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Dave Treen
Former governor of Louisiana
Dave Treen, 81, who in 1979 became the first Republican governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction but lost a reelection bid to the controversial Democrat Edwin Edwards four years later, died Thursday of complications from a respiratory illness, his son David Treen Jr. said.
Treen did not have to face Edwards in 1979 because the popular governor couldn't run for three consecutive terms. Treen defeated Louis Lambert but lost in a landslide four years later to Edwards, who is serving a 10-year sentence for trying to rig the riverboat casino licensing process during his fourth term.
Treen's term was marked by a downturn in Louisiana's oil economy with prices and production falling, cutting sharply into the state's revenue.
He was born in Baton Rouge on July 16, 1928, and graduated with honors from Tulane Law School in 1960. He was an Air Force lawyer, then had a private practice in New Orleans.
Treen lost three times to Rep. Hale Boggs, attacking his support of the Voting Rights Act. Treen was elected to Congress in 1972 in a suburban New Orleans district.
Cordner Nelson
Co-founder of Track & Field News
Cordner Nelson, 91, a writer and editor who co-founded Track & Field News, now considered the authoritative publication on the sport, died Oct. 26 at his home in Carmel after battling cancer, the magazine announced.
A San Diego native born Aug. 6, 1918, Nelson got his first taste of major track and field competition as a teenager while attending the 1932 Summer Olympics at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with his father and younger brother, Bert.
The brothers launched Track & Field News in 1948, with Cordner serving as editor and Bert handling the business side as publisher. Cordner Nelson reported on track meets, wrote about athletic training and techniques and compiled statistics.
According to the International Assn. of Athletics Foundation, Track & Field News' lists of world rankings are now recognized as the definitive authority in the sport.
Nelson stepped down as editor in 1970 but continued to write for the magazine, which calls itself "the bible of the sport."
Nelson also wrote books related to track and field, including such nonfiction offerings as "The Jim Ryun Story," about the notable U.S. miler, as well as the 1969 novel "The Miler."
Nelson covered every Olympics from 1952 through 2000, in addition to scores of major international competitions.
He attended his last track meet in July 2008 at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1988.
A graduate of what is now the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Nelson served in the Army during World War II in China, Burma and India, and was discharged with the rank of major.
He studied creative writing in graduate school at the University of Oklahoma for two years after the war until starting Track & Field News.
Nelson is also credited with inventing an early "fantasy sports" game based on track and field statistics that was devised at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
-- times staff and wire reports news.obits@latimes.com
Former governor of Louisiana
Dave Treen, 81, who in 1979 became the first Republican governor of Louisiana since Reconstruction but lost a reelection bid to the controversial Democrat Edwin Edwards four years later, died Thursday of complications from a respiratory illness, his son David Treen Jr. said.
Treen did not have to face Edwards in 1979 because the popular governor couldn't run for three consecutive terms. Treen defeated Louis Lambert but lost in a landslide four years later to Edwards, who is serving a 10-year sentence for trying to rig the riverboat casino licensing process during his fourth term.
Treen's term was marked by a downturn in Louisiana's oil economy with prices and production falling, cutting sharply into the state's revenue.
He was born in Baton Rouge on July 16, 1928, and graduated with honors from Tulane Law School in 1960. He was an Air Force lawyer, then had a private practice in New Orleans.
Treen lost three times to Rep. Hale Boggs, attacking his support of the Voting Rights Act. Treen was elected to Congress in 1972 in a suburban New Orleans district.
Cordner Nelson
Co-founder of Track & Field News
Cordner Nelson, 91, a writer and editor who co-founded Track & Field News, now considered the authoritative publication on the sport, died Oct. 26 at his home in Carmel after battling cancer, the magazine announced.
A San Diego native born Aug. 6, 1918, Nelson got his first taste of major track and field competition as a teenager while attending the 1932 Summer Olympics at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum with his father and younger brother, Bert.
The brothers launched Track & Field News in 1948, with Cordner serving as editor and Bert handling the business side as publisher. Cordner Nelson reported on track meets, wrote about athletic training and techniques and compiled statistics.
According to the International Assn. of Athletics Foundation, Track & Field News' lists of world rankings are now recognized as the definitive authority in the sport.
Nelson stepped down as editor in 1970 but continued to write for the magazine, which calls itself "the bible of the sport."
Nelson also wrote books related to track and field, including such nonfiction offerings as "The Jim Ryun Story," about the notable U.S. miler, as well as the 1969 novel "The Miler."
Nelson covered every Olympics from 1952 through 2000, in addition to scores of major international competitions.
He attended his last track meet in July 2008 at the U.S. Olympic trials in Eugene, Ore. He was inducted into the National Track and Field Hall of Fame in 1988.
A graduate of what is now the University of the Pacific in Stockton, Nelson served in the Army during World War II in China, Burma and India, and was discharged with the rank of major.
He studied creative writing in graduate school at the University of Oklahoma for two years after the war until starting Track & Field News.
Nelson is also credited with inventing an early "fantasy sports" game based on track and field statistics that was devised at the 1956 Summer Olympics in Melbourne, Australia.
-- times staff and wire reports news.obits@latimes.com
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