- Home
- Our Stories
- 1965 BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winner Charles Dryden
1965 BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winner Charles Dryden
A newspaper sportswriter in San Francisco, Chicago, Philadelphia, and New York, Charles Dryden was a charter member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America. The humorist was often regarded as the master baseball writer of his time.
Dryden's stray witticisms, still being tossed about in the capricious baseball breezes decades after his passing, seem as ageless as the characters that inspired them. It was Dryden that coined the phrase: "Washington — first in war, first in peace, and last in the American League." And he was responsible for monikers such as "Peerless Leader" for Frank Chance, "The Old Roman" for Charlie Comiskey, "Shufflin' Phil" for Phil Douglas, and "The Hitless Wonders" for the World Champion 1906 Chicago White Sox. Upon receiving compliments from New York writers on his humor-filled columns, Ring Lardner replied: "Me, a humorist? Have you guys read any of Charley Dryden's stuff lately? He makes me look like a novice."
Tragically, Dryden suffered a debilitating stroke in 1921, leaving him paralyzed and essentially unable to speak. He died on Feb. 11, 1931.
More BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winners
Hall of Fame Awards
Related Stories

Torre, Stargell homer in Braves’ debut in Atlanta

#CardCorner: 2002 Leaf Mike Piazza

1965 Hall of Fame Game
Baseball Road Show

George Brett returns to get 3,000th hit
Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers Returns to Cooperstown to Host Otesaga Hotel Seniors Open Pro-Am Sept. 6
Induction Eve Thrills Fans, Hall of Famers in Cooperstown

#GoingDeep: Reflections on World War II
Baseball Luminaries Heading for Cooperstown for Hall of Fame Classic

Celebrate Hall of Fame Weekend Journey Through Inductee Memories at Legends Roundtable Event
01.01.2023

Vin Scully’s 2016 Dodgers Media Guide puts a 67-year long career into perspective
01.01.2023
Hall of Famer Rollie Fingers Returns to Cooperstown to Host Otesaga Hotel Seniors Open Pro-Am Sept. 6
01.01.2023
Jack White's Hall of Fame Tour
01.01.2023