50th Episode: Bob Ford: “You Got One More Rebound than a Dead Man.”

Press Box Access: A Sports History Podcast

Bob Ford likes to say if he has 10 good stories to tell sitting around a bar, Charles Barkley is the subject of 7 or 8 of them. Hear a few of his greatest hits from covering Sir Charles, each told with Bob’s wit and dead-on voice imitation. He also shares other memorable moments from his long, distinguished career in Philadelphia that took him around the world and made his columns must-reads. Only Bob could bring us Pete Rose, Doug Moe, Prince Albert, a Finish sports talk radio debate over ski jumping, and wolf urine – yes, wolf urine – all in one episode. You’ll understand why other sportswriters always enjoyed Bob’s company. He’s a real treasure.

Ford was an award-winning writer at the Philadelphia Inquirer for nearly 33 years – the final 18 as a columnist – until his retirement in 2020. He was twice nominated for the Pulitzer Prize in commentary. Bob was a general assignment feature writer, with an emphasis on Olympic sports and long-form narrative from 1994 until his promotion as columnist in 2003. He previously covered the NBA and 76ers as the paper’s beat reporter for six years.

Bob was named Pennsylvania Sportswriter of the Year seven times by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association. He covered six Olympics, three World Cups, numerous NBA Finals, the Tour de France, Wimbledon, the British Open and other major sporting events. He wrote stories from 14 countries and throughout the U.S. His work was also recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press, and the Keystone Press Association. He was twice named a top 10 columnist in the large circulation division of the AP Sports Editors competition, and he also won the 2005 Eclipse Award for outstanding feature writing on thoroughbred racing.

Prior to joining the Inquirer in 1987, Bob worked six years at the Delaware County Daily Times outside of Philadelphia, where he covered the Phillies as a beat reporter for three seasons and later served as columnist. Bob began his journalism career as sports editor of the Easton (Md.) Star-Democrat (1976 to ’81) following his graduation from the Philip Merrill College of Journalism at the University of Maryland. His alma mater’s Shirley Povich Center for Sports Journalism honored Bob in 2017 with a “Distinguished Terrapin” award. Ford is a fellow of the Knight Center for Specialized Journalism.

Bob is a native of College Park, Md. His wife, Bonnie Ford, was an award-winning sports journalist at ESPN, the Chicago Tribune, The Plain Dealer in Cleveland, the Detroit News, and the Ann Arbor News. She was a previous guest on Press Box Access: https://evergreenpodcasts.com/... Stories from early in her career were written under her maiden name, Bonnie DeSimone.

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