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| John O'Donnell (The Daily Times. November 12, 1927) |
Before sports filled television screens and radio stations, Davenport got much of its sports news from John O’Donnell.
He
became sports editor of the Davenport Democrat and Leader in
the 1920s and held the job for 43 years. During that time, the newspaper
changed names, teams came and went, and the country lived through a depression
and a world war.
O’Donnell
kept writing.
His
column, “Sports Chat,” wasn’t just scores and statistics. He wrote about
players, coaches, teams, and the people hanging around the edges of local
sports.
He
covered baseball, basketball, football, and golf. He wrote about college and
high-school teams. Local amateurs got space, too. If people in Davenport cared
about a game, O’Donnell probably wrote something about it.
He didn’t sound like someone sitting far away from the action. He knew the people involved. He watched them play, talked with them, and passed their stories along to readers.
Most of his stories centered on sports
statistics, gossip, and fun facts, but sometimes he tossed in a little humor to
make his point as in this outtake from December 15, 1929.
Philosophy may not have a niche in the athletic world, but
there is a certain amount of satisfaction in drawing mental comparisons between
individuals.
The speeches which some coaches and athletic directors make
at dinners and banquets—usually at high school gridiron affairs where those
assembled are in a very impressionistic state—make interesting reading.
The altruism which they exhibit is a beautiful thing. They
represent themselves and their sport world as big, clean, wholesome, moral, and
inspiring.
Fortunately for the youth of the country, they do not get to
see the inside of the picture. They believe that all the football is played on
the field with the multitude cheering the brave deeds of the warriors.
It will be a good thing for them if they always believe
this. It will be a sad day for them when they discover the politics, the
conniving, the pettiness, the commercialism and the empty wind exists.
A few hours at the Chicago meeting would convince them that
all the politicians are not in Washington and the salesmen on Wall Street.
O'Donnell's column appeared under this banner from the 1920s through the 1960s.
Other times, his writing was more light-hearted as in this passage from January 21, 1930.
BING Bang! Biff! Boof! And the amateur
boxing tournament is on.
When 1600 fans will pack the
Coliseum, that’s something.
When there are 1,000 fans in their
places at 7:30, that’s something, too.
But what’s most of all is the genuine
surprise of seeing 1,200 fans remain until 1:15 to see the finish of the
program.
That DOES
mean something!
In June 1935, O’Donnell married Virginette
Costello. By that time, his name was already familiar to local sports fans. It
would become even better known during World War II.
The
war pulled thousands of young men away from home. Many had played sports in
Davenport before joining the service. O’Donnell ran a feature called “Dear
Joe,” printing letters and news from local servicemen stationed across the
country and overseas.
It
gave the soldiers something from home. They could read about old teammates and
friends. Davenport readers could learn where the men were stationed and how
they were doing.
“Dear
Joe” began in August 1942 and continued until May 1945. The feature became
popular enough that a collection of the columns was published as a 170-page
book in 1945.
When
the servicemen came home, they didn’t forget O’Donnell. A “Dear Joe” dance was
held in Davenport, and returning veterans presented him with a new Hudson
automobile.
O’Donnell
also worked in radio. In the 1940s, he hosted a sports-news and interview
program on Davenport station KSTT with Jerry Dunphy. Readers who knew O’Donnell
from the newspaper could now hear him talk about the games and people he
covered in print.
But
his biggest mark on Davenport may have been the city’s riverfront stadium.
O’Donnell
pushed hard for a real ballpark. He kept the issue in front of his readers and
leaned on city leaders to do something. Municipal Stadium finally opened on May
26, 1931.
For
years afterward, O’Donnell covered games from its press box. The stadium
flooded. Teams changed names. Baseball disappeared for stretches and then came
back. O’Donnell stayed with it.
He
retired in 1967 after 43 years as sports editor. He died on March 17, 1970.
Davenport
renamed the ballpark for him the next year. John O’Donnell Stadium was
dedicated on May 26, 1971, exactly 40 years after the park opened. About 3,000
people attended the game and ceremony that night.
The
stadium became Modern Woodmen Park in 2007. The old name came down, but
O’Donnell’s name remained on the press box.
That’s
where it belongs. O’Donnell spent most of his life telling Davenport about its
games, its players and its teams. He pushed for the stadium, then sat inside it
and wrote what happened.
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