Bill Livingston

Cleveland Plain Dealer Sportswriter Bill Livingston, who is being let go as
a freelance writer at the paper today following 34 years at the Plain Dealer
and 47 1/2 years as a sportswriter in Dallas, Philadelphia and Cleveland.  As
with many on Facebook, I consider Bill a "Friend Not Yet Met" Outstanding
writer and person with a great family.  Photo courtesy Cleveland .com and the
Plain Dealer.

I said I would write on different subjects along the way.  This is about a one of a kind sports writer

 
     One of my favorite pastimes before the Internet used to be when I was out and about, buying up to
a half-dozen Newspapers some days and having lunch at a restaurant and read the papers, one by one.
While I would scan the news and read some of the biggest stories of the day My special interests were in the Sports and TV/Radio sections, especially if there were local stories and columns,  Northeast Ohio has been fortunate to have some extremely talented Sports and Media Writers over the years.  One of these was/is Bill Livingston, Sports columnist of the Cleveland Plain Dealer.


     A Dallas, Texas Native, Bill spent some time at the Philadelphia Inquirer, mostly covering the NBA Philadelphia 76ers beat before coming to Cleveland in 1984..He has covered most of the major sports stories in Cleveland, including the Cavaliers NBA title in 2016 and also Ohio State Football.

     The reason I am writing about Mr. Livingston today is that a few months ago he decided to retire following cutbacks at the Plain Dealer but still remained as a freelance writer..Today we find out that the "PD" as the paper is known, has now cut back on freelance writers as well, forcing  Mr. Livingston out of the Plain Dealer entirely.  While this seems totally wrong, I hope Bill finds another outlet for his chosen profession.

I have been privileged to be a Facebook Friend of Bill's for a few years now and while I don't always agree with him on things,  I have become amazed at the depth he has as a writer, even beyond the sports section.  Unfortunately cutbacks like this are happening all over the print media world.  Newspapers are a shadow of what they once were..As a High School Sports Writer in my 1975-76 Senior Year at Sandy Valley High School, I find that very sad indeed..


     I wish nothing but the best for Mr. Livingston in the future and hope again, he finds a good outlet, even after 47 and 1/2 years, to continue to write..We need folks of his caliber to continue to go on as long as possible.

Bill Livingston's last regular column in the Cleveland Plain Dealer July 6, 2018.