Shirley, Bill

Shirley, Bill | Collections | The Huntington

Description: 1 item: 65-pp. transcript of interview with Bill Shirley, Sports Editor. Notable names and subjects include: description of his typical day (pp. 1 -3) ; description of how sports coverage is organized in the department (pp. 6 - 9) ; his childhood and youth (p. 14 - 18) ; first newspaper job - Arkansas Gazette ; hitch in U.S. Coast Guard (pp. 21) ; employed at The Tennessean ; employed at San Diego Union (pp. 25) ; he played minor league baseball - the Little Rock Travelers ; his first impression of LAT on arrival in 1948 - "it wasn't a very good newspaper (but) extremely successful..." (pp. 29 - 30) ; "separation" of the Sports Dept. from the rest of the editorial sections (pp. 36) ; "this is a good newspaper now..." (pp. 39) ; compares the generations then at work - "these young men in jeans & sneakers ... think they (invented) good journalism... (but) Jim Murray by comparison is an old man and nobody writes better" ; new challenges in covering big names athletes, etc. (pp. 45 - 47) ; "most athletes are not very interesting" (pp. 50) ; "we get a lot of flak" from television and radio commentators (pp. 58 - 63) ; readers upset by Jim Murray columns (pp. 64).
Type: Manuscripts(Opens in new tab)
Date: 1980
Call number: mssLAT
Creator: Los Angeles Times (Firm)(Opens in new tab)
Provenance: The Los Angeles Times,
Restrictions: Open for use by qualified researchers and by appointment. Please contact Reader Services at the Huntington Library for more information.
Rights: The Huntington Library does not require that researchers request permission to quote from or publish images of this material, nor does it charge fees for such activities. The responsibility for identifying the copyright holder, if there is one, and obtaining permission rests with the researcher.
Associated people: Bassett, James E., (1912-1978.); Chandler, Norman, (1899-1973.); Chandler, Otis, (1927-2006.); Conrad, Paul, (1924-2010.); Johnson, W. Thomas, (1941-); Owens, Charles H.
Associated organizations: Los Angeles Times (Firm).; Los Angeles Times History Center.; Times Mirror Company.
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Employees - Shirley, Bill
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2 item: single-sheet Biography from the Los Angeles Times, undated, "William E. Shirley...Sports Editor; 10-pp. transcript of undated interview, "L.A. Times -- Bill Shirley -- R#9 and R#10." The interview opens: "I'm responsible for the Sports Department. (In) newspaper parlance I'd be Managing Editor of the Sports Department. I'm responsible for approximately 32, 33 people..."
mssLAT
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Murray, Jim
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1 item: 11-pp. transcript of interview of Jim Murray, Los Angeles Times Sports columnist. The cover sheet specifies "TV interview," but does not give the station, network or interviewer. Note: Murray later won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1990. Subjects include: his eye problems up to that time (pp. 2) ; comments on Murray by Lee Trevino (pp. 3) ; comments on Murray by Jack Nichlaus (pp. 3 - 4) ; Murray on covering up or revealing the bad behavior of athletes (pp. 5) ; Murray on Muhammad Ali (pp. 8) ; compares writing and sex (pp. 11).
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Murray, Jim
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1 item: 13-pp. transcript of interview of Jim Murray, Los Angeles Times Sports columnist. Note: Murray later won a Pulitzer Prize for Commentary in 1990. The interviewer (unspecified) begins the transcript, writing - "These are my notes following an interview with...Sports columnist Jim Murray." Subjects include: Murray's appearance ; his childhood ; Trinity College and after graduation ; relocates to California (pp. 2) ; at Time magazine (pp. 4) ; Murray's thoughts on pro football - "I find pro football about as exciting as twin beds" (pp. 5) ; the interviewer, commenting on Murray's prose style says it is reminiscent of Ring Larder ; on Casey Stengel (pp. 9 - 10) ; more.
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XYZ
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2 items: 10-pp. transcript of "Taping with former Mayor Samuel Yorty," 5/9/1977 - subjects include his feud with LAT over the years, the Watts riots, Police Chief William Parker, Yorty's role in pushing through the Music Center project, his belief that L.A. had become, in the 1970s, a "left-wing constituency", he says LAT always endorsed his political opponents ; 18-pp. transcript of "Taping with Paul Zimmerman, former sports editor (LAT)," 1/25/1974 - subjects include the fact that, ca. 1930, LAT was not a "sports-minded" paper (pp. 2), stories and memories of covering sports, which were emphasized back then, improvements needed in LAT Sports section, the "meaning of sports, athletes as role models (pp. 15 - 16).
mssLAT
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Murphy, Bill
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2 items: two letters, 2/23 and 3/3/1973, from Bill Murphy to "Jim" (Bassett) on Hollywood and the motion picture industry (the former) and on LAT during World War II. The 2/23 letter is 2-pp., the 3/3 letter is 4-pp.
mssLAT
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Miscellaneous reports
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5 items (in 3 packets): approx. 10-pp. - "Los Angeles TImes Executive Seminar - Santa Barbara Biltmore, (5/10 - 5/13/1979), program and other info ; approx. 25-pp. - "Major assumptions & projections to the Year 2000," Newspaper Advertising Bureau, Inc. ; 16-pp. - "Future of The Times" memo, written by Jim Shaffer.
mssLAT

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Employees - Shirley, Bill

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Miscellaneous reports