Rodney Dennis Humphries

Rodney Dennis Humphries was born on the 18^th September 1943; he is an Australian-born author, Magazine and Newspaper journalist and a TV writer. Humphries started his writing career when he was 17 years of age as a general reporter for the wire service of the country. He became a sports journalist covering international sports events for the major dailies of the country and he wrote his first book called Lionel Rose when he was 25 years of age.

source of picture: en.wikipedia.org

Humphries was the head writer and the assistant producer of the Australian TV show called This is Your Life. He moved to the United States permanently in the year 1977.

Published works

Books

Ø  Little League to the Major Leagues – A Complete Guide to Baseball’s Assembly Line, 2013 (e-book).

Ø  The Doberman Pinscher – Brains and Beauty, 1999 (e-book).

Ø  Love and Faults: Personalities Who Have Changed the History of Tennis in My Lifetime, 1979

Ø  Lionel Rose: Australian- The Life Story of a Champion, 1969.

Selected articles

Ø  Hitler was Just Not in the Race. Interview with iconic 1936 Berlin Olympic sprint champion, Jesse Owens. (Rod Humphries, Days of Glory column, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 15 February 1976, page 64).

Ø  How to Race Horses and Win. Interview with Jesse Owens. (Rod Humphries, Inside Sport column, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 11 February 1976, page 25).

Ø  Crusty Cosell Makes Exit With All Guns Blazing. Humphries profiles controversial television commentator Howard Cosell whom he worked alongside at a number of sports events. (Rod Humphries, Stateside column, The Australian, Sydney, 16 December 1985).

Ø  Dandy Don Meredith. Interview with the former Dallas Cowboy quarterback and Monday Night Football television partner of Howard Cosell. (Rod Humphries, Inside Sport column, The Sydney Morning Herald, 4 August 1976, page 27).

Ø  Rocky Marciano Pays a Visit: Still Shaping Well. Interview with former undefeated world heavyweight champion Rocky Marciano. (Rod Humphries, Sydney Morning Herald, 30 July 1966, page 21).

Ø  Ingemar’s Tennis Credentials Looked Clearly on the Nose. Former World Heavyweight boxing champion Ingemar Johansson seeks media credentials at Florida tennis tournament (Rod Humphries. Stateside column, The Australian, Sydney, 24 February 1986, page 17)

Ø  Coloured Satellite Launched. Mr. T…I Hope He’s Not Reading This! Humphries writes on Mr. T (Laurence Tureaud) when he was a bodyguard for Leon Spinks, four years before he played James Clubber Lang alongside Sylvester Stallone in Rocky III (Rod Humphries Writes from New Orleans, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 17 September 1978, page 90).

Ø  Smokin’ Joe Says a Word or Two…or Three, or Four. Interview with former world heavyweight champion Joe Frazier, The Sydney Morning Herald, 18 February 1975, page 14).

Ø  Down in Dixie, You’re a Football Fan or a Heretic. The South Has Risen Again through its College Football Teams. (Rod Humphries, Stateside Column, The Weekend Australian, Sydney, 6–7 January 1990, page 34).

Ø  President’s Men Try to Put Humpty together Again. The big business that is college football…and Australian Soccer. Captain Johnny Warren sees his first college football game. (Rod Humphries, Stateside Column, The Australian, Sydney, 15 July 1985, page 17).

Ø  Transylvanian Mesmerizes Gymnastics. A profile/interview with international gymnastics guru, Bela Karolyi, in Houston. (Rod Humphries, Stateside column, The Australian, Sydney, 15 August 1988).

Ø  We’re All Loyal to the Heroes of Our Youth. (Rod Humphries, Stateside Column, The Australian, Sydney, 13 July 1987, page 29).

Ø   ‘Hick from French Lick’; White Star in Black Man’s Game. Larry Byrd profile. (Rod Humphries, Stateside Column, The Australian, Sydney, 16 June 1986, page 21).

Ø  When Jordan Takes Flight, The Air is His Special Playground. Michael Jordan profile. (Rod Humphries, Stateside Column, The Australian, Sydney, 27 April 1987, page 23)

Ø  Magic and the Birdman Bounce NBA into Prime Time. The positive impact of Magic Johnson and Larry Byrd on the NBA. (Rod Humphries, The Australian, Sydney, 11 November 1990, page 25).

Ø  Bo Jackson is a 10 in Any Sport He Wants to Play. Bo Jackson NFL/MLB star profile. (Rod Humphries, Stateside column, The Australian, Sydney, 10 February 1986, page 19).

Ø  Gone Are the Cowboys. JR for President! Humphries looks at the famous TV Series, Dallas. (Rod Humphries, Dallas File column, Sydney Morning Herald, 4 August 1980, page 6).

Ø  On the Ins and Outs of Cricket. A whimsical look at the basics of cricket. (Rod Humphries Writes column, The Sun-Herald, Australia, 3 August 1975, page 68).

Ø  Why Didn’t They Let It Rest in Peace? A light-hearted look at The Ashes, the symbol of England versus Australia in cricket. (Rod Humphries Writes column, 'The Sun-Herald', Sydney, 2 January 1977, page 37).

Ø  The Thorny Issue of a Wilted Rose. The demise of baseball great Pete Rose who admitted to betting on baseball games while managing. (Rod Humphries, Stateside column, The Australian, Sydney, 3 July 1989).

Ø  No Elation in Business. Interview with famous American jockey Bill Hartack, the winner of a record five Kentucky Derbies (Rod Humphries, the Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 2 July 1976, page 15).

Ø  Little Miss Cool Keeps Her Cool. Interview with Chris Evert (Rod Humphries, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 15 December 1973 page 63).

Ø  The Czech That Bounces. Interview with Martina Navratilova (Rod Humphries, Inside Sport column, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 1 December 1976, page 21).

Ø  Tennis’ Pure Rivalry Has Born Respect and Friendship. Humphries writes of Round 71 in Houston of the rivalry between Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova. (Rod Humphries in Houston, Stateside Column, The Australian, Sydney, 4 May 1987, page 25).

Ø  Maria Still Has That Charisma. Interview with three-time Wimbledon champion, Maria Bueno of Brazil. (Rod Humphries, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 23 November 1976, page 13).

Ø  Kip is a Household Name. Interview with Olympic gold medal runner, Kenya’s Kipchoge Keino. (Rod Humphries, Inside Sport column, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 20 October 1976, page 17).

Ø  Man, I Just Do the Fighting, Gil There Does the Worrying. Interview in Harlem, New York, with legendary dual world boxing champion Emile Griffith. (Rod Humphries in New York, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 17 October 1973, page 21).

Ø  U.S. Fighter Gravely Ill After Knockout. Humphries was front-row ringside when 22-year-old Cleveland fighter Chuck Wilburn suffered a brain haemorrhage and died after a fight in Sydney (Rod Humphries, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 2 April 1976, front page).

Ø  Rod Humphries on Arthur Ashe. Humphries profiles his friend Arthur Ashe after he beat Jimmy Connors in the 1975 Wimbledon final. (Rod Humphries, Inside Sport column, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 9 July 1975, page 15).

Ø  Harada-San…Eternal Hero. Interview with Japanese world flyweight and bantamweight boxing champion, Masahiko Fighting Harada. (Rod Humphries, Inside Sport column, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 17 September 1975, page 27).

Ø  Beauty and Fashion in the Fast Lane. A profile of Delorez Florence Griffith- Joyner, Olympic sprint champion. (Rod Humphries, Stateside column, The Australian, Sydney, 25 July 1988).

Ø  Jackie Traces Footsteps of Great Babe. Humphries makes a prediction before Jackie Joyner-Kersee’s Olympic success in 1988. (Rod Humphries, Stateside column, The Australian, Sydney, 5 October 1987, page 21).

Ø  A Stranger in Paradise. Humphries writes from Puerto Rico on the country and its famous athletes. (Rod Humphries, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 25 February 1979, page 79).

Ø  Little Saint with a Big Punch. The story of Trevor King, a Salvation Army minister and former world ranked fighter who gave the eulogy at the funeral of his father, Jack Humphries (Rod Humphries, Days of Glory column, the Sun-Herald, Sydney, 21 November 1976, page 71).

Ø  Sport in the German Democratic Republic. A four part series of interviews with communist East German officials about the Olympic success. (Rod Humphries, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, August 12,17,18,20, 1976; 12 August page 23; 17 August, page 13; 18 August, page 25; and 20 August, page 12).

Ø  Warming Up for Another ‘Mind Bender’ . Interview with Hall of Fame long distance swimmer Des Renford. (Rod Humphries, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 11 May 1974, page 79).

Ø  Renford Challenge. In Dallas, Hall of Fame long distance swimmer Des Renford challenges Dianna Nyad to race him from Cuba to Florida (Rod Humphries Writes column, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 3 June 1979, page 86).

Ø  Whatever Happened to Gorgeous George? A light hearted look at professional wrestling. (Rod Humphries, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 22 June 1975, page 54).

Ø  Rose Says He ‘Did Not Feel Right’ To Fight. Lionel Rose loses world boxing title to Ruben Olivares in Los Angeles. (Rod Humphries in Los Angeles, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 24 August 1969, page 76).

Ø  What’s Happened to Lionel Rose? Three part series. (Rod Humphries, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 2, 3, 4 March 1971, 2 March page 21; 3 March, page 19; 4 March, page 33).

Ø  Title Bid Fails, but Rose to Fight On. Humphries on Lionel Rose’s failed world title bid in Japan. (Rod Humphries from Hiroshima, Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 31 May 1971).

Ø  Evonne Wants to Fly – So Did Lionel Rose. Humphries looks at the lives and careers of Australia’s two Aboriginal world sports champions, boxer Lionel Rose and tennis queen, Evonne Goolagong. (Rod Humphries Writes column, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 6 July 1975, page 59).

Ø  Football Knocks Can Dull the Brain. An early look at brain damage in football. (Rod Humphries, The Sydney Morning Herald, Sydney, 25 April 1974, page 11).

Ø  Good News and Bad News for Lovers of American Football. Introduction of instant television replays. (Rod Humphries, Stateside Column, The Australian, 24 March 1986, page 19).

Ø  Wrong ‘Speed’ Brings Down Bullet Bob. The world’s fastest human, Bob Hayes, Olympic sprint champion and Dallas Cowboy football player, celebrated at Texas Stadium in Dallas while under guard after being imprisoned for drug possession. (Rod Humphries from Dallas, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 4 November 1979, page 95).

Ø  The ‘Bomber’ at 65 – an Idol in a Wheelchair. A birthday party with a twinge of sadness for former heavyweight champion, the Brown Bomber, Joe Louis. (Rod Humphries in Dallas, The Sun-Herald, 20 May 1979, page 124).

Ø  The Best Cricket Team in the Past 30 Years. How the Public Voted. (Rod Humphries, Inside Sport column, The Sydney Morning Herald, Australia, 1 January 1976, page18).

Ø  The Second Coming of John McEnroe. John McEnroe Senior talks to Rod Humphries about his son’s comeback. (Rod Humphries, Stateside Column, The Australian, Sydney, 25 April 1988, page 23).

Ø  Nasty –Yes, But My Friend Ilie was Real Tennis Genius. A profile of Ilie Nastase. (Rod Humphries, Stateside column, The Australian, Sydney, 16 September 1985).

Ø  For Swimming – the Dawn of a New Era. Interview with Dawn Fraser, 100 meters world record holder and one of only three swimmers to win gold medals in the same event in three straight Olympics. (Rod Humphries, Days of Glory column, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 11 January 1976, page 54).

Ø  Golden Girl Who Came Back. Interview with Betty Cuthbert, Olympic 100 metres sprint champion in 1956 who won the 400 metres Olympic gold in Tokyo eight years later. (Rod Humphries, Days of Glory column, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 7 December 1975, page 94).

Ø   ‘Not to Worry Bill, it’s a Beautiful Night.’  Interview with Jimmy Carruthers, Australia’s first world boxing champion. (Rod Humphries, Days of Glory column, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 25 January 1976, page 55).

Ø  Hope for Gold Not Tarnished. Interview with Olympic swimming gold medal winner Kevin Berry who was also a photographer at the Sydney Morning Herald and Sun-Herald. (Rod Humphries, Days of Glory column, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 7 November 1976, page 67).

Ø  A Whole New World of Life After Death: The Process of Freeze-Drying of Pets…and Beyond. (Rod Humphries Writes, The Doberman Pinscher Magazine, Volume 2, Issue 1, 2008, pages 52–57)

Ø  U.S. Showring Handling is Big Business. (Rod Humphries, Dogs on Parade column, Sun-Herald newspaper, Sydney, 30 December 1973, page 54).

Ø  Here’s Why Greyhounds Run So Fast. (Rod Humphries, Dogs on Parade column, The Sun-Herald, Sydney, 26 August 1973, page 90).

Ø  The Last Great Dog Show: Send in the Clones. Humorous look at cloning of animals which could lead to demise of dog shows. (Rod Humphries Writes, The Doberman Quarterly, Volume 24, Issue 2, Summer 1991, pages 100–102).

Ø  Nice Dog, Pretty Bitch. A light hearted look at the vernacular of the dog show world. (Rod Humphries Writes, Doberman Quarterly, Volume 25, No 1, Spring 1992, pages 110–111)