Jack Berry (journalist)

Berry was a correspondent for United Press International from 1956 to 1959.[3][4] He worked part-time at the Lansing, Michigan, bureau of United Press during his senior year at Michigan State University, then was hired to work full-time when he graduated. Berry stated that he was a one-man-show in sports at the office, and "learned to write fast, write short and be able to dictate off the top of your head".[2] His assignments included coverage for the Detroit Tigers, Detroit Lions, Detroit Red Wings, and the Detroit Pistons, the Michigan Wolverines, the Michigan State Spartans, and other colleges and high schools.[2] He also began reporting on golf at United Press. His first PGA Tour event was the 1958 Buick Open at the Warwick Hills Golf and Country Club, followed by the 1958 U.S. Women's Open at Forest Lake Country Club, and the Motor City Open in Detroit.[2][3]

The Detroit News Complex, home to The Detroit News and the Detroit Free Press

From 1959 to 1971, Berry worked on the sports staff of the Detroit Free Press.[3][4][5] He continued to report on hockey, golf, baseball and college sports, in addition to skiing and Michigan State Spartans football.[2] He covered the 1961 U.S. Open played at the Oakland Hills Country Club, which was his first major golf championship.[3] He felt that the Free Press "had the best staff and one of the best sports sections in the country in the 1960s", and that the victory by the Tigers in game seven of the 1968 World Series was a career highlight.[2] He was elected vice-president of the National Hockey League Writers Association in 1970,[6] then became president in 1971 when it was renamed to the Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) to distinguish itself from teams in the league.[7] He retired as president in 1972, but remained as a director for the PHWA.[8]

Berry wrote for The Detroit News from 1971 to 1993.[3][4][5] He was a columnist in his first year with the paper, then covered hockey and the Olympics during the winter, and primarily golf in the summer.[2] He covered the attempt by Jack Nicklaus to win the Grand Slam of golf at the 1972 Open Championship in Scotland.[2] His other work included the undefeated season by the Miami Dolphins in 1972 and Super Bowl VII in 1973, the horse racing Triple Crown by Secretariat in 1973, and the 1980 Winter Olympics which included both the Miracle on Ice and the five gold medals won by Eric Heiden in speed skating.[2][3] Berry noted his most memorable golf championship as a journalist was the 1986 Masters Tournament won by Jack Nicklaus.[3]

While reporting on golf, Berry preferred to leave the media tent and get among the crowd to "hear the cheers and groans".[2] At The Detroit News, he began writing the "Golf Page" with expanded coverage on players, tournaments and golf courses.[9] He worked with local PGA professionals and the Detroit Recreation Department to grow junior golf programs,[3] and wrote the Guide to Michigan Golf.[10] In 1982, he was a founding board member of Michigan Golf Hall of Fame.[9]

In 1984, Berry was elected president of the Golf Writers' Association of America (GWAA).[3] In the same year, he was influential in lifting the ban on female reporters in the locker room at The Masters.[4][10] He later retired as the GWAA president, and served as its secretary-treasurer from 1990 to 1998.[3] During the 1990s, he was instrumental in admitting public players who met the minimum golf handicap requirement into the Michigan Women's Amateur Championship.[4][10] His work was since credited by the Michigan Women's Golf Association as contributing to the growth of women's and girls' golf in Michigan.[10]

After retiring from The Detroit News in 1993, Berry became a freelancer and wrote columns for PGA Magazine, Chicagoland Golf and the Michigan Golfer.[3][9] He assists in interviewing Michigan State University journalism applicants for the GWAA scholarship, and became a partner in the media relations firm, All About Golf, based in Grand Rapids, Michigan.[2] By 2007, Berry covered more than 70 major golf championships during his career.[3][5]