Sportswriter Rick Reilly To Receive "Great Ones" Award From Jim Murray Memorial Foundation

PASADENA, Calif., July 8, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- On October 25th, Hall of Fame sports columnist Rick Reilly will officially have his name affixed to one of his idols when his name is inscribed upon the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation's "Great Ones" Trophy, a bronze bust of Pulitzer Prize winner, Jim Murray. 

Reilly, who announced his retirement from sports writing this year, will be presented the Award for his meritorious career in covering the world of sports.  Previous winners include "Great Ones" Arnold Palmer, Joe Namath, Luc Robitaille, Bobby Rahal, Chris McCarron, Duke Snider and Sugar Ray Leonard.

"The Great Ones Award is our Stanley Cup.  Each year we add a new name to it for that individual's contribution to his sport.  In the past we have honored the athletes Jim Murray wrote about, but this year, we felt it necessary to recognize Rick (Reilly) for his outstanding body of work and contribution to the field of sports writing.  He embodies the style and dedication to the craft that Jim Murray did," said Bill McCoy, president of the Jim Murray Memorial Foundation (JMMF).

At his induction into the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Hall of Fame in June 2014, Reilly was presented with his award by legendary quarterback John Elway. He was voted National Sportswriter of the Year 11 times over a career that began in 1979.  Reilly is second only to Jim Murray (14) in number of times winning that award.

USA Today called Reilly "the closest thing sports writing ever had to a rock star." The Sherman Report called Reilly "easily the most read sportswriter of his generation." The New York Daily News described him "as one of the funniest humans on the planet." Publishers Weekly called him, "an indescribable amalgam of Dave Barry, Jim Murray, and Lewis Grizzard, with the timing of Jay Leno and the wit of Johnny Carson."

On June 10, 2014, Reilly wrote his final column as a sportswriter for ESPN.com.

The Jim Murray Memorial Foundation (JMMF) was established by Linda Murray Hofmans in 1999 following the death of her husband, Jim Murray, longtime Los Angeles Times sportswriter, winner of the 1990 Pulitzer Prize for Commentary, and 1988 Cooperstown Hall of Fame inductee.  The JMMF awards journalism scholarships to the nation's top college journalists through a national essay competition.  To date, the JMMF has awarded 88 scholarships totaling over $450,000. Thirty-one (31) colleges and universities across the United States participate in the competition.  Five 2014 Murray Scholars will be honored at the October 25^th event at Santa Anita Racetrack.

For more information on Rick Reilly, visit http://www.rickreillyonline.com/. 

SOURCE Jim Murray Memorial Foundation