Les Biederman

Lester J. Biederman

• School Ohio State University

• Born June 7, 1907 in Wilkinsburg, PA USA
• Died November 30, 1981 in Fort Myers, FL USA

Biographical Information

Les Biederman spent his entire professional career (1930-1969) as a sportswriter with the Pittsburgh Press, commencing immediately upon his graduation from Ohio State University in 1930 and concluding with his retirement in the spring of 1969.

His first 8 years with the newspaper were confined largely to sports other than baseball, with an emphasis on boxing. For the remaining 31, outside of an early but unavoidable two-year 'sabbatical' (spent in the South Pacific, serving as a captain in the USAF in World War II), he was the Press's Pirates beat reporter, eventually succeeding Chester L. Smith as the paper's sports editor in 1966. In addition, upon returning from his aforementioned Air Force stint, and continuing until his retirement, Biederman served as The Sporting News's Pittsburgh correspondent - or at least co-correspondent; in fact, he would share those duties with the Post-Gazette's Jack Hernon until 1956.

Further Reading

• Sports Staff: "Sports Stew - Served Hot: Capt. Lester J. Biederman appointed head of AACS overseas station", The Pittsburgh Press, February 18, 1944, p. 32. [1]
• "Service Men Attend Dinner", The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, October 20, 1944, p. 15. [2]
• "Les Biederman Heads Writers", The Pittsburgh Press, October 4, 1958, p. 6. [3]
• "Pennsylvania's Top Sports Writer: Les Biederman of the Pittsburgh Press", The Pittsburgh Press, May 4, 1960, p. 50. [4]
• "Ex-Press Sports Editor Les Biederman Dies", The Pittsburgh Press, November 30, 1981, pp. A-1, A-12. [5], [6]

Related Sites

• baseball-fever.com - Meet the Sports Writers: Page 8, #177