By: Mark Fitzgerald Columnist Mike Royko famously stomped out of the Chicago Sun-Times after the tabloid was bought by Rupert Murdoch in 1984, defecting to the rival Chicago Tribune and declaring that "no self-respecting fish would be wrapped in a Murdoch paper."
Eleven years after his death -- and, depending on how you count them, three or four owners later -- the Sun-Times began
publishing Royko again Thursday, launching what it said would be a series of "vintage" columns with updates on the people, places, and issues about which he wrote.
Thursday's column, first published in the Sun-Times May 18, 1979, was about Alfred Wojdyla, a Polish immigrant who was mugged by three youths. Wojdyla fought back, and the mugging was interrupted by passing police officers. Because of his poor grasp of English, an arrest report made it appear that Wojdyla was the mugger. Wojdyla, who had a green card and was working towards U.S. citizenship, was briefly threatened with deportation because of the inaccurate report.
The Sun-Times reports that Wojdyla went on to become a naturalized citizen, and speak better, though not great, English. He eventually returned to Poland, dying there about eight years ago, his stepdaughter told the paper.
Comments
No comments on this item Please log in to comment by clicking here