Frank Deford, a Literary Storyteller of Sport, Dies at 78 A longtime contributor to NPR, Sports Illustrated and HBO, Mr. Deford was the only sportswriter to receive a National Humanities Medal. https://www.nytimes.com/2017/05/29/sports/frank-deford-sportswriter-dies-at-78.html?rref=collection%2Fsectioncollection%2Fsports