Ralph Wiley of Fame
By Olivia Stokes, N.C. A&T
Before he became a legendary writer, Memphis native Ralph Wiley developed a passion for sports early on and played football at Knoxville College, where he also joined the Kappa Alpha Psi fraternity. An injury ended his athletic career, but it led him to journalism. He started at the Knoxville Spectrum and later joined the Oakland Tribune, where he coined the term “Billy Ball” to describe the managing style of Yankees manager Billy Martin.
Wiley joined Sports Illustrated in 1982, writing 28 cover stories and covering sports like boxing, football, and baseball. His writing was known for mixing street language with literary flair. He also contributed to GQ, Premiere, National Geographic, and ESPN’s Page 2.
Beyond sports, Wiley wrote books like “Serenity: A Boxing Memoir” and “Why Black People Tend to Shout.” Wiley, who often tackled race and social issues with insight and honesty, was a regular voice on ESPN shows such as The Sports Reporters and SportsCenter.
Wiley died of a heart attack on June 13, 2004, at the age of 52.
Olivia Stokes is a junior multimedia journalism student from Greensboro, N.C.