Denver Press Club Honors Frank Deford

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A CORRECTION: Deford will appear Thursday at the Tattered Cover on Colfax.

Sportswriter and NPR commentator Frank Deford will be in Denver Friday to accept an award from The Denver Press Club. The Damon Runyon Award is given annualy to a top journalist. People like columnist George Will and sports anchor Bob Costas have gotten it in the past. The club’s president, Bruce Goldberg, says Deford's versatiliy is one reason he won. "I think the ability to really tackle any subject in sports, and also some outside of sports, and write so beautifully and so well about it, is what makes him special."

You may know Deford best for his weekly commentaries on Morning Edition. But he started writing about sports long before NPR existed. His first job out of college, in the 1960s, was as a writer for Sports Illustrated. He’s written a number of books and also reports for the HBO show, Real Sports. CPR’s Zachary Barr spoke with Deford, and began by asking him how he knew he wanted to write about sports.