Chris Dufresne, one of the country’s most respected college football writers, had a humble start to his newspaper career. A few days after graduating from high school, he got a job loading bundles of papers onto Los Angeles Times delivery trucks.
Dufresne was a Times sportswriter for 35 years, after working the loading docks at the newspaper from 1976-81. He covered the USFL, NFL, Olympics, and golf, but perhaps was best known for his writing on college football and basketball, where he became one of the most trusted and treasured resources in the business. After retiring from The Times, he helped found the TMG website.
Said Times colleague Bill Plaschke: “His stories … were must-reads nationally, and carried a resonance that helped define the current college football era. Duf’s hilarious weekly Rankman ratings were the cause of both laughter and outrage, and his weekly college football roundups were the stuff of poetry.
“I worked as a copy boy for the Orange County edition, surrounded by clacking typewriters, glue pots, and loud ringing things we used to call telephones,” Dufresne wrote in 2015. “I jumped one day when the edition’s sports editor, Marshall Klein, the man responsible for hiring me, shouted my name for a big assignment. It was to fetch him a deli sandwich at the Lil’ Pickle.”
sports So sad to hear. A legendary LA writer.
sports Behind the paywall is a very bad look. For such a beloved former writer too.
sports God speed, Chris.
Davidlaz sports Sad to lose another excellent sports writer gone way too early
sports I subscribed to the LA Times because of its excellence in sports reporting and commentary. He had a great style and worked language with confident swagger. I’m stunned. Prayers for his family and colleagues. I was a constant reader.
sports RIP.
sports Sorry to hear, so sad. Wanted to read, but paywall.
sports Sad loss of a great columnist in the tradition of Jim Murray, Mal Florence for the LA Times over the years.
sports
sports My heart goes out, to those who knew him and his beloved family.
sports RIP
Read Chris Dufresne's poignant final column for sports from 2015
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