A Man Worthy of His Own Words

William “Bill” Plaschke isn’t just a sports columnist with a questionably pronounced last name; He is an actor, an Olympian (kind of), an ESPN staple, and a man who has received ample recognition for his generous work in the community. Oh yeah, He’s also the owner of some pretty prestigious writing awards.

Bill Plaschke is a name most sports fans know in Los Angeles, Calif. As a columnist for the L.A. Times, it’s not uncommon to hear Angelinos either jeering or cheering along with Mr. Plaschke’s sentiments.

A mix of knowledge, perspective and humor make Plaschke’s column more than insightful and much more than entertaining. His column appears daily in the Times and is never short of provocative sport conversation.

Since 1987, Plaschke has been a fixture of L.A. sports prominence as a regular within the city’s biggest paper. His often outspoken opinions have made him a habitual panelist on ESPN’s show “Around The Horn”; a program where he and his loudmouth sports columnist acquaintances get together and share their quirky viewpoints in buzzer-beater fashion.

Here's a comical clip of the man at his best telling a story of himself as a ten-year-old reporter during a commercial break on "Around the Horn" (on the left screen). 

Interestingly enough, ESPN was the mutual friend who set me up on a blind date with Plaschke before I was aware of his greatness. His persona on “Around the Horn” somehow comes off as modestly arrogant with a touch of jubilance. His writing on my hometown area’s sports beat and his unwillingness to be told anything other than what he believes is right have won me over.

However, he is not just a loud and opinionated media man. He is also known as a giver to the community. His involvement in the Big Brother/Big Sister program in Los Angeles has earned him the city’s chapter honor of Man of the Year. Plaschke has also received a “Pursuit of Justice” award from the California Women’s Law Center for his regular coverage of women’s sports.

A great journalistic quality of Plaschke’s is his unbiased writing and vision. In a city with a reputation for having violence and local loyalty mixed together like blue and white or purple and gold, his column is never afraid of saying what needs to be heard. Whether that’s calling out the beloved Dodgers or dismissing the infallible Lakers, Los Angeles sports fans must hear the dirty truth sometimes, and that truth is often found in Bill Plaschke’s column.

And apparently his column is getting noticed. He has been honored with National Sports Writer of the Year by multiple organizations, is a Pulitzer Prize nominee and his writing has been featured in the annually published book “The Best American Sports Writing” on five separate occasions.

And if that wasn’t enough, he carried the Olympic torch during its travels through Los Angeles before the winter games in Salt Lake City in 2002, and he also has some IMDB credits for the portrayal of a sports journalist in the movie “Ali”.

Like most in the media, Plaschke has been around. After being born and raised in Louisville Ky., he spent his freshmen year at Baylor University in Waco Texas then earned his bachelor’s degree in mass communication at Southern Illinois University Edwardsville, where he was the sports editor for the university’s paper. As a professional, He has worked in Fort Lauderdale, Fla. and Seattle, Wash. before making the great city of Los Angeles his home and life’s work.

And from one Southern California to another—thank you Mr. Plaschke for making the greatest sports market in the world even better. In recent years alone, Plaschke has covered three Lakers’ championships, an Angels’ World Series victory, a Ducks’ Stanley Cup championship and too-many-to-count local college accolades.

The only thing left to improve the Los Angeles area sports scene would be a football team.

Or maybe even two.