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George Puscas (Romanian: Puşcaş; April 8, 1927 – April 25, 2008) was an American sports writer for the Detroit Free Press. He joined the Free Press as a copyboy in September 1941 at age 14, was a full-time sports writer until 1992, and continued to be associated with the paper as a columnist until 2006.
George Puscas | |
|---|---|
| Born | April 8, 1927 Detroit, Michigan, United States |
| Died | April 25, 2008 (aged 81) Pontiac, Michigan, United States |
| Occupation | Sportswriter/columnist |
| Employer | Detroit Free Press (1941–2000) |
| Spouse | Delphine Constance (Banka) Puscas |
Puscas was born in Detroit in 1927. His father Nicholas (Nicolae) Puscas was a grocer on Detroit's east side.[1] After working at the Free Press as a teenager, Puscas joined the military during World War II.
Puscas had his first byline with the Free Press in October 1946.[2] In his first few years with the paper, he was a student at Wayne University,[3] and he covered the Wayne Tartars, University of Detroit, Lawrence Institute of Technology, and Detroit high school athletic events.[4][5][6]
When the Fort Wayne Pistons moved to Detroit in 1957, Puscas was assigned to the team's beat.[7][8][9] Puscas also began handling the Detroit Lions beat for the Free Press in 1957.[10][11]
Puscas' "Love Letters", a weekly column in which Puscas responded with humor to letters from readers, began running in the Free Press in June 1959 and continued for nearly 50 years.[12][13] In his obituary of Puscas, Matt Fiorito wrote that reader letters "were answered cryptically, acerbically, sarcastically and wittily by Puscas, and readers loved it."[13]
Puscas was inducted into the Michigan Sports Hall of Fame in 2004.[14] In his last column, on May 9, 2006, Puscas wrote: "So this is it. That's all there is. Nothing left. Nothing left to do, nothing left to say. All done. Sixty-five years' worth. Imagine that."[13] In his later years, Puscas lived in Beverly Hills, Michigan. He died in 2008 of congestive heart failure at St. Joseph Mercy Hospital in Pontiac; he was 81 years old when he died.[13]
- "Nothing to Bark About: Snobbish Dog Just Sniffs at Scribe", February 29, 1948
- "Duffy Spurns Texas Gold for 'Love of MSU'", December 12, 1957
- "Weep for a Child of Tragedy: Another Sad Chapter Is Written in Bratton Story", January 14, 1962, story about boxer Johnny Bratton, reprinted in Negro Digest, April 1962
- "Travelin' Music for Karras: Jackie Gleason of Lions?", November 28, 1962
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