Former Times Writer Dan Hafner Dies

Dan Hafner, a Los Angeles Times sportswriter for 33 years, died Monday at 74 after a long illness.

Originally from Hannibal, Mo., Hafner covered sports for the now defunct Los Angeles Examiner for 19 years, beginning in 1943. He joined The Times in 1962 and covered, at various times, the Angels, Dodgers, Lakers, Kings, boxing and golf.

He was also a rewrite man, and was the first Times staffer to write daily roundups covering baseball, hockey and NBA games not involving Los Angeles teams. He retired in 1995.

“Dan Hafner genuinely liked being a sportswriter,” said Sports Editor Bill Dwyre. “He liked the people that his job introduced him to, and he liked being able to write about these same people. Sportswriting, and sportswriters, carry much more cynicism these days than in Hafner’s, and that’s one of the reasons it’s so sad to lose him.”

Hafner is survived by his wife, Louise, and daughters Christine, Pauline, Karen and Laura. Services are pending.