Editing Ralph Wiley

{{short description|American sports journalist (1952–2004)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2022}}

{{Infobox writer <!-- for more information see [[:Template:Infobox writer/doc]] -->
| name        = Ralph Wiley
| image       = 
| imagesize   = 
| caption     = 
| pseudonym   =
| birth_name  = Ralph Heygood Wiley Jr.
| birth_date  = {{Birth date|1952|04|12|mf=yes}}
| birth_place = [[Memphis, Tennessee|Memphis]], [[Tennessee]], U.S.
| death_date  = {{death date and age|2004|6|13|1952|4|12|mf=yes}}
| death_place = [[Orlando, Florida|Orlando]], [[Florida]], U.S.
| occupation  = Journalist, writer
| period      =
| education   = [[Knoxville College]]
| genre       = Non-fiction
| subject     = <!-- most noteworthy nonfiction subjects -->
|spouse=
}}

'''Ralph Heygood Wiley Jr.''' (April 12, 1952 – June 13, 2004)<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.findagrave.com/memorial/8934517/ralph-wiley|title=Ralph Wiley (1952-2004)|website=Find A Grave Memorial}}</ref> was an American sports journalist who wrote for ''[[Sports Illustrated]]'' and [[ESPN]]'s Page 2. He was well known for his distinctive literary tone and his writings on race in America.<ref name=":0">{{Cite news|url = https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-2004-jun-16-me-wiley16-story.html|title = Ralph Wiley, 52; Sportswriter and Author of Books on Race|last = Thurber|first = John|date = June 16, 2004|newspaper = LA Times|access-date = May 8, 2015}}</ref>

== Early life ==
Born in [[Memphis, Tennessee]], Wiley attended [[Knoxville College]] from 1972 to 1975, where he played [[Gridiron football|college football]].<ref name=":1">{{Cite news|url = https://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44630-2004Jun15.html|title = Sportswriter Ralph Wiley Dies; Essays Probed Black Life|last = Schudel|first = Matt|date = June 16, 2004|newspaper = [[The Washington Post]]|access-date = May 8, 2015}}</ref> After suffering an injury, he landed his first professional journalism job at the ''Knoxville Spectrum''. He was a member of [[Kappa Alpha Psi]] fraternity.

== Career ==
Upon graduation, Wiley earned a position at the ''[[Oakland Tribune]]'', where he quickly climbed up the ranks from [[copy boy]] to beat writer and eventually became a regular columnist. In 1980, he coined the famous phrase "Billy Ball" to describe the managerial style of [[Billy Martin]].<ref name=":1" /> In 1982, he was hired by ''Sports Illustrated'', where he wrote 28 cover stories over a nine-year period,<ref name=":1" /> mainly about [[boxing]], [[American football|football]], and [[baseball]].

Wiley published several books during the course of his career, including ''[[Serenity, A Boxing Memoir]]''; ''[[Why Black People Tend To Shout]]''; and ''[[By Any Means Necessary: The Trials and Tribulations of Making Malcolm X]]'', with [[Spike Lee]].

Additionally, Wiley wrote articles for ''[[GQ]]'', ''[[Premiere (magazine)|Premiere]]'', and ''[[National Geographic (magazine)|National Geographic]]''. He was a weekly contributor to ESPN's Page 2, where he wrote more than 240 columns. His presence on TV included [[ESPN]]'s ''[[The Sports Reporters]]'' and regular guest appearances on ''[[SportsCenter]]''.

=== Style ===
Wiley was famous for his well-regarded essays on race in America.<ref name=":0" /> He was known for his ability to mix street vernacular with literary references, and for his witty, erudite, and sometimes forceful writing style.<ref name=":1" /> When writing for ESPN's Page 2, in skirting the line between sports journalism and literary fiction, Wiley wrote many articles in the third person, featuring discursive, jazz-inflected prose and dialogue conducted between himself and a fictionalized character whose identity the writer left deliberately obscure.{{Citation needed|date = May 2015}}

== Death ==
Wiley died of a [[Myocardial infarction|heart attack]] at the age of 52 on June 13, 2004, while watching Game 4 of the [[2004 NBA Finals]]. Survivors included his companion, Susan Peacock of Orlando; his mother, Dorothy Brown of Washington, D.C.; a son from his marriage to Holly Cypress, Colen C. "Cole" Wiley; a daughter from his marriage to Monica Valdiviez-Wiley, Magdalena Elizabeth “Maggie” Valdiviez-Wiley; and a half brother, Samuel Graham of Memphis.

== References ==
<references />

{{NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Literary Work – Nonfiction}}
{{Authority control}}

{{DEFAULTSORT:Wiley, Ralph}}
[[Category:1952 births]]
[[Category:2004 deaths]]
[[Category:African-American sportswriters]]
[[Category:Writers from Memphis, Tennessee]]
[[Category:Sportswriters from Tennessee]]
[[Category:20th-century African-American writers]]
[[Category:21st-century African-American writers]]
[[Category:Knoxville College alumni]]