Bill Cunningham (sportswriter)
Bill Cunningham (1896-1960) was an American sportswriter and reporter.
Elijah William "Bill" Cunningham was born in 1896 in Pattonville, Texas. He graduated from Dallas' Terrill School for Boys in 1915, and then graduated from Dartmouth College in 1921. Returning to Dallas, he was hired by the local Dallas Morning News after graduation to be a general assignments reporter. While working for the "Morning News" he was allowed to also be an assistant football coach for the 1921 SMU Mustangs. Two games into the season, head coach J. Burton Rix resigned, and SMU named Cunningham as interim head coach for the remainder of the season.[1] He remained an employee of the "Morning News" while coaching the Mustangs. The team finished with a 1-6-1 record and after the season, as planned, Ray Morrison took over as coach for the upcoming 1922 season.
In 1922, the "Boston Post" newspaper asked Cunningham to be a guest reporter covering the football game that fall between Centre College and Texas A&M University. The game was a major upset victory for Texas A&M and after filing his report with the "Post," the paper offered him a full-time reporting job in Boston, which he accepted and where he remained for 19 years. [2] He then spent another 19 years at the "Boston Herald" and became a well-regarded, nationally known sportswriter, columnist and reporter during his almost 40 years in Boston.[3] Bill Cunningham passed away in 1960.
References
- ^ "Cunningham in Charge of S.M.U. Eleven, Following Resignation of Rix". The Dallas Morning News. October 18, 1921. p. 16 – via Newsbank
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- ^ "Upset Gave Cunningham First Break of Career". The Dallas Morning News. April 18, 1960. p. 12 – via Newsbank .
- ^ "Bill Cunningham, Noted Writer, Dies". The Dallas Morning News. April 18, 1960. p. 1 – via Newsbank .
