In Focus - Show # 91: Sugar Ray Robinson / Carl Kasell Retires

By WESM News / Stephen Williams

PRINCESS ANNE, MD –

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Show Information:

Show Number: 91
Subject(s): Sugar Ray Robinson / Carl Kasell Retires
Guests:

• Wil Haygood, Author / Staffwriter - The Washington Post
• Carl Kasell - Former NPR Newscaster

Original Airdate: Monday, February 1, 2010
Running Time: 29 minutes

Brief Synopsis:

We'll begin this program talking with Mr. Wil Haygood, a prizewinning staffwriter at The Washington Post who has written biographies on several famous African-American figures in history - including the critically-acclaimed "In Black and White: The Life of Sammy Davis Jr." and "King of the Cats: The Life and Times of Adam Clayton Powell Jr."

Now Mr. Haygood has turned his attention to one of the most famous figures in professional boxing history in his book entitled, "Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson."

Born Walker Smith, Jr. in 1921, Robinson is frequently cited as the greatest boxer of all time. He held the world welterweight title from 1946 all the way up to 1951, and also won the world middleweight title that same year. He retired a year later in 1952 -- only to step back into the ring 2-and-a-half years later to regain the middleweight title in 1955.

Mr. Robinson died in 1989, and was posthumously inducted into the International Boxing Hall of Fame the following year.

Mr. Haygood's book goes into great detail about Sugar Ray Robinson's life and influence in the black community -- and was selected by The Chicago Tribune as one of their notable non-fiction books of 2009.

Later in this program, we'll talk with National Public Radio's former newscaster, Carl Kasell. For millions of NPR listeners, Kasell's voice was probably the first thing you heard every morning when you woke up. His authoritative, yet informative, hourly newscasts filled you in on everything going on in the world that you needed to know about.

Mr. Kasell's career in radio has spanned almost 60 years, and he also provided newscasts at the top of the hour for NPR's Morning Edition radio program since it first aired in 1979. Since then, he's been honored with a number of awards for distinguished career in the field of radio journalism, including a prestigious Peabody Award in 1999.

But as the saying goes, all good things come to an end - and in 2009 Mr. Kasell decided to step down from his position and enjoy semi-retirement.

On December 30, 2009, Mr. Kasell delivered his final newscast at 11 am Eastern time. But you'll still be able to hear him perform as official judge and scorekeeper on NPR's weekly quiz show, called "Wait, Wait Don't Tell Me" - which airs on 91-3 WESM. I had a chance to speak with Mr. Kasell via telephone, in this interview recorded on January 12, 2010.

Additional Links & Information:

"Sweet Thunder: The Life and Times of Sugar Ray Robinson" [Amazon.com]:
http://www.amazon.com/Sweet-Thunder-Times-Robinson-Borzoi/dp/1400044979

Sugar Ray Robinson [Wikipedia]:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Sugar_Ray_Robinson

C-SPAN Book TV - Interview with Wil Haygood:

The Official Site of Sugar Ray Robinson:
http://www.cmgww.com/sports/robinson/

Video - Sugar Ray Robinson knocks out Jake LaMotta:

After Decades, Kasell Steps Away From News Chair [NPR]:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122051037&ps=rs

Carl Kasell: After 30 Years, A Chance To Sleep In [NPR]:
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=122017544

Questions or Comments?

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