Staff report
Longtime Chicago Sun-Times columnist Bill Gleason, who worked for more than 60 years in Chicago journalism, died Sunday. He was 87.
Former Chicago Tribune reporter Bill Jauss, who called Gleason "my mentor and best friend in the newspaper business," said Gleason's last words were, "You guys had a great time."
Former Tribune and Sun-Times journalist Mike Downey recalled Gleason as true White Sox fan. And if readers who were Cubs fans didn't like, that was just too bad.
"Gleason was a White Sox homer and had the courage to say so," Downey wrote Sunday from his home in California. "You rarely if ever knew of a New York or California sports columnist who publicly declared an allegiance to one local team over another, but Gleason believed a true Chicago baseball fan was one who chose sides. He made a commitment to the South Side personally and professionally. If a Cubs fan didn't care for that, well, in Bill's book, tough.
In 2006, Gleason convalesced at a suburban rehabilitation center after suffering a fall that led to him losing vision in his right eye. When Tribune columnist Fred Mitchell called to wish him luck in his recovery, Gleason responded: "I wish you the best of luck in making it through the Bears' crisis this season."
In 2005, Jauss looked back on his half-century as a reporter and included Gleason among the best he had seen. Wrote Jauss, "Legendary sportswriter Bill Gleason knew the reading preferences and passions of Chicago fans like few others. He knew, when others scoffed at the idea, that fans would listen to and watch writers argue about sports on radio and TV."
Downey recalled Gleason as journalist most comfortable working close to home.
"Bill Gleason wasn't much interested in the wide world of sports. He was interested in the Midwest's world of sports," Downey said. "Jack Griffin would go all the way to Africa for the Sun-Times to cover a Muhammad Ali fight, whereas Gleason's idea of a long road trip was one to South Bend."
In addition to the Sun-Times, Gleason worked for the defunct Chicago American. He also served in the military during World War II.
More to come.
All Bears news delivered to your mailbox on Friday and Monday mornings. 
When sports news breaks, be the first to know. (To get alerts on a mobile device, text CHISPORTS to 31286.). 
Get our updates on 
i met bill at a notre dame football luncheon in chicago where the great ara parseghian was honored. bill always had time for people and had the greatest wit. his tv show was the best! now he joins ben bentley up above. we will miss him. he once reported how notre dame did not need football to survive.
A sample of Bill's humor, in a letter to me Feb. 29, 1984:
"Dear John,
Unfortunately.
Tell Dear Mother that she must wait for the next issue of CHICAGO SPORTS. All of us have to wait..
I like the Sun-Times much better now. Part of that, obviously, was that I hated what Hoge did to the paper. (As did Mullen.)
All the best and thanks
for the thought.
Signed:
Bill
ENCLOSED: My card."
And in the envelope there was a Topps baseball card of 1977 White Sox pitcher Lerrin LaGrow. What a guy you are/were Mr. Bill!
As a Chicago native and sports fan my whole life, I look back on the years when I was a kid watching the "Sports Writers on TV" as part of the fabric of some of my favorite memories. Bill was the guy who I always waited for to hear perspective on the topic du jour...Jauss was upbeat, Bentley was trying to keep on topic - but Bill would bring the real color commentary. He said the things that needed to be said in language that everyone could understand. Here's hoping that Bill's memories and spirit continue on for a long time to come!
Mr. Gleason was my first employer at the age of ten in which he had me over to his apartment once a week for two hours to rip his columns out of the paper and place them into his scrap books. While I sat a his dining room table stacked high with old newpapers, the sound of a old typewriter clicking away and the smell of the cigar smoke filled his apartment. You were a true South Sider and Chicagoan Mr. Gleason. I will always have fond memories of you.
Mr. Gleason changed the way the White Sox were covered in Chicago. And We thank him for it. Bill was clearly a White Sox Man Through and Through! We all cherish his visits to Millers Pub with his buddies Bill Veeck, John Morden, Bill Jauss, Dave Condon, Nick Kladis, Ziggy, Charlie Finley, and of course Jimmy Gallios. To the Gleason family, We honor his life and will always remember Bill with many of his photos. When he appeared on the Sportswriters, he really had no equal. Yes, He was the best at his craft in Chicago.
Our sympathies to the family,
Millers Pub Staff
G. Bliss
I am not sure if he should be blamed or credited, but Mr. Gleason, along with Jauss, Bentley and whomever else sat at their table, invented sports/talk radio. Those shows were incredibly entertaining and occasionally informative. Programmers today could learn a lot by listening to some of those old tapes.
I only knew him through "Sportswriters on TV" and the columns he wrote for the "Southtown". His love and knowledge of Chicago Sports were obvious as well as his basic kindness and worth as a human being.
What a terrific man, he will be missed by all. A true Chicagoan who loved life and loved his work. A brilliant person who will be missed by all of us....
Bill Gleason was a great sportswriter, Chicago historian, cigar smoker and person. I spent many late mornings on the "rim" at the Sun-Times sports dept. talking to Bill and his editor and friend, Jim Mullen (while taking a break from the composing room).
I remember Bill's desk was always covered with stacks of newspapers and mail. He called it his "Maginot Line".
Gleason, Griffin, Holtzman, Manthey, Van Dyke, Schiewe, Mullen, Gold--what a crew and what terrific newspapermen! Proud to have known them.
Bill Gleason embodied the finest qualities of the prototypical "Chicago" journalist - knowledgeable, honest and wonderfully funny. Great writer, and his passing is a great loss for my hometown.
Bill had a big heart that he hid behind his gruff exterior. In the 70's Bill covered a Northwestern football game against Minnesota in which I was playing. I was knocked unconcsious and had to be taken off the field on a cart. Bill checked in on me in the locker room after the game and also wrote a very nice article that featured my exploits in yet another NU loss. While recuperating in Evanston hospital, Bill called to see how I was doing and showed genuine concern for my welfare. We still have a framed copy of his "In The Wake of The News" column hanging in the den. Bill's thoughtfulness and concern were genuine and will always be remembered. Rest in peace.
I suppose it's okay to tell this story now. When I was just starting to work in the Wrigley Field press box 15 years or so ago as a reporter, Gleason was still doing the occasional trip to cover the Cubs, write a column, etc.
Back in the day, sportswriters could enjoy a cold one after the game, but press boxes have been dry now for a couple of decades.
On this hot day, however, Gleason opened his bag and took out several bottles wrapped in tube socks. Everyone knew he had brought beer, but who was going to stop him?? He was Bill Gleason and, to an extent, had earned those beers...RIP to a legend.
Bill Gleason is my grandfather, and growing up and watching such an unique and audacious man was a truly memorable experience. What those below have said is a true testament to his character. Not only was he knowledgable in sports writing but he also knew a story for just about any topic you could think of. Forget the rest in peace part, "Red" Gleason will surely be wide awake and cooking up some sort of party in the sky right about now.
Before the age of sports talk radio I always watched "The Sportswriters" on television. Ben Bentley, Bill Gleason, Bill Jauss and Rick Telander always had different opinions about things and I always learned something by watching the show. RIP..Mr. Gleason.
Bill was a giant among Chicago sportswriters. He wit and humor will be missed. Godspeed my friend!!
I meet Bill Gleason at a Cubs game one afternoon and told him how much I enjoyed his work. He said "Son you look like you played some football in your day". I told him yes but it was at a small college in Minnesota that he probably never heard of. He asked me the name and after I told him he proceeded to tell me more about Winona State University that I knew myself. During our short conversation regarding college sports he made me feel like we had been friends for a lifetime. He will be missed.
I meet Bill Gleason at a Cubs game one afternoon and told him how much I enjoyed his work. He said "Son you look like you played some football in your day". I told him yes but it was at a small college in Minnesota that he probably never heard of. He asked me the name and after I told him he proceeded to tell me more about Winona State University that I knew myself. During our short conversation regarding college sports he made me feel like we had been friends for a lifetime. He will be missed.
I had the pleasure of meeting Mr Gleason in the 90's as a community TV interviewer with Plainfield Community TV. He gave me all of the attention he gave to fully accredited reporters who had to wait until he finished talking to me. A funny, smart man, and a true class act. Rest in Peace.
Us South Siders will miss you Bill, you had a storied life and your family should be very proud of you. Go White Sox!
I used to work with Bill and am so saddened by his death. We'll miss you, Bill!
I used to work with Bill and am so saddened by his death. We'll miss you, Bill!
Bill Gleason was a dynamic fabric in Chicago sports. Rest in peace.