Virginia Golfer Jan / Feb 2019 | Page 25

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. J A N UA RY / F E B R UA RY 2 0 19 | V I R G I N I A G O L F E R 23