RIP Fred Turner (UPDATE)

I'm barely even comfortable posting this message, but so many knew him, and I've got it from an impeccable source of information that Fred Turner, former Fort Lauderdale Sun-Sentinel sports editor and godfather to many in the sports media business around the country, died in his sleep last night after watching the Red Sox beat the Yankees one last time.

Fred was one of the two or three most important people in my career. We lived two miles apart from each other, but I hadn't seen him in at least five years. No excusing it, but we always have those stories when something like this happens.

Details to come, I'm sure.

 

Re: RIP Fred Turner

No fucking way...

 

Re: RIP Fred Turner

Fred was the sports editor who took the Sun-Sentinel from the morning joke and stepchild to the afternoon News, through the merger, to one of the best sports sections in the country. A terrific recruiter of talent, and he then knew when to stand aside and let the talent do the work. Plus, he was a great guy.

 

Re: RIP Fred Turner

Thanks for the perspective, SF. I've heard a bit about the man but hadn't met him (I'm a relative yungun). Kind of like hearing the Van McKenzie stories a few years back.

RIP, Fred.

 

Re: RIP Fred Turner

Oh God, that's terrible. I second the S-S love. The section's pulled back a bit from its glory days (how many haven't?), but the S-S sports section kicked major ass for many years. RIP, Fred.

 

Re: RIP Fred Turner

It a time when it seems most sports editors were concerned with capitulating to the whims of the bosses, Fred struck me as a down-to-earth guy who always tried to keep the suits at bay and do things the right way.

 

Re: RIP Fred Turner

That's a great description. The funniest thing, I always thought, was people in other parts of the paper who said, "What does Fred do all day?"

What Fred did all day was put out one of the best sports sections in the country. And he did it without the micromanaging that some too often consider "working hard."

And he also WAS a buffer between his people and the people above, and he fought a lot of battles nobody ever knew of.

 

Re: RIP Fred Turner

The Sun-Sentinel's high quality certainly helped motivate those of us who worked in Miami. This was when Palm Beach was a good but not yet great section, and the "Competition Report" that appeared at the bottom of the Herald's daily sports budget measured us against the S-S and USA Today. Obviously our bosses would not have been keeping score to that degree if it were not a very close game. Thanks, Fred, for your vast contributions to one of the greatest sports-section battles in journalism history.

 

Re: RIP Fred Turner

Services are Thursday in Coral Springs, Fla. I'm not going to put the details here, but if anybody needs them, I have them. Just send me a PM...