Former Sun-Times sports writer Mike Downey had a way with words that seemed to flow naturally. In the summer of 1978 he wrote of an injured Chicago Bear: “It was painful to watch. Waymond Bryant wanted to play, but his shoulder and his doctors said no.
So he knelt near the trees that caped the Bears’ training camp in Lake Forest and just watched — red stocking cap on his head, 50 on his jersey and an ache in his heart.” The next summer he wrote about a Bulls big man predicament: “Whether you’re talking about H-bombs, Playboy magazine, Tootsie Pops or basketball teams, the story’s the same. The important thing is the center.
” Mr. Downey worked at the Daily News until it closed in 1978. He then worked for the Sun-Times for several years in the late 1970s and early 1980s.
“He was one of those guys you wanted to read,” said Sun-Times columnist Rick Telander. Mr. Downey died June 12 after suffering a heart attack at his home in Rancho Mirage, Cal.
He was 72. Mr. Downey went on to work at the Detroit Free Press and the Los Angeles Times, where took on a column that delved into topics beyond sports.
He later returned to his hometown to work at the Chicago Tribune as a sports columnist. He grew up in south suburban Steger and attended Bloom High School. He started working at Star Publications in the south suburbs when he was 16.
“He’s an old-fashioned guy like Mike Royko. He never went to college, he went straight to work at a suburban paper and he worked ever.
