George Knight Strode, 81

George Knight Strode of Grove City, Ohio, a sports writer and sports editor in central Ohio for 37 years wrote the final chapter of his life on Wednesday, June 28, 2017 at Mount Carmel Hospital in Columbus. George spent 37 years working for three different companies is the six story downtown headquarters of the Dispatch. Six with the defunct Citizens-Journal, 16 years as Ohio Sports Editor of the Associated Press and the last 15 years as sports editor of The Dispatch.

He was born on November 10, 1935 in Amesville, Ohio, 10 miles from Athens, Ohio, son of the late Mac and Edith (Murphy) Strode. He graduated from Dayton Wilbur Wright High School in 1953 and from Ohio University in 1958. He dropped out of College to work as the court reporter for the Parkersburg News for one year in 1955 and as a part time sports writer for Ohio University when he returned to school. Upon graduation he worked as the sports editor for the Zanesville-Recorder, following by stints as sports editor of the Athens Messenger and sports reporter for the Dayton Daily News before coming to the Citizens Journal in 1963. While with the AP he helped staff two Olympics, while writing about swimming in the 1976 Montreal Games and about men’s and women’s basketball in 1986 Los Angels Games. He also covered two Pan- American Games in 1979 in San Juan, Puerto Rico and in 1983 in Carcas, Venezuela. He wrote the AP National Sports Story of the year in 1983 about the bust of narcotics used by the Pan-Am athletes.

Before joining the Dispatch he he won the investigative story for Ohio’s large newspapers, uncovering an FBI probe into race fixing at thoroughbred tracks in Ohio, including Beulah Park; Kentucky and Canada. He also wrote about Ohio State Football, 10 of which was covering Woody Hayes. He is a former President of the Ohio Chapter of the Ohio Harness Writhers Association, long time secretary-treasurer of the Basketball Writers Association.

He is preceded in death by his parents, his sisters, Elizabeth and Eleanor.

He is survived by his lovely caring wife Ruth.

Funeral services will be held on Monday, July 3, 2017 at 1 p.m. at the Anderson McDaniel Funeral Home in Pomeroy with Rev. Jan Lavender officiating. Burial will follow in the Gilmore Cemetery. Visitation for family and friends will be held one hour prior to the service.

A registry is available at www.andersonmcdaniel.com