Benjamin Franklin Deford III ’61

We lost Frank, one of our class heroes, May 28, 2017, when he died at his home in Key West, Fla. He was born in Baltimore and came to Princeton from Gilman School. He graduated in 1962 but always considered himself to be a ’61er.

His career began at Sports Illustrated as a researcher; he rose quickly to become one of its top writers. This small memorial can hardly do justice to his distinguished career as a literary sports journalist. He was a Peabody Award winner, longtime NPR commentator, the author of many books, six-time Sportswriter of the Year, member of the Sportswriters Hall of Fame, and the first sportswriter to receive the National Humanities Medal, in 2013. Some years ago a prominent columnist referred to sportswriters as intellectual midgets; Frank’s next book was titled The World’s Tallest Midget.

Frank is survived by his wife of 52 years, Carol; son Christian; daughter Scarlet Crawford; and two grandchildren. He was predeceased by his daughter, Alexandra, who died at age 8 of cystic fibrosis. His book about her, Alex: The Life of a Child, received the kind of national acclaim that was to characterize his entire career.