Bill Christine

Bill Christine
Bill Christine
Born	August 5, 1938; Illinois, U.S.
Died	August 25, 2025 (aged 87); Hermosa Beach, California, U.S.
Education	Southern Illinois University Carbondale
Occupations	Journalist, author, publicist
Employers	Southern Illinoisan (1957–1963); East St. Louis Journal (1963–1965); The Baltimore News American (1965–1968); The Louisville Times (1968–1969); The Pittsburgh Press (1969–1971); Chicago Daily News (1972–1973); Pittsburgh Post-Gazette (1973–1975); Commodore Downs (1976–1977); National Thoroughbred Racing Association(1978–1982); Los Angeles Times (1982–2005);
Awards	Eclipse Award, Outstanding Newspaper Writing (1984); David F. Woods Memorial Award (1991, 1992)

Willard M. Christine Jr. (August 5, 1938 – August 25, 2025) was an American sportswriter, author and publicist, dealing primarily with baseball and horse racing, who served briefly as sports editor of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, and, for roughly the final half of his career, as a nationally syndicated columnist for the Los Angeles Times.

Early life and career

Christine was born in Illinois on August 5, 1938, to Willard M. Christine and Bernice J. Walsh.^[17]^[18]^[19]^[20] He graduated from Assumption High School in 1956,^[21] and later from Southern Illinois University Carbondale.^[21]^[22] While attending SIUC, he also reported on sports for the Southern Illinoisan.^[1]

Christine died from acute myeloid leukemia in Hermosa Beach, California, on August 25, 2025, at the age of 87.^[23]

Works

Books

"Numero Uno" Roberto! (1973)^[24]
Bill Hartack : the Bittersweet Life of a Hall of Fame Jockey (2016)^[25]
They Left Their Hearts in San Francisco : The Lives of Songwriters George Cory and Douglass Cross (2017)^[21]

Selected articles

"Bucs Deck Cards; Clemente's Catch Saves Veale's Win". The Pittsburgh Press. September 12, 1969. p .29
"The Sports Beat: Two Bits, Please; The Early Bird; Who's Chi Chi". The Pittsburgh Press. April 28, 1970. p. 41
"National League Gallery of Stars". Baseball 1972 Yearbook. March 1972. pp. 68–78
"Our Man in Florida Chalks One Up". The Pittsburgh Press. April 28, 1971. p. 29
"Don Wilson Was Something Special". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 21, 1975. p. 18; reprinted as "Don Wilson: The End Came Too Soon". Baseball Digest. April 1975.
"As I See It". Sports Illustrated. March 29, 1976. p. 73
"An Official Scorer Who Has Lived to Tell About It". The New York Times. July 22, 1979. p. S2; reprinted as "Scorers Can't Please Everyone". Tallahassee Democrat. July 21, 1979. p. 46
"An Official Scorer Who Has Lived to Tell About It". The New York Times. July 22, 1979. p. S2; reprinted as "Scorers Can't Please Everyone". Tallahassee Democrat. July 21, 1979. p. 46* "Ride 'Em, Cowboy Jack, Right to Winner's Circle". Best Sports Stories 1983. St. Louis, MO: The Sporting News Publishing Company. 1983. pp. 147–151
"'Secretariat's' Loss: rival Angle Light". Los Angeles Times. October 3, 2010. p. 24

References

1 2 Christine, Bill (December 22, 1957). "East St. Louis Tourney Folds; All Meets Not Successful". Southern Illinoisan. p. 10.
↑ "Practice Goes Like Clockwork for Cards". Southern Illinoisan. December 2, 1963. p. 16.
↑ Christine, Bill (November 24, 1965). "The Army-Navy Bore". The Courier Journal & Times Magazine. p. 6.
↑ Christine, Bill (September 4, 1966). "Terps Morale Up Under New Coach". The Tampa Tribune. September 4, 1966. p. 12-F.
↑ Christine, Bill (September 22, 1968). "Soph Roller Leads UK Defense in Rolling 'Em Back". The Courier Journal & Times.
↑ Christine, Bill (February 23, 1969). "U of L Play No. 23 Makes King Shots Hit Like a Ringer". The Courier Journal & Times. p. 43.
1 2 3 "Here From Chicago: Christine Joins P-G as Asst. Sports Editor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 30, 1973. p. 16.
1 2 "Bill Christine Named Editor". Southern Illinoisan. March 3, 1974. p. 11.
↑ "Musick Named Sports Editor Post-Gazette". The Courier-Express. February 5, 1976. p. 17. "Musick replaces Bill Christine, who resigned several months ago."
↑ "The Racing Fronts: Changes at Commodore". The Thoroughbred Record. March 13, 1976. p. .
↑ Halvonik, Steve (May 27, 1984). "Troubled Commodore Downs Returns Under New Reins". The Pittsburgh Press. p. D10. "'It was a shoestring operation,' said Bill Christine, who was LRA's public relations director in 1976–77."
↑ "Newspeople in the News". Editor and Publisher. March 18, 1978. p. 39.
↑ "Best Horse Affirmed?". Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 8, 1978. p. 30.
↑ Jones, Merle (June 27, 1982). "Former Area Writer Makes National Syndication". Southern Illinoisan. June 27, 1982. p. 16
↑ Staff of the Thoroughbred Times (2004). The Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac. Lexington, KY: Thoroughbred Times Books. p. 74. ISBN 1-931993-41-6.
↑ "Newswire: Yale Hockey Coach chosen for U.S. Team; Names in the News". Los Angeles Times. May 24, 1992. p. C9.
↑ Gauen, Pat (May 3, 2018). "Author seeks to link three Belleville murders". St. Louis Post-Gazette. p. A6. "Christine, a retired sportswriter living in California, figures he still needs a year of digging and writing before publication. [...] Christine, 79, was raised in East St. Louis and graduated from Assumption High School."
↑ Burns, Ken (June 7, 1974). "The Batting Cage". Pittsburgh Catholic.
↑ "Obituaries: Bernice Dumstorff". The Belleville News-Democrat. April 11, 1991.
↑ "Look Who's New on the Press Sports Team". The Pittsburgh Press. March 16, 1969. Pg. 6, sec. 4.
1 2 3 Holleman, Joe (June 10, 2017). "Joe's St. Louis: Bobby's Place downtown shuts down; Tune Tome". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A2.
↑ "Christine Gets New Post". The Belleville News-Democrat. February 21, 1973. p. 27.
↑ Cherwa, John (September 7, 2025). "Bill Christine, award-winning horse racing reporter and author, dies at 87". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 10, 2025.
↑ Finoli, David; Ranier, David (2003). The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 624. ISBN 1-58261-416-4.
↑ Cherwa, John (September 30, 2017). "Racing! Today is a big day at Santa Anita". Los Angeles Times (Online). ProQuest 1944810753. One of the sport's all-time good guys, Bill Christine, is out with a new book 'Bill Hartack – The Bittersweet Life of a Hall of Fame Jockey.' And he'll be signing (and no doubt selling) copies at Santa Anita on Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m. outside Champions! Gifts & Apparel. It's also available at Barnes & Noble. I haven't read the book, but if Bill wrote it, it's got to be good.

External links

Bill Christine at IMDb

[ESLTF-1] 1 2 Christine, Bill (December 22, 1957). "East St. Louis Tourney Folds; All Meets Not Successful". Southern Illinoisan. p. 10.

[2] "Practice Goes Like Clockwork for Cards". Southern Illinoisan. December 2, 1963. p. 16.

[3] Christine, Bill (November 24, 1965). "The Army-Navy Bore". The Courier Journal & Times Magazine. p. 6.

[4] Christine, Bill (September 4, 1966). "Terps Morale Up Under New Coach". The Tampa Tribune. September 4, 1966. p. 12-F.

[5] Christine, Bill (September 22, 1968). "Soph Roller Leads UK Defense in Rolling 'Em Back". The Courier Journal & Times.

[6] Christine, Bill (February 23, 1969). "U of L Play No. 23 Makes King Shots Hit Like a Ringer". The Courier Journal & Times. p. 43.

[HFC:CJP-7] 1 2 3 "Here From Chicago: Christine Joins P-G as Asst. Sports Editor". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. January 30, 1973. p. 16.

[BCNE-8] 1 2 "Bill Christine Named Editor". Southern Illinoisan. March 3, 1974. p. 11.

[9] "Musick Named Sports Editor Post-Gazette". The Courier-Express. February 5, 1976. p. 17. "Musick replaces Bill Christine, who resigned several months ago."

[10] "The Racing Fronts: Changes at Commodore". The Thoroughbred Record. March 13, 1976. p. .

[11] Halvonik, Steve (May 27, 1984). "Troubled Commodore Downs Returns Under New Reins". The Pittsburgh Press. p. D10. "'It was a shoestring operation,' said Bill Christine, who was LRA's public relations director in 1976–77."

[12] "Newspeople in the News". Editor and Publisher. March 18, 1978. p. 39.

[13] "Best Horse Affirmed?". Spokane Daily Chronicle. December 8, 1978. p. 30.

[14] Jones, Merle (June 27, 1982). "Former Area Writer Makes National Syndication". Southern Illinoisan. June 27, 1982. p. 16

[15] Staff of the Thoroughbred Times (2004). The Original Thoroughbred Times Racing Almanac. Lexington, KY: Thoroughbred Times Books. p. 74. ISBN 1-931993-41-6.

[16] "Newswire: Yale Hockey Coach chosen for U.S. Team; Names in the News". Los Angeles Times. May 24, 1992. p. C9.

[17] Gauen, Pat (May 3, 2018). "Author seeks to link three Belleville murders". St. Louis Post-Gazette. p. A6. "Christine, a retired sportswriter living in California, figures he still needs a year of digging and writing before publication. [...] Christine, 79, was raised in East St. Louis and graduated from Assumption High School."

[18] Burns, Ken (June 7, 1974). "The Batting Cage". Pittsburgh Catholic.

[19] "Obituaries: Bernice Dumstorff". The Belleville News-Democrat. April 11, 1991.

[20] "Look Who's New on the Press Sports Team". The Pittsburgh Press. March 16, 1969. Pg. 6, sec. 4.

[BCreILMHISF-21] 1 2 3 Holleman, Joe (June 10, 2017). "Joe's St. Louis: Bobby's Place downtown shuts down; Tune Tome". St. Louis Post-Dispatch. p. A2.

[22] "Christine Gets New Post". The Belleville News-Democrat. February 21, 1973. p. 27.

[23] Cherwa, John (September 7, 2025). "Bill Christine, award-winning horse racing reporter and author, dies at 87". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved September 10, 2025.

[24] Finoli, David; Ranier, David (2003). The Pittsburgh Pirates Encyclopedia. Sports Publishing LLC. p. 624. ISBN 1-58261-416-4.

[25] Cherwa, John (September 30, 2017). "Racing! Today is a big day at Santa Anita". Los Angeles Times (Online). ProQuest 1944810753. One of the sport's all-time good guys, Bill Christine, is out with a new book 'Bill Hartack – The Bittersweet Life of a Hall of Fame Jockey.' And he'll be signing (and no doubt selling) copies at Santa Anita on Saturday starting at 10:30 a.m. outside Champions! Gifts & Apparel. It's also available at Barnes & Noble. I haven't read the book, but if Bill wrote it, it's got to be good.

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Authority control databases
International	ISNI VIAF
National	United States
Other	Yale LUX

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