Wells Twombly

Twombly was on his way to becoming the most honored sportswriter in America when he died at forty-one. A 1957 graduate of the University of Connecticut, he had worked for the Willimantic (Connecticut) Chronicle, Houston Chronicle, Detroit Free Press, and a couple of Southern California newspapers before he settled at the San Francisco Examiner, where he turned out six columns a week. Anthologies of Best Sports Stories include works by Twombly from 16 of his 20 active years. In 1974 Esquire named him one of the six best sportswriters for his rich, flamboyant prose. He treasured a fan letter he received from author James Michener. The last of his four books, 200 Years of Sport in America, was published in 1977.