http://sportstwo.com/RUGBY/Story/RUGBY/2666886 <span style="font-size:18pt;line-height:100%">Legendary baseball writer Holtzman passes away</span> Monday, July 21, 2008 06:49 PM CHICAGO (Ticker) -- Jerome Holtzman, the first official historian of Major League Baseball and an accomplished sportswriter, died at the age of 82. The 1989 Baseball Hall of Fame inductee passed away on Saturday in Evanston, Illinois. Holtzman created the formula for saves in 1959 and it was adopted a decade later by the game's Official Rules Committee, becoming the first major new statistic since runs batting in (RBI) was created in 1920. He was also named the MLB's Official Historian in 1999 by commissioner Bud Selig. He was known as "The Dean" of American baseball writers and spent 38 years at the Chicago Sun-Times and The Daily Times before becoming a baseball columnist for the Chicago Tribune from 1981-99. "As a baseball writer, columnist and historian for more than 50 years, Jerome Holtzman was a beloved figure and made an incredible impact on the game," Selig said. "He created the save statistic, which in turn increased the importance of the relief pitcher. He was a giant in his industry and a much deserving member of the writers' wing of the National Baseball Hall of Fame. "Those of us who knew him and worked with him will always remember his good humor, his fairness, and his love for baseball." Holtzman, the author of six books - including the classic, No Cheering in the Press Box - was presented with the J.G. Taylor Spink Award, which is given annually to the baseball writer who has exhibited "meritorious contributions to baseball writing." Holtzman is survived by his wife of 59 years, Marilyn, and five children.
