Plaschke Honored as Top Columnist

Bill Plaschke, Times sports columnist, was named winner Tuesday of the national Associated Press Sports Editors contest for column writing.

Plaschke, who has been at The Times since 1987 and started writing a column in 1996, won in a category long dominated by Mitch Albom of the Detroit Free Press. Plaschke’s first place for 1999, and a first place by Gary Shelton of the St. Petersburg Times in 1995, marked the only times since 1985 that Albom had not finished first. Albom started his domination after Jim Murray of The Times won in 1984.

Southern California also had a second winner in the largest paper category, Paula Bott’s first-place entry in enterprise reporting for the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Other Southern California placers in the annual APSE contest were Stephanie Diaz of the Riverside Press-Enterprise, second place in news writing for papers 100,000 to 250,000 circulation, and Scott Reid of the Orange County Register, fifth in investigative reporting, all circulation categories.

Plaschke had a previous APSE first place, sharing the news category award with Elliott Almond in 1995. He also has finished second once in column writing and feature writing and previously has placed in the top five in feature, investigative reporting and game story writing.