From USA Today’s Stephen Borelli:
His was a boyish face that defied his age but reflected the giddiness toward sports he never lost from his youth.
His handshakes revealed soft hands, but his keystrokes were even softer. They produced stories that started on the front page and jumped inside the beefy sports section and onto full inside pages during an era when print media dominated, and into an era when it didn’t.
When his byline – “William Gildea” – ran in The Washington Post, it was an event. His former editor, George Solomon, said his stories made the section better. His written words were elegant and styled, yet somehow didn’t contain any pomp. The throws of Johnny Unitas from an arm cocked high above the ear or the silky passes of Italian soccer sensation Roberto Baggio just came alive.
Bill, as he was known to friends, died last week at 81 of complications from Parkinson’s disease, but his contributions will live on forever in digital archives and print and Kindle books. And they will live in the mind of this writer who was lucky enough to be mentored by him during the formative years of my career.
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