^ "Newspeople in the News". Editor and Publisher. March 18, 1978. p. 39.
  13. ^ "Best Horse Affirmed?". Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 8, 1978. p. 30.
  14. ^ Jones, Merle (June 27, 1982). "Former Area Writer Makes National Syndication". Southern Illinoisan. June 27, 1982. p. 16
  15. ^ Staff of the Thoroughbred Times (2004). The Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac. Lexington, KY: Thoroughbred Times Books. p. 74. ISBN 1-931993-41-6.
  16. ^ "Newswire: Yale Hockey Coach chosen for U.S. Team; Names in the News". Los Angeles Times. May 24, 1992. p. C9.
  17. ^ Gauen, Pat (May 3, 2018). "Author seeks to link three Belleville murders". St. Louis Post-Gazette. p. A6. "Christine, a retired sportswriter living in California, figures he still needs a year of digging and writing before publication. [...] Christine, 79, was raised in East St. Louis and graduated from Assumption High School."
  18. ^ Burns, Ken (June 7, 1974). "The Batting Cage". Pittsburgh Catholic.
  19. ^ "Obituaries: Bernice Dumstorff". The Belleville News-Democrat. April 11, 1991.
  20. ^ "Look Who's New on the Press Sports Team". The Pittsburgh Press. March 16, 1969. Pg. 6, sec. 4.
  21. ^ a b c Holleman, Joe (June 10, 2017). "Joe's St. Louis: Bobby's Place downtown shuts down; Tune Tome". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A2.
  22. ^ "Christine Gets New Post". The Belleville News-Democrat. February 21, 1973. p. 27.
  23. ^ Cherwa, John (September 7, 2025). "Bill Christine, award-winning horse racing reporter and author, dies at 87". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
  24. ^ Finoli, David; Ranier, David (2003). The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 624. ISBN 1-58261-416-4.
  25. ^ Cherwa, John (September 30, 2017). "Racing! Today is a big day at Santa Anita". Los Angeles Times (Online). ProQuest 1944810753. One of the sport's all-time good guys, Bill Christine, is out with a new book 'Bill Hartack – The Bittersweet Life of a Hall of Fame Jockey.' And he'll be signing (and no doubt selling) copies at Santa Anita on Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m. outside Champions! Gifts & Apparel. It's also available at Barnes & Noble. I haven't read the book, but if Bill wrote it, it's got to be good.

Further reading

allikas: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bill_Christine