His New York Times obituary, written by Pulitzer Prize winning journalist Red Smith, reads: “Jesse Abramson, a distinguished figure in sports journalism for 56 years and widely recognized as the nation’s leading track and field writer. Colleagues called him ‘The Brain’, in recognition of his profound knowledge of track and his phenomenal memory for detail.
“As a rookie on the Herald-Tribune in 1924, Abramson rewrote Grantland Rice’s condensed cable dispatches from the Olympic Games. Then, starting in 1928, he attended every summer
Olympics through 1976. He covered the Games for the Herald-Tribune until 1964 (the paper folded in 1966), was foreign press liaison at the 1968 Games in Mexico, covered the 1972 Games for the International Herald-Tribune, and was press liaison in 1976.
“Mr. Abramson received many honors, including the Grantland Rice
Award of the Sportsmen Brotherhood, the James J. Walker Award for service to boxing, and the career achievement award from the New York Track Writers Association. He was a founder and long-time president of the N.Y. Track Writers Association, and the NYTA’s annual award to the outstanding athlete of the year is named for him. He was also president of the New York Football Writers Association.”
In 1981, Abramson was honored as the first media person to be elected to the National Track & Field Hall of Fame.
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