Deford died suddenly on Sunday at his home in Key West, Florida, after an illness, his wife Carol Deford said by phone. Deford was known for musing philosophically about the role of athletics in American life. "After all, we have hooks with the past," Deford wrote. Deford wrote more than a dozen books, including several novels such as "Bliss, Remembered" set during the 1936 Olympic Games, and the football saga "Everybody's All-American" - made into a 1988 movie starring Dennis Quaid and Jessica Lange. In "Alex: The Life of a Child," Deford described his daughter who died at age 8 of cystic fibrosis.

Source: The Star May 30, 2017 00:56 UTC