Dan Jenkins

Early life and education

Jenkins was born in 1928 and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, where he attended R. L. Paschal High School and Texas Christian University, where he played on the varsity golf team.

Career

Jenkins worked for many publications, including the Fort Worth Press, Dallas Times Herald, Playboy, and Sports Illustrated, where among other things, he covered the 1966, 1967, 1969, and 1971 versions of the college football Game of the Century. In 1985, he retired from Sports Illustrated and began writing books full-time, although he maintained a monthly column in Golf Digest.

Larry King called Jenkins "the quintessential Sports Illustrated writer" and "the best sportswriter in America." Jenkins wrote numerous works and over 500 articles for Sports Illustrated. In 1972, Jenkins wrote his first novel, Semi-Tough.

In December 2014, Jenkins published an article in Golf Digest titled "My (Fake) interview with Tiger; or how it plays out in my mind." In the piece, which featured images of a Tiger Woods lookalike in golfing gear, Jenkins mocks Woods's reputation in an imaginary interview with the athlete. Though the piece was clearly marked as parody, the champion golfer requested an apology from the magazine. Woods stated that the piece "fails as parody, and is really more like a grudge-fueled piece of character assassination."

Personal life

Jenkins's daughter Sally Jenkins is a sports columnist for The Washington Post.

Awards and honors

• In 1993, Jenkins was inducted into the Texas Golf Hall of Fame in the Distinguished Service Category.
• In 2012, Jenkins earned the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing.
• In 2012, Jenkins entered the World Golf Hall of Fame in the Lifetime Achievement Category
• In 2013, he earned the Red Smith Award, an award bestowed by the Associated Press for excellent sports coverage.
• In 2015, Jenkins was honored with the Old Tom Morris Award by the Golf Course Superintendents Association of America.
• In 2017, he earned the Ring Lardner Award for Excellence in Sports Journalism.
• In 2017, Texas Christian University named the press box after him.

Bibliography

References

References

1. Engel, Mac. (March 7, 2019). "Fort Worth and sports lose a legend in the passing of the great Dan Jenkins". Fort Worth Star-Telegram.
2. Weber, Bruce. (March 8, 2019). "Dan Jenkins, 90, Chronicler of Sports in Raucous Prose, Dies". The New York Times.
3. "2019–20 TCU Men's Golf Record Book – All-time Letterwinners". TCU Athletics.
4. Jenkins, Dan. (November 28, 1966). "An Upside-Down Game".
5. Jenkins, Dan. (November 27, 1967). "All The Way With O.J.".
6. Jenkins, Dan. (December 15, 1969). "Texas By An Eyelash".
7. Jenkins, Dan. (December 6, 1971). "Nebraska Rides High".
8. Blanchard, Charlie. (January 13, 2020). "Dan Jenkins: A golf writer without parallel". Desert Exposure.
9. Callahan, Tom. (March 8, 2019). "His Ownself: Dan Jenkins, 1928-2019".
10. Jenkins, Dan. (December 2014). "My (Fake) Interview With Tiger: Or how it plays out in my mind".
11. Woods, Tiger. (November 18, 2014). "Not True, Not Funny".
12. (1993). "Texas Golf Hall of Fame Distinguished Service Award".
13. (28 April 2016). "PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award For Literary Sports Writing Winners". PEN.
14. (December 14, 2011). "World Golf Hall of Fame to induct Dan Jenkins in 2012". PGA Tour.
15. "Red Smith Award Winners". Associated Press Sports Editors.
16. (October 28, 2014). "Dan Jenkins receives the 2015 Old Tom Morris Award".
17. (January 31, 2017). "Pat Hughes Wins Ring Lardner Award For Excellence In Sports Journalism". CBS Chicago.