Back to the Weekly Home Page

Classifieds

Palo Alto Online

Deaths

Popular sports writer dies

by Rick Eymer

Palo Alto resident Leonard Koppett, who died suddenly on Sunday in San Francisco, was passionate about baseball, the sport he wrote about for nearly 60 years.

Koppett began his sports writing career in New York in the 1940s, and his subjects ranged from Joe DiMaggio to Barry Bonds. He also took on labor issues and other off-field activities that affected the game.

Koppett, 79, died of a heart attack while crossing the lobby at Davies Symphony Hall to attend a concert with his wife of 39 years, Suzanne.

"We have lost one of the giants of life," said Marty Lurie, who hosts the pre-game show "Right Off the Bat" on KFRC-AM before every Oakland Athletics baseball game. "He was not only a pillar of baseball but the most generous, and gentle man I ever met."

Koppett and Lurie were to host a discussion of baseball at the Menlo Park Library on Saturday, July 5 at 11 a.m. Lurie said he still plans on holding the discussion and will play a tape he recorded with Koppett, about how he got into baseball.

"I'm going to say the things he told me," said Lurie. "We were going to talk about the evolution of baseball rules and how they haven't changed in 100 years. That's why we can all relate to the game."

Koppett, who was elected to the writers' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, came to Northern California in 1973 to become the first New York Times' West Coast sports correspondent. He's been a fixture here ever since.

He served as editor (and later editor emeritus) of the Peninsula Times Tribune for a time and was with the paper until 1993.

"He brought national recognition to our staff," said Weekly Sports Editor Keith Peters, who worked with Koppett for more than 10 years at the Times Tribune. "Having him work with us raised our level of quality. Everybody learned something from him. We all took something with us when the paper closed (in 1993). No one could say a bad word about him. He was an invaluable source of information and knowledge."

Among those he helped mentor at the Times Tribune were Ray Ratto, a columnist with the San Francisco Chronicle; Rich Weiner, who covers sports for USA Today; and Mark Gonzalez, who covers baseball for the Arizona Republic.

Though he retired from the daily grind of newspaper reporting, he never stopped writing. He has a book - his 16th - due out later this year about the press box and how it has changed over the years.

"I always had Leonard on my show on Opening Night," said Lurie. "I wanted to start the season with him every year. He'd get us all ready for the season by explaining why baseball starts the year for everybody and why it's important."

Koppett was born in Russia and moved with his family to New York in 1929, one block from Yankee Stadium.

His mother would meet him at the bus stop after school and they would walk to Yankee Stadium for games.

Later, the Koppett family moved to Brooklyn and Leonard began attending games at Ebbetts Field.

Koppett, also a member of the Basketball Hall of Fame, graduated from Columbia University in 1944 and worked for several New York papers before moving to the Times in 1963.

"He will be sorely missed," said Menlo Park resident Bill Arnold, author of "Beyond the Box Score," a national column that appears in the Chicago Tribune. "If I ever had a statistical problem he would graciously help me out. He was very generous with his time, and funny."

In New York, Koppett wrote comedy lines for annual skits presented by the New York Baseball Writers, then the most prestigious baseball event of the year.

"He had a wonderful sense of humor, always present and charming," said Lurie. "He also wrote songs. He was a brilliant man.

"Leonard Koppett was the inspiration of my baseball life," Lurie continued. "He encouraged me and promoted my work. Our last time together was this past Friday when we sat in the press lounge of the Oakland Coliseum and debated the merits of all-time leadoff hitters Eddie Stanky and Eddie Yost. It was another wonderful moment listening to his views on the original analysis of on base percentage."

Koppett leaves his wife, son David, a television producer for Fox Sports Net Bay Area, and daughter Katherine, a corporate training consultant.

Hiroko Tonari

Hiroko Tonari, 61, a resident of Palo Alto and manager of Union Bank of California in Palo Alto.

She is survived by her mother, Nori Kawakita of Japan; and sisters, Keiko Abe and Kazuko Okimoto of Japan.

A memorial service will be held in her honor June 25 at 2 p.m. at the Palo Alto Buddhist Temple, 2751 Louis Road, Palo Alto.
Ben Wilson

Ben A. Wilson, 90, a longtime resident of Palo Alto and Channing House, died June 4.

He retired from Fibreboard Corporation in 1973 as director of Engineering, and continued to be active with the First Methodist Church and Neighbors Abroad, both of Palo Alto.

He was predeceased by two children, Bradley Wilson and Peggy Gray, and is survived by his wife, Jane Wilson of Palo Alto; two children, Paul Wilson of Kensington, Calif. and Anne Malmqvist of Hornbaek, Denmark; eight grandchildren and five great-grandchildren. Memorial services are private.