By Mike Kahn
CBS SportsLine Executive Editor
Aug. 17, 1998

Our icon died Sunday.

He was 78.

Jim

Related Links L. A. Times columnist Murray dies at 78

Murray changed sportswriting enough to intrigue an entire generation and to teach us not to take it all so seriously. That he won a Pulitzer Prize doesn't really tell the entire story of what he did for sports journalism, if only because Dave Anderson, Arthur Daley and Red Smith all won the award, too, with an entirely different approach. They all had the advantage of being in New York. Murray did not.

MANY OF US LEARNED A LONG time ago that those awards are flattering but often no more than the result of political warfare between newspaper editors. That had nothing to do with Murray's approach to journalism, although one of his most important accomplishments was proving there was impact from writers west of the Eastern Seaboard.

That he was a superstar writer in Los Angeles made nearly as large an impression on sport as what he had to say. Finally, we had some eyes and ears that weren't from the jaded confines of the East Coast, particularly when too often the rest of the country viewed Midwest writers in overalls and writers from the South as "golly gee" types who were just happy coaches knew them by name when they played golf together.

Murray stepped out and showed that the "team" he was covering wasn't as important as the message he was responsible for delivering.

He examined sports with a critical sense that told the reader that he was out there for the masses. When someone was overpaid, he told us by how much. When a coach deserved to be fired, he spelled out why it was a necessary move. And when an athlete was overlooked or bizarre in nature, it was explained with irrefutable humor.

During the glory years of the Lakers in the early 1980s, he made role player Kurt Rambis a cult figure. Not gifted with the skills of his Showtime teammates, Rambis was the prototypical, overly physical power forward who took no flak from anyone. In describing Rambis, Murray wrote it took until mid-season until he realized Rambis' first name wasn't Loose Ball Foul.

To call his columns tart would be too mild, just as referring to them as vicious would be too strong. More often than not, it was satire at its finest. And when young sportswriters would approach him, he was engaging and filled with humor and insight.

I first met Murray some 18 years ago when the Dodgers came to St. Louis to play the Cardinals; being the youngest beat writer left me next to the visiting writers.

SURPRISINGLY, AND FORTUNATELY, HE INITIATED a friendly conversation about the Cardinals as if he already knew that he had discovered an expert on the subject.

Throughout the series, we had numerous discussions about not only the two teams on the field, but all of baseball. As if being a young baseball writer wasn't exciting enough, Jim Murray respected -- or at least was interested in -- my opinion.

Because

Jim Murray was a hero to a whole generation of sportswriters, but a friend to many of them as well. (Allsport)

of circumstances, we didn't cross paths again for another five years, when the NFL and the Colts were my primary responsibility and it was a lazy Sunday afternoon in the outdated L.A. Coliseum, where Al Davis had moved his Raiders. Unfortunately, Murray's eyesight was fading rapidly, and his columns were sometimes written with oversized pencils and dictated to an editor.

Once again, he caught me off guard. I went over to re-introduce myself. Before a word came out of my mouth, he immediately said hello by name, said he had followed my progress on the wire service that carried all my stories and congratulated me on some recent awards.

Not only was he a legendary writer, but he cared deeply about the craft with virtually no ego. In a time when so many columnists complained about the quality of food in the pressbox, where they were seated, the play of their column and what a drag the present event was, Murray was focused on the task at hand. He loved his job and people loved the job he did. Metaphors became the source of all following his act.

THESE DAYS, YOU'LL HEAR MANY a writer call out another columnist for being just another Murray Wanna-be. In essence, that's an oxymoron if ever there was one. If imitation is the greatest form of flattery, then there is an entire generation of writers all wound up in the spirit of Jim Murray.

Thank you, Jim, for providing us with a hill to climb. Whereas you once stood at the peak, providing leadership by your simple, unaffected approach, you now preside over the entire landscape. Hopefully, you are enjoying the path your spirit and skill provided.