1989 BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winner Jerome Holtzman

Jerome Holtzman's fascination with sports manifested itself in the printed form.

As a youth, his heroes were sportswriters. Upon graduation from high school he began his own career in the sports department of the Chicago Daily Times as a copy boy in 1943.

After serving two years in the Marine Corps, he returned to newspaper work. He has covered baseball with the Chicago Sun-Times (22 years) and with the Chicago Tribune for well over 40 years.

Holtzman was a weekly contributor to the Sporting News for 30 years, both as a columnist and correspondent. He wrote more than 100 articles for such magazines as the Saturday Evening Post, Sport, Sports Illustrated and Baseball Digest.

A strong editor as well as writer, his book "No Cheering in the Press Box" is a highly-praised collection of interviews with some of America's greatest sports writers.

He is credited with inventing the save for relief pitchers in 1959, deriving a formula that evolved into the official statistic in 1966. In 1999, Holtzman was named official historian for Major League Baseball.

Fellow writer Joe Falls paid him the ultimate compliment: "There is no better baseball writer around, and certainly none more knowledgeable."

Holtzman passed away on July 19, 2008.

More BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winners

1988 BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winner Ray Kelly

BBWAA Career Excellence Award

For meritorious contributions to baseball writing.

1990 BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winner Phil Collier

1988 BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winner Ray Kelly

BBWAA Career Excellence Award

For meritorious contributions to baseball writing.

1990 BBWAA Career Excellence Award Winner Phil Collier

Hall of Fame Awards

Hall of Fame Awards

Frick (broadcasters), BBWAA Career Excellence (writers) and O'Neil (lifetime achievement)

Ford C. Frick Award

For broadcasters' contributions to baseball.

Buck O'Neil Award

For lifetime achievement.

Hall of Fame Awards

Frick (broadcasters), BBWAA Career Excellence (writers) and O'Neil (lifetime achievement)

Ford C. Frick Award

For broadcasters' contributions to baseball.

Buck O'Neil Award

For lifetime achievement.