Jim Murray

2009 CALIFORNIA SPORTS HALL OF FAME INDUCTEE

LOS ANGELES TIMES,
Sports columnist, 1961- 1998

SPORTS ILLUSTRATED,
West Coast editor, 1959-61.

TIME MAGAZINE,
Los Angeles correspondent, 1948-55. (from 1953, also served as West Coast editor for SPORTS ILLUSTRATED, which he helped found).

LOS ANGELES EXAMINER,
General assignment and rewrite man 1944-48.

NEW HAVEN (Conn.) REGISTER,
General assignment, police and federal beat reporter, 1943-44.

HARTFORD (Conn.) TIMES,
Campus correspondent while in college.

EDUCATION:
Trinity College, Hartford, CT, 1943.

Born:
December 29, 1919. Hartford, CT

Deceased:
August 16, 1998, Los Angeles, CA

Wife:
Linda McCoy-Murray

  • Named "America's Best Sportswriter" by the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters 14 times.
  • National Headliner Award, 1965 and 1977.
  • Honored by the Television Academy Awards 1966-1967 for writing contribution for the Andy Williams Show, Outstanding Variety Series.
  • Alumni Medal from Trinity College, 1972.
  • Inducted into the National Sportscaster s and Sportswriters Hall of Fame, 1977.
  • National Headliner Award, citation for outstanding sports writing, 1980.
  • Red Smith Award for extended meritorious labor in sports writing, 1982.
  • First sportswriter to win the Victor Award, conferred annually on outstanding athletes based on selections by sportswriters, editors and broadcasters across the country, 1982.
  • Associated Press Sports Editors Association award for best column writing, 1984.
  • Pepperdine University, Doctor of Laws degree, honoris causa, 1987
  • J.G. Taylor Spink Award for "meritorious" contributions to baseball writing, 1987. Award included induction into the Baseball Hall of Fame, Writers' Wing, Cooperstown, NY, July 1988.
  • Victor Award XXVIII Hall of Fame Award "in recognition for his remarkable contribution to sports journalism as a literary art form." 1994.
  • PULITZER PRIZE for Commentary, 1990. Columbia University.
  • Best Sportswriter Award, 1991 from the Washington (DC) Journalism Review.
  • Lincoln Werden Memorial Award for excellence in golf journalism, 1997. Presented by the New York Metropolitan Golf Writers Association.
  • Times Mirror 1998 Life Time Achievement Award (for 37 years with the Los Angeles Times.)
  • And more...
  • Inducted into Southern California Golf Association Hall of Fame
  • Honored with the 317th Golden Palm Star on Palm Springs Walk of Stars

The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation was established in 1999 to perpetuate the Jim Murray legacy, and his love for and dedication to his extraordinary career in journalism. As of 2008, the JMMF has granted sixty-three (63) $5,000 scholarships to outstanding journalism students nationwide. Success of the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation's efforts depends heavily on the contributions from generous individuals, organizations, corporations, and volunteers who align themselves with the mission and values of the JMMF, P.O. Box 995, La Quinta, CA 92247. http://www.jimmurrayfoundation.org