About

Art Spander is an award-winning American sports writer. He is currently a columnist for the San Francisco Examiner and RealClearSports.com. In 1999 he was awarded the McCann Award, earning him a spot in the Pro Football Hall of Fame.  In 2007 he was honored with the Masters Major Achievement Award and in 2009 was given the PGA of America Lifetime Achievement Award.

Spander began his career as a news writer for United Press International in Los Angeles in 1960, and started writing sports full time in 1963 for the Santa Monica Outlook where he was the beat writer for the Los Angeles Rams and Los Angeles Dodgers. In 1965 he moved to the San Francisco Chronicle, where he covered golf, football, baseball and basketball. Spander became the lead sports columnist for the San Francisco Examiner in 1979.

As of 2009, Spander has covered 43 consecutive Masters tournaments, 33 Super Bowls, 40 US Open golf tournaments, 29 British Open golf tournaments, 25 Wimbledons and 26 NCAA men’s basketball Final Fours. He has also attended 56 consecutive Rose Bowls - initially as a spectator and vendor, and the last 46 as a journalist.

In addition to his newspaper/online writing work, Spander is a frequent commentator on sports talk radio and contributor to various sports magazines.

Spander has also written or co-authored three books: Golf: The Passion and The Challenge with Mark Mulvoy, 1977; The Art Spander Collection, forward by Al Michaels, 1989 (Taylor Publishing); and Keeping On Course: Golf Tips on Avoiding the Sandtraps of Today’s Business World with Gary Shemano, 1997 (McGraw-Hill). Spander recently wrote the forward for The Good, the Bad, and the Ugly Los Angeles Lakers: Heart-Pounding, Jaw-Dropping, and Gut-Wrenching Moments from Los Angeles Lakers History, written by Steve Travers, 2007 (Triumph Books).

Born in Los Angeles, Spander is a graduate of Dorsey High School and UCLA. Spander and his wife, Liz, reside in Oakland, California. He has two daughters, Wendy, a public relations and events manager for Electronic Arts/EA SPORTS, and Debbie, a sports and entertainment lawyer in Los Angeles.

Art can be reached via e-mail at typoes@aol.com.