Nov. 22, 1877

Alabama is not new to being a cradle of sports information. Alabama native Bozeman Bulger – born on this day in 1877 – was considered the dean of American sportswriters in his time.

Bulger grew up in Dadeville as the son of a newspaper man, and went on to get a law degree at the University of Alabama. He was working as a legislative clerk when he was asked to fill in as a correspondent for the Atlanta Constitution, as he had an understanding of this strange sport called “football.”

Soon, Bulger was the sports editor of the Birmingham Age-Herald, and later began profiling sports celebrities for the New York World. He worked as a ghostwriter for athletes such as baseball legends Ty Cobb, Babe Ruth, and Honus Wagner – and boxing champion John L. Sullivan.

Bulger died in 1932, leaving behind a wife and a daughter.

Read more at Encyclopedia of Alabama.

For more on Alabama’s Bicentennial, visit Alabama 200.