Broeg, Bob 1918–2005

(Robert M. Broeg)

OBITUARY NOTICE—See index for CA sketch: Born March 18, 1918, in St. Louis, MO; died of pneumonia, October 28, 2005, in Creve Coeur, MO. Journalist and author. Broeg was a Baseball Hall of Fame sports writer and longtime editor for the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. His love of sports started when he was a young boy, when he began writing on the subject at the age of nine. Graduating from the University of Missouri in 1941, he was a reporter for the Associated Press in Jefferson City, Missouri for a year, followed by a year in Boston. With the onset of World War II, Broeg served in the U.S. Marine Corps Reserve for the duration. In 1945, he joined the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a sports writer, and was promoted to sports editor in 1958. Originally covering the former St. Louis Browns team, he became a staunch fan of the Cardinals, in addition to his notable love for his alma mater's football team. Impressive for his extensive knowledge of baseball and football, Broeg was a mainstay for his newspaper through 1984. Afterward, he continued to work with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch as a contributing editor and occasional columnist. Among his memorable contributions to sports journalism, many will always remember Broeg for giving ballplayer Stan Musial the nickname Stan the Man; Musial was also the subject of his biography Stan Musial: "The Man's" Own Story (1964). Broeg was inducted into the writer's wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1979; in addition, he was the recipient of a Knute Rockne Club Sportswriter of the Year award, a University of Missouri journalism medal, and the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for meritorious contributions to baseball writing. He was also the author of numerous books, including Bob Broeg's Redbirds: A Century of Cardinals' Baseball (1981), My Baseball Scrapbook (1983), and The 100 Greatest Moments in St. Louis Sports (2000).

OBITUARIES AND OTHER SOURCES:

BOOKS

Broeg, Bob, Bob Broeg: Memories of a Hall of Fame Sportswriter, Sagamore (Champaign, IL), 1995.

PERIODICALS

Los Angeles Times, November 1, 2005, p. B9.

St. Louis Post-Dispatch, October 29, 2005, p. 5.

Washington Post, October 30, 2005, p. C10.