Ross Newhan, Hall of Fame Sportswriter, Dies at 89
The Los Angeles Dodgers said Ross Newhan died on Sunday morning, October 25, 2026, at the age of 89. He wrote about baseball in the Los Angeles area for 44 years, for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and the Los Angeles Times, and received the J. G. Taylor Spink Award in 2000.
Key points
- Ross Newhan, the Hall of Fame sportswriter, died on Sunday morning, October 25, 2026, at the age of 89.
- The Dodgers said: "The Dodgers today mourn Ross Newhan, the Hall of Fame sportswriter, who passed away this morning at the age of 89.
- Newhan was born on Apr 5, 1937.
Ross Newhan, the Hall of Fame sportswriter, died on Sunday morning, October 25, 2026, at the age of 89. The Los Angeles Dodgers announced his death in a statement on Sunday.
The Dodgers said: "The Dodgers today mourn Ross Newhan, the Hall of Fame sportswriter, who passed away this morning at the age of 89. We send our condolences to his wife Connie and their friends and family." The statement, as reported, did not give a cause of death.
A 44 year career in Los Angeles area baseball
Newhan was born on Apr 5, 1937. He began his sportswriting career in 1961 and retired in 2004. In total, he spent 44 years as a sportswriter in the Los Angeles area, first for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and then for the Los Angeles Times, covering the Angels, the Dodgers and the national baseball scene.
He covered the California Angels for eight years for the Long Beach Press-Telegram before he moved to the Los Angeles Times sports department in 1968. At the Times, he covered both the Angels and the Dodgers, and from 1986 he served as the Times national baseball writer. He was a columnist for the Long Beach Press-Telegram and a baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times, the two roles that defined his career.
The honors that followed the work
Newhan won the 1997 Associated Press Sports Editors Award for his story on the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1998, he was inducted into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame.
His highest honor came in 2000, when he was the recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award, given by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. He was honored during the 2001 ceremonies at the National Baseball Hall of Fame. The Hall of Fame award is the reason he is described, in the Dodgers statement and in reference works, as a Hall of Fame sportswriter.
A book and a baseball family
Newhan co-authored the book Coaching Baseball Successfully. His family connection to the game ran in the other direction as well. His son, David Newhan, is a former Major League Baseball player and coach, so the father who wrote about baseball for 44 years also watched his son play and coach in the major leagues.
That record is the full shape of the career the Dodgers marked on Sunday: a writer who started in 1961, covered the Angels for eight years in Long Beach, moved to the Los Angeles Times in 1968, covered the Angels and the Dodgers there, became the Times national baseball writer in 1986, won the award for his story on the sale of the Dodgers in 1997, received the Spink Award in 2000, and retired in 2004. The Dodgers sent their condolences to his wife, Connie, and to their family and friends.
Timeline
- Apr 5, 1937Ross Newhan is born. He later begins his sportswriting career in 1961.
- 1968After eight years covering the California Angels for the Long Beach Press-Telegram, Newhan moves to the Los Angeles Times sports department, where he covers the Angels and the Dodgers and, from 1986, serves as the Times national baseball writer.
- 2000Newhan receives the J. G. Taylor Spink Award from the Baseball Writers' Association of America, after winning the 1997 Associated Press Sports Editors Award for his story on the sale of the Los Angeles Dodgers and his 1998 induction into the Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame. He is honored during the 2001 Hall of Fame ceremonies and retires in 2004.
- Oct 25, 2026The Los Angeles Dodgers announce that Newhan died on Sunday morning at the age of 89 and send condolences to his wife, Connie, and to their family and friends.