William Block Sr., 89; Longtime Publisher of Pittsburgh Paper

William Block Sr., 89, the longtime publisher of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette who helped orchestrate the purchase of its larger rival, died of pneumonia Monday, according to the newspaper.

Block joined his family’s company, Block Communications Inc., in 1936 and became publisher of the Post-Gazette 10 years later. He was co-publisher of the Pittsburgh newspaper and the Blade in Toledo for 46 years and chairman of the family-owned company for 14 years, until he retired in 2001.

“He was not only a kind and generous employer, he was a friend. Everybody thought of him that way, from copy boys to the top editorial people,” said William E. Deibler, a retired former managing editor.

In 1992, Block helped orchestrate the purchase of the Pittsburgh Press, then the city’s largest newspaper, during an eight-month strike by delivery truck drivers at the Press and Post-Gazette. The Post-Gazette closed the Press after buying it from E.W. Scripps Co. in exchange for cash and the sale of the Herald of Monterey, Calif.