Bill Millsaps
CAREER HIGHLIGHTS
Recipient of the 2011 Red Smith Award,
the top sports journalism award in the
nation presented by the Associated Press
Sports Editors to a person who has made
major contributions to sports journalism.
Former president of the U.S. Basketball
Writers Association and The Associated
Press Sports Editors; contributing writer
to Sports Illustrated and the U.S. Golf
Association Journal.
Inducted in the Virginia Sports Hall of
Fame in 2000.
Covered 15 Masters, 13 U.S. Opens,
two Open Championships, two U.S.
Amateurs, one PGA Championship and
one Ryder Cup in addition to multiple
VSGA Amateurs.
HOW IT STARTED
One of the most honored voices in Virginia
media, Bill Millsaps began his newspaper
career at the Knoxville Journal after studying
at the University of Tennessee. He came to
the Richmond Times-Dispatch in September
1966, was named associate sports editor in
1972 and executive sports editor in 1973.
Millsaps was the first managing edi-
tor after The Richmond News Leader and
Times-Dispatch merged in 1992. He was
promoted to vice president and executive
editor in 1994. Four times during his 11-year
tenure as executive editor, the Times-Dis-
patch received the Virginia Press Associa-
tion’s top honor, the W.S. Copeland Award
for public service and journalistic integrity.
A MASTERS TRADITION
During Masters week a group of 30 or so
golf writers would gather on Friday night
after the second round and hold an auction,
bidding on the players who made the cut
from bottom to the top. Bill Millsaps was
the auctioneer.
“We were three or four players into the
auction, and we come upon Jack Nick-
laus,” he said. “And I said, what am I going
to bid for the guy who has won five Mas-
ters championships? Silence. And I said,
wait a minute guys, the greatest player
ever to lace up spikes, how can you not
bid on Jack Nicklaus? And somebody said,
well you like him so much, you buy him.
So I did. I bid $15.
NOTE: Some facts, figures, tidbits of information, quotes and
stories in each inductee’s biography box come courtesy of
Virginia author Jim Ducibella’s book entitled Par Excellence: A
Celebration of Virginia Golf. Ducibella is a former sportswriter
and columnist for The Virginian Pilot. He currently writes the
My Turn column that appears in each issue of Virginia Golfer.
vsga.org
“I was thinking to myself that’s $15 I’ll
never see again. The others wanted to go
on to players who had a chance to win. I
said, OK, going once, going twice, sold to
the auctioneer.”
The year was 1986 when Nicklaus won
his sixth green jacket. Millsaps picks up
the story.
“After Nicklaus birdied the ninth hole
(last round) to get within three shots of
the lead, one of the guys said I’ll take
half your action, I’ll give you $500 for
half your action on Jack Nicklaus. I
said I think I’ll just hang with him. That
was a pretty good decision. It was about
$1,200. I never got to tell him, ‘Thanks
a bunch.’”
Par Excellence was published in 2003. Was it a crystal ball for
the future Virginia Golf Hall of Fame? Fifteen of the players (men
and women) and administrators featured in the book have been
or are being inducted this year into the Hall of Fame that was
established in 2016. There are features on some others who
one day could be inducted.
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