Jack Saylor enlivened the local, state and national golf scene with his deft touch at the keyboard, first with a typewriter, then on a computer and frequently a piano where he always drew a crowd, whether it was the stately Carolina Inn at Pinehurst, North Carolina, or at the Mission Inn in Carmel, California, where Clint Eastwood dropped in for a memorable duet.
Known as much for his colorful outfits as his colorful writing, Saylor started his newspaper career at the Pontiac Press, then worked for the Detroit Times and found a home at the Free Press for 43 years.
He covered all sports, including the Detroit Pistons, Jud Heathcote’s Michigan State basketball teams and Notre Dame football for several years, but golf was No. 1 for him.
Asked once if he ever thought of retirement he said: “I’ve thought about it, but my office is a golf course or a ballgame – retirement should be so good.”
A rookie reporter once admitted he wondered whether as a poor golfer he should writing about covering golf. Saylor told him in pure and quick Jack fashion: “You don’t have to be dead to write a good obituary.”
He wrote many memorable opening lead lines on his stories, too. For instance: “Being summoned for a tax audit, jury duty or a command appearance at his mother-in-law’s birthday party – all on his league day – probably rank 1-2-3 on the list of worst things that can happen to a golfer.”
Saylor, a World War II veteran of the U.S. Navy, traveled the world with golf, interviewed and dined with legends of the game and passed away in 2003. He was 77 and had only recently been forced into retirement due to his health.
Inducted into the Michigan Golf Hall of Fame posthumously, his wife Joyce donated his reliable putter in his name. Jack loved to play the game and fought off the notion he might be winning wagers on the first tee.
“Honest, I’m a 16 handicap,” he would say before hitting almost every fairway and breaking 80.
Year inducted: 2004
| Last Name | Saylor |