Larry Whiteside -- Baseball Writer and Pioneer for Blacks -- Dies at 69

By: Larry Whiteside, a baseball writer in Boston, Kansas City and Milwaukee for almost half a century who was a pioneer for blacks in journalism and a mentor for reporters, has died after a long illness. He was 69.

Whiteside had worked for The Boston Globe from 1973 until he was sidelined by illness in the past decade. The paper reported his death on its Web site.

"I am truly saddened by the news of his passing, as he was an extraordinary person,'' said baseball commissioner Bud Selig, who was the Milwaukee Brewers owner when Whiteside covered their first four seasons. "He was one of the finest journalists and finest friends that I have ever encountered. I will certainly miss him.''

Whiteside, known to friends as "Sides,'' was a member of the expert panel that selected baseball's all-century team. He was the three-time chairman of the Boston chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America, which awarded him its Dave O'Hara Award for long and meritorious service and nominated him this year for the Hall of Fame's J.G. Taylor Spink Award.

The Boston Red Sox said they would observe a moment of silence before Friday night's game against the San Francisco Giants.

"For more than 30 years, Mr. Whiteside covered baseball and the Red Sox for The Boston Globe with integrity, professionalism, and excellence,'' the team said in a statement. "He was held in high regard and greatly respected by front office executives, managers, coaches, and players alike.''

Whiteside began his career with Kansas City Kansan in 1959 and worked at the Milwaukee Journal from 1963-1973, where he covered the Braves of Hank Aaron, Eddie Mathews and Warren Spahn. He was also recruited to cover the civil rights movement.

After the Seattle Pilots moved to Milwaukee in 1970 and became the Brewers, Selig offered him a public relations job with the team. Whiteside turned it down to continue covering the sport.

"Larry Whiteside and I literally started in baseball together,'' Selig said Friday.

In 1971, Whiteside created "The Black List'' to aid sports editors in helping hire qualified black journalists. There were only nine names on the list when he started, but by 1983 it had expanded to more than 90.

When he was hired by the Globe in 1973, Whiteside was the only black reporter in America covering major league baseball on a daily basis for a major newspaper. An expert on the Negro Leagues, he was also among the first to pay close attention to baseball in Japan and Australia.

Whiteside was honored in 1999 by the National Association of Black Journalists for his work in advancing the careers of black sports writers. He was the recipient in 1987 of the Stanford University John S. Knight Professional Journalism Fellowship, where he studied international affairs and labor law.