DeFord passes...

TIDE-HSV

Senior Administrator
Staff member
Oct 13, 1999
84,532
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Huntsville, AL,USA
He passed today at age 78. Selma PMed me to tell me. Frank and I shared a birthday and we spoke each year on December 16. Our friendship started up around ten years ago because of a minor dustup via email about just how good a hire Bama had made in Coach Saban. It progressed as he refused to admit we were yet a "dynasty." (He finally admitted it.) He was always courteous and made it clear that it was all in good fun. I had an uneasy feeling about him last December. He was obviously short of wind. I didn't know if it were COPD or some other cause. I mentioned it to my wife and she said she'd noticed it even back on his last broadcast. He'll be missed. He was good at his craft. He was exactly one year older than I...
 

bama61

1st Team
Aug 24, 2004
655
29
52
North Alabama
Sad to hear that he's gone, what a talented writer he was and his NPR commentary show was one of my "must hear" items when I was recovering from surgery back years ago. Couldn't listen anymore after returning to work, but for almost three months it was part of the daily routine.
 

edwd58

All-American
Aug 2, 2006
4,710
1,390
187
I heard of his passing earlier today. Condolences to his family. However, I did quit reading him after his article on Coach Bryant. It's not that his article was less than flattering, he was a journalist after all, it was more that some of the things he chose to include in his article didn't really have to be in there and didn't serve a journalistic purpose. I hope he came to realize that as he too got older and was no longer at the top of his profession.
 

selmaborntidefan

TideFans Legend
Mar 31, 2000
36,432
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I saw where it broke on SI Twitter and (naturally) recalled a convo Earle and I had about Deford (and seriously, we had this discussion on April 6, 2013, when I was at "Redneck Heaven" enjoying the Nolan Ryan burger and weighed 80 pounds more than I do now) and dynasties. I was a little put out that Deford wouldn't consider us a dynasty. I even recall Earle saying - I believe it was after Clemson - that he changed his tune.

Like it or not, the 2001-2016 Patriots are also a dynasty, whether Frank ever admitted that one, too.


He was a great sportswriter of a now bygone era, and RIP Frank.
 

CrimsonEyeshade

Hall of Fame
Nov 6, 2007
5,412
1,522
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That story is 36 years old. I always thought Deford was trying to reveal the human side of Paul Bryant that had been entombed by the myth. But it's been a long time since I've read it. So first I'll post it. Then I'll go read it.

Frank does Paul

QUOTE=edwd58;3016881]I heard of his passing earlier today. Condolences to his family. However, I did quit reading him after his article on Coach Bryant. It's not that his article was less than flattering, he was a journalist after all, it was more that some of the things he chose to include in his article didn't really have to be in there and didn't serve a journalistic purpose. I hope he came to realize that as he too got older and was no longer at the top of his profession.[/QUOTE]
 

GP for Bama

All-American
Feb 3, 2011
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Supposedly Dean Smith would no longer do any interviews with Frank Deford after this article ( which he perceived as demeaning to Coach Bryant).
 

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