BILL MILLER OF NEW YORK TIMES TO RECEIVE SECOND STAN SAPLIN SPORTS MEDIA AWARD SATURDAY (JAN. 19) AT ARMORY DURING NEW BALANCE GAMES
New York, Jan. 14 – William J. (Bill) Miller, who started as a freelance sports reporter for The New York Times in 1947 and has been associated with the newspaper ever since, has been named the recipient of the second Stan Saplin Sports Media Award. The award, named for the late sportswriter, track and field historian, and publicist who died in 2002, will be presented Saturday (Jan. 19) during the New Balance Games at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory, where the Media Center is named for Saplin. The ceremony is set for 1:30 p.m.
Dr. Norbert Sander, President of the Armory Foundation, in making the announcement, said, “Bill Miller’s dedication and excellence as a lifetime reporter of the sport of track & field make him in many ways one of a kind, and we are honored to acknowledge his outstanding service.”
The Stan Saplin Sports Media Award is presented annually to a journalist, public relations professional, executive, filmmaker or broadcaster who has made a significant contribution to the promotion of the sport.
In 1947, Ray Kelly, the Times Sports Editor, offered Miller, who then was a junior at Manhattan College, a freelance reporter’s spot. Sixty-one years and nine sports editors later, he is still on the job.
Miller has covered many and varied sports events over the years, among them fencing, dog shows and Gaelic football.
But the sport he has covered the most is track and field, from the Penn Relays to the National Scholastic Indoor Championships and important meets at the New Balance Track & Field Center at the Armory.
Miller began his sports reporting career as a sophomore on the school paper at La Salle Academy (Manhattan). He moved up to sports editor as a junior and continued in that position as a senior. A track and field competitor from grade school days, Bill continued to compete in his four years at La Salle.
His education and a track scholarship at Manhattan College were interrupted by military service (1943-46) in the Pacific Theatre during World War II. On his return to Manhattan, his participation in track ended with financial support from the GI Bill.
Bill did, however, resume his journalism career on the college newspaper. He served two years as Sports Editor, leading him to become a correspondent for The New York Times.
Miller has been the recipient of numerous sports reporting citations over the years including the Penn Relays Jesse Abramson Memorial Award (1993). He is a member of the Catholic High Schools Sports Hall of Fame (2001) and the Manhattan College Sports Hall of Fame (2004).
Saplin was for over a half-century an enterprising publicist and historian for New York University, three other colleges, the Rangers hockey team, the Millrose Games and the New York City Marathon. He died on March 1, 2002, in New York University Hospital at the age of 88.
In 1934, Saplin earned a degree in accounting and finance from the NYU School of Commerce. From 1953 to 1969, he worked for the university variously as associate director and then director of public relations, director of sports publicity, director of community relations, director of alumni communications, founder and editor of the NYU Alumni News and special assistant to the president. He established the NYU Varsity Club and in 1994 he was inducted himself.
From 1946 to 1950, Saplin was public relations director of the New York Rangers, and for the next four years he was a sportswriter for The New York Journal-American. Later jobs included public relations director of Manhattanville College, Hebrew Union College and Baruch College and director of the New York office of the Amateur Athletic Union. In 1966, Saplin became the New York correspondent for the Chronicle of Higher Education.
From the 1950’s to the 1990’s, Saplin was the field events announcer at the Millrose Games. He was the historical editor of the monthly Track and Field News and frequently contributed retrospectives to The New York Times sports pages.
Saplin is survived by his second wife, the former Gail Cooper-Hecht, whom he married in 1992; daughters Anne Saplin and Elizabeth Saplin Morcillo, and a stepdaughter, Allison Hecht Held.
The inaugural Stan Saplin Sports Media Award was received by Frank Litsky, the veteran sports writer and editor of The New York Times and president of the New York Track Writers Association.