Evening star., 1961-03-21
OR
DRAW ;, FRANCE, ,r4up
A Newspopermon's Newspopermon

POMPANO BEACH, FLA. MAR. 21.-The main ball
room of the Willard Hotel in Washington is 1154
miles from this glorfed sand pit and that's pity There
are half dozen members Of the newspaper clan covering
the Senators who'd give great deal to testify for Rod
Thomas tonight on Pennsylvania avenue.
+ The timing of Rods testimonial dinner is the only
fault that such friends and admirers Povch, Sege
Hawkins Addie Fuchs and Stann find with the Metro
potan Washington Bowling Propretors Association which
is honorng nice guy and rare talent There isn't one
in the group who in way hasn't been richer for know
ing R. D. Thomas.
Rod probably wrote cche in his life, but the
less gifted must lean the cruch and they don't turn
out many newspapermen like Thomas any more 1t Is
tre but is truth For so years this implausby
versatile newspaperman has been enrichng the Washing
ton papers-the Post the old Herald and Times-Herad
and, last and longest, The Star
The pithy sentence is his trademark He probably
wastes fewer words than any sports writer who ever
worked in Washington He shunS adjectveS as he shuns
undue criticism but he is master of the verb and
stckler for facts
DENNAAN THOMPSON now sports editor emeritus
brought him to The Star in 1929 in that like
getting Mickey Mantle for the waiver price there were
such award most valuable performer In sports shop
over S1-year-plus period, Rod would be shoo-in.
Like so many other good old-school newspapermen he
.was native Georgian but he came to the Nations Capital
before he knew the hills Of red clay He was copy
boy for the Post at age H. fu-edged sports writer at
Is and city editor of the old Herald and Times at o. He
on the baseball beat in 80 when Thompson coaxed him
tors, but to put bowling on the map.
Neither Thompson the late Bill Hotel really knew
what he had acquired until Rod came out OF the am
ists green sock foot red one on the other and
looking like the despair Of a BARRIERS He did, indeed put
bowling the map just he had done years earlier Tor
sandot baseball when he the acknowledged commits
oner Of hundreds Of bapayers who were born TOO soon
He helped take bowling out OF the easements OF olu
saloons he popuarzed the sport Today the week Is
counted lost unless another posh multi-aleyed plant Is
dedicated
PoPUIARIzING BOWLING was too easy. He read copy
and welded unerrng but sympathetic pencil he mace
w the paper and he could did and still does ouwrite the
sports coumnist the baseball writer and any otner So
called specialist
Can you imagine pulling tens Of thousands Of people
out of their homes and offices to watch marathon race?
Thomas did for years with the deft word He humanzeo
and made heroes out of the strange breed OF men VINO
bsters their feet and cabbage leaves on their neao
20 miles and S85 yards He promoted horseshoe pitching
and drew thousands of competitors and spectators aKe
This was like staging canasta game IN YANKEE StaoluH
Among other things he boy mue-sKlnner AZ Fort
Mver during World War In World War II the mule was
obsolete but Thomas wasn't With his BOWERS Victory
Legion he raised few million dollars in war BOND pur-
.chases.
There seems to be something about what some COL
leagues call of-beat sports and games that attracts Roo
who is a confirmed underdog rooter, anyway Maybe II
was the challenge test to if writing about powiers
horseshoe pitchers and marathon runners coo make or
good reading. If it a test, he passed 1t.
THE LATE CLARK GRIFFITH and Walter Johnson
two kindred souls could understand why Rod didn't
set store by covering the Washington ball club Grfths
motive was not entirely unsesh he naturally wanted the
best going for him But instead Thomas has taken quiet
pleasure in training young sports writer's.
Whether they come out OF the stars copyDoy pen OF
from elsewhere the young gravitate toward Thomas
Patiently he does all in his power to make baseball writer
of one column writer Of another football reporter Of
another desk man Of still another Not one has sue
ceeded in getting all Of Rod rubbed off him. but it has
helped.
This is a gee-whiz piece, and If 1t had fallen into
Thomas hands the desk 1t never would have seen print
But no apology Is forthcoming Let anybody work side BY
side with the guy for nigh onto 50 years and try TO write
in any other vein.