Pat Putnam - Revision history

Earl at 07:29, 8 March 2013

2013-03-08T07:29:42Z

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	[[File:Pat-Putnam.jpg\|right\|thumb\|350px\|Putnam at the Fifth Street Gym in 1982]]		[[File:Pat-Putnam.jpg\|right\|thumb\|350px\|Putnam at the [[5th Street Gym (Miami)\|Fifth Street Gym]] in 1982]]
	'''Patrick (Pat) Francis Anthony Nolan Putnam''' (April 27, 1930 - November 27, 2005) was an award-winning boxing writer best known for his work at [[Sports Illustrated\|''Sports Illustrated'']].		'''Patrick (Pat) Francis Anthony Nolan Putnam''' (April 27, 1930 - November 27, 2005) was an award-winning boxing writer best known for his work at [[Sports Illustrated\|''Sports Illustrated'']].

Earl at 07:28, 8 March 2013

2013-03-08T07:28:10Z

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	'''Patrick (Pat) Francis Anthony Nolan Putnam''' (1930-2005) was a boxing writer for Sports Illustrated~~, and later after his retirement from that magazine, he worked as a freelance writer to the time of his death~~.		[[File:Pat-Putnam.jpg\|right\|thumb\|350px\|Putnam at the Fifth Street Gym in 1982]]
			'''Patrick (Pat) Francis Anthony Nolan Putnam''' (April 27, 1930 - November 27, 2005) was an award-winning boxing writer best known for his work at [[Sports Illustrated\|''Sports Illustrated'']].

	Putnam ~~grew up~~ in Schenectady, New York, ~~he later~~ attended Syracuse University, and ~~also~~ played semi-~~professional~~ baseball~~. Putnam joined the marines, and would see active duty in the Korean War. Putnam started as a sportswriter for~~ the ''Miami Herald'' in 1954~~, initially covering~~ a ~~variety of sports; including horse racing, track and field, and football~~. In 1960, Putnam ~~was assigned with~~ covering a newcomer to the Miami area, a young Cassius Clay. Putnam ~~would cover~~ Clay's rise to the Heavyweight ~~championship,~~ and ~~would be~~ the first to report Clay's conversion to Islam and the changing of his name to Muhammad Ali.		Putnam, who was born and raised in Schenectady, New York, attended Syracuse University and played semi-pro baseball before joining the ''Miami Herald'' as a copy boy in 1954. He later became a sportswriter for the paper. In 1960, Putnam started covering a newcomer to the Miami area, a young Cassius Clay. Putnam covered Clay's rise to the World Heavyweight Championship and was the first to report Clay's conversion to Islam and the changing of his name to [[Muhammad Ali]].

	In 1968, Putnam ~~would become~~ the boxing writer for ''Sports Illustrated'', ~~a position he would hold until his retirement~~ in 1995. ~~After his~~ retirement Putnam did freelance work, most notably for the boxing website TheSweetScience.com~~. Putnam died on November 27, 2005 of complications from surgery he had undergone earlier in the week. Putnam was 75 years old, and was survived by two children, and four grandchildren~~.		In 1968, Putnam became a writer for ''Sports Illustrated'', where more than 50 of his 600-plus stories were featured on the cover. He reported on a wide range of sports, including horse racing and football, but he was best known as the magazine's boxing writer. In 1982, he received the [[Nat Fleischer Memorial Award\|Nat Fleischer Award]] for excellence in boxing journalism from the [[Boxing Writers Association of America]]. After 27 years at ''Sports Illustrated'', Putnam retired in 1995. In retirement, Putnam did freelance work, most notably for the boxing website ''TheSweetScience.com''.

	== ~~Awards and Recognition~~ ==		Putnam died on November 27, 2005 at the age of 75 after suffering complications from stomach surgery. Putnam was survived by two children and four grandchildren.
	*1982 Nat Fleischer Award ~~Winner for excellence~~ in boxing ~~journalism~~
			==Military Claims==
			Putnam claimed that he was a Marine veteran and was a prisoner of war for 17 months during the Korean War. He told people that his war time experience left him with only one lung and a life time of back problems. He also said that he received four Purple Hearts and a Navy Cross. Three years after his death, it was discovered that his claims were lies.

			In 2008, boxing writer Bernard Fernandez of the ''Philadelphia Daily News'' wrote a column about Putnam in which he called Putnam a "rawhide-tough Marine” who “came back [from Korea] with four Purple Hearts and the Navy Cross.” Chuck and Mary Schantag and Doug Sterner, who run websites dedicated to preserving the stories of war heroes and exposing fakers, read the column and investigated Putnam's claims. They discovered that Putnam did not exist in Marine Corps Archival Tapes or in any Marine medals databases.

			The revelation came just hours before the Boxing Writers Association of America was set to award the Pat Putnam Perseverance Award to [[Anthony Peterson\|Anthony]] and [[Lamont Peterson]], who grew up homeless in Washington D.C., at the association’s annual award dinner in May 2008. The award, launched in 2005, honored perseverance in overcoming adversity.

			“They checked it 17 ways to Sunday, and it came up totally bogus,” Fernandez said. “He had us all fooled. You’re talking about media people, and he had us buffaloed.”

			[[Ed Schuyler]], a retired ''Associated Press'' boxing writer who was a dear friend of Putnam's, said he was shocked to learn that Putnam's stories were false. "He was a wonderful man. I am stunned by it. I believe it started like a lark and then went on and on," Schuyler said.

			Putnam's daughter said that her father always was a story-teller. "He was Irish and could tell a story," said Colleen Putnam. "Maybe this one he yarned. I don't know."

			Putnam said her father's war stories began when someone asked him about the scars on his back that were from a car accident. "He said he was in the war, and it grew and grew. Maybe my father didn't know how to stop it."

			The Boxing Writers Association of America changed the name of the Pat Putnam Perseverance Award to the Bill Crawford Courage Award. Bill Crawford, who died in March 2000, was a Medal of Honor winner who boxed as an amateur before joining the Army during World War II.

	== External Links ==		== External Links ==
	*~~Collection of~~ Putnam's ~~work at TheSweetScience~~.com: [http://www.~~thesweetscience~~.com/boxing-~~author~~.~~php?author=42~~]		*[http://articles.latimes.com/2005/dec/02/local/me-putnam2 "Pat Putnam, 75; boxing writer broke the news about Ali name change" by Steve Springer - ''Los Angeles Times'' - December 2, 2005]
			*[http://abcnews.go.com/Blotter/story?id=4766268&page=1 "Iconic sports writer's false war claims revealed" by Ann Schecter and Maddy Sauer - ''ABCNews'' - May 1, 2008]
			*[http://www.marinecorpstimes.com/news/2008/05/marine_putnam_050108w/ "Famed boxing writer faked Korean War legacy" by Dan Lamothe - ''Marine Corps Times'' - May 1, 2008]
			*[http://www.chieftain.com/news/local/bill-crawford-s-legacy-lives-on-in-boxing-ring/article_133fff58-4464-5002-829b-2b022ec53213.html "Bill Crawford's legacy lives on in boxing ring" by Peter Roper - ''The Pueblo Chieftain'' - June 6, 2009]

	[[Category:Boxing Media\|Putnam, Pat]]		[[Category:Boxing Media\|Putnam, Pat]]
	[[Category:2005 Deaths\|Putnam, Pat]]		[[Category:2005 Deaths\|Putnam, Pat]]

Matt at 23:08, 8 August 2010

2010-08-08T23:08:54Z

← Older revision		Revision as of 23:08, 8 August 2010
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	'''Patrick (Pat) Francis Anthony Nolan Putnam''' (1930-2005) was a boxing writer for Sports Illustrated, and later after his retirement from that magazine, he worked as a freelance writer to the time of his death.		'''Patrick (Pat) Francis Anthony Nolan Putnam''' (1930-2005) was a boxing writer for Sports Illustrated, and later after his retirement from that magazine, he worked as a freelance writer to the time of his death.

	Putnam grew up in Schenectady, New York, he later attended Syracuse University, and also played semi-professional baseball. Putnam joined the marines, and would see active duty in the Korean War~~, earning purple hearts, and spending seventeen months in a Chinese prison camp~~. Putnam started as a sportswriter for the ''Miami Herald'' in 1954, initially covering a variety of sports; including horse racing, track and field, and football. In 1960, Putnam was assigned with covering a newcomer to the Miami area, a young Cassius Clay. Putnam would cover Clay's rise to the Heavyweight championship, and would be the first to report Clay's conversion to Islam and the changing of his name to Muhammad Ali.		Putnam grew up in Schenectady, New York, he later attended Syracuse University, and also played semi-professional baseball. Putnam joined the marines, and would see active duty in the Korean War. Putnam started as a sportswriter for the ''Miami Herald'' in 1954, initially covering a variety of sports; including horse racing, track and field, and football. In 1960, Putnam was assigned with covering a newcomer to the Miami area, a young Cassius Clay. Putnam would cover Clay's rise to the Heavyweight championship, and would be the first to report Clay's conversion to Islam and the changing of his name to Muhammad Ali.

	In 1968, Putnam would become the boxing writer for ''Sports Illustrated'', a position he would hold until his retirement in 1995. After his retirement Putnam did freelance work, most notably for the boxing website TheSweetScience.com. Putnam died on November 27, 2005 of complications from surgery he had undergone earlier in the week. Putnam was 75 years old, and was survived by two children, and four grandchildren.		In 1968, Putnam would become the boxing writer for ''Sports Illustrated'', a position he would hold until his retirement in 1995. After his retirement Putnam did freelance work, most notably for the boxing website TheSweetScience.com. Putnam died on November 27, 2005 of complications from surgery he had undergone earlier in the week. Putnam was 75 years old, and was survived by two children, and four grandchildren.

Matt at 16:53, 29 November 2005

2005-11-29T16:53:15Z

New page

'''Patrick (Pat) Francis Anthony Nolan Putnam''' (1930-2005) was a boxing writer for Sports Illustrated, and later after his retirement from that magazine, he worked as a freelance writer to the time of his death.

Putnam grew up in Schenectady, New York, he later attended Syracuse University, and also played semi-professional baseball. Putnam joined the marines, and would see active duty in the Korean War, earning purple hearts, and spending seventeen months in a Chinese prison camp. Putnam started as a sportswriter for the ''Miami Herald'' in 1954, initially covering a variety of sports; including horse racing, track and field, and football. In 1960, Putnam was assigned with covering a newcomer to the Miami area, a young Cassius Clay. Putnam would cover Clay's rise to the Heavyweight championship, and would be the first to report Clay's conversion to Islam and the changing of his name to Muhammad Ali.

In 1968, Putnam would become the boxing writer for ''Sports Illustrated'', a position he would hold until his retirement in 1995. After his retirement Putnam did freelance work, most notably for the boxing website TheSweetScience.com. Putnam died on November 27, 2005 of complications from surgery he had undergone earlier in the week. Putnam was 75 years old, and was survived by two children, and four grandchildren.

== Awards and Recognition ==
*1982 Nat Fleischer Award Winner for excellence in boxing journalism

== External Links ==
*Collection of Putnam's work at TheSweetScience.com: [http://www.thesweetscience.com/boxing-author.php?author=42]

[[Category:Boxing Media|Putnam, Pat]]
[[Category:2005 Deaths|Putnam, Pat]]