{{Short description|American sportswriter and journalist (1951–2011)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=January 2022}} {{Use American English|date=January 2022}} {{Infobox person | name = Rod Beaton | image = Journalist Hugh Roderick Beaton Jr. photo.jpg | alt = Middle-aged man wearing eyeglasses, a gray sweater, with black and gray hair, and a gray-haired beard | birth_name = Hugh Roderick Beaton Jr. | birth_date = {{Birth date|1951|9|28|mf=y}} | birth_place = Augusta, Georgia, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|2011|06|22|1951|09|28|mf=y}} | death_place = Arlington County, Virginia, U.S. | alma_mater = University of Delaware | occupation = Sports journalist | years_active = 1977–2006 | employer = {{ubl|''The News Journal'' (1977–1982)|''USA Today'' (1982–2006)}} }}
'''Hugh Roderick Beaton Jr.''' (September 28, 1951{{spnd}}June 22, 2011) was an American sportswriter and journalist. He covered ice hockey and baseball for ''The News Journal'' in the late 1970s, then became one of the original writers for ''USA Today'' in 1982. He served as president of the Professional Hockey Writers' Association from 1985 to 1987, when voting for starters in the National Hockey League All-Star Game shifted from the sportswriters to the league's fans.
Beaton focused solely on writing about baseball for ''USA Today'' since the late 1980s. He traveled to Minor League Baseball games to watch the younger players and write about, prior to them making it to Major League Baseball. He was credited by ''The Washington Post'' for establishing a network to gather information, for writing columns that discussed prospect talent for each major league team, and for giving exposure to many future star players.<ref name="Schudel-2011">{{cite news|title=Rod Beaton, USA Today sportswriter, dies at 59|last=Schudel|first=Matt|date=July 16, 2011|newspaper=The Washington Post|location=Washington, D.C.|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/rod-beaton-usa-today-sportswriter-dies-at-59/2011/07/16/gIQAUPfqII_story.html|access-date=January 12, 2022}}; {{cite news|title=Sportswriter was part of original staff of USA Today|last=Schudel|first=Matt|date=July 23, 2011|newspaper=Pittsburgh Post-Gazette|location=Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania|page=11|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91503704/beaton-2011/}}</ref> ''Sports Illustrated'' writer Jeff Pearlman described Beaton as a journalist who would not degrade a player just to get attention, and wrote "in a voice that was authoritative and oft-funny".<ref name="Pearlman-2009">{{cite magazine|url=https://www.si.com/more-sports/2009/10/09/beaton|title=Sportswriter living a nightmare with debilitating disease|last=Pearlman|first=Jeff|author-link=Jeff Pearlman|date=October 9, 2009|magazine=Sports Illustrated|publisher=|access-date=January 12, 2022}}</ref>
As a student, Beaton graduated from the University of Delaware, was involved with Students for a Democratic Society, participated in Vietnam War protests, and helped to form a student union in high school. He was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease in 2000, which was later modified to a diagnosis of dementia with Lewy bodies. He retired from journalism in 2006, and died at age 59.
==Early life and education== Hugh Roderick Beaton Jr. was born on September 28, 1951, in Augusta, Georgia, and grew up in the greater Wilmington, Delaware area.<ref name="Schudel-2011" /> He graduated from Alexis I. duPont High School in Greenville.<ref name="The-News-Journal-2011">{{cite news|title=Hugh R. "Rod" Beaton Jr.|date=July 24, 2011|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=32|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/91503458/beaton-2011/}}</ref> He helped to form a student union while in high school. Beaton said about the curriculum, "They don't teach you to teach yourself, which is what education is about".<ref name="jan-18-1969">{{cite news|title=Who set up student union–and why|last=Tudor|first=W. G.|date=January 18, 1969|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=24|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92459648/beaton-1969/}}</ref> He felt that students who taught themselves how to learn then suffered from low grades and poor recommendations for colleges. According to Beaton, he was suspended from high school for "general insubordination", "organizing a one-day strike", and for "publishing an underground newspaper".<ref name="jan-18-1969" /> He sought for the students' underground New Left newspaper be permitted for sale in the school, and sought for students to have more say into discipline and felt that some students and particularly African Americans were unfairly suspended.<ref>{{cite news|title=Alexis I. 3 Won't Leave, Are Arrested|last=Raimy|first=Eric C.|date=February 15, 1969|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=3|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92459727/beaton-1969/}}</ref>
Beaton became involved in the Students for a Democratic Society while in high school, and participated in a New Castle County student group opposed to the Vietnam War, and a peace rally in Rodney Square in Wilmington.<ref name="jan-18-1969" /> He attended the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he was a roommate of activist David Fine in 1969.<ref>{{cite news|title=5 years ago, Fine's friends said he wasn't bomb type|date=January 9, 1976|newspaper=Wisconsin State Journal|location=Madison, Wisconsin|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92569815/beaton-1976/}}</ref><ref name="jan-9-1976">{{cite news|title=FBI arrests bombing suspect David Fine|last=Hoffman|first=David|date=January 9, 1976|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=1|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92569404/beaton-1976/}}; {{cite news|title=Fine, fugitive for 5 years, arrested in California (Continued from Page One) |last=Hoffman|first=David|date=January 9, 1976|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92569295/beaton-1976/}}</ref> Beaton stated that he became frustrated with the atmosphere in Wisconsin, when he participated in peaceful protests that were met "with fierce police resistance".<ref name="jan-9-1976" /> He returned to Delaware by October 1970, and was the spokesperson for a group of students protesting the "system of the ruling class necessitating Agnews" at a speech given by Spiro Agnew, the vice president of the United States.<ref>{{cite news|title=Blazing Yippie pig doused; youths lack burning permit|last=Williams|first=Ron|date=October 15, 1970|newspaper=The Morning News|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92566328/beaton-1970/}}</ref> After attending an anti-war rally in March 1971, Beaton was acquitted of a disorderly conduct charge at the event.<ref>{{cite news|title=2 Youths Cleared In Foulmouth Case|date=May 13, 1971|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=38|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92567093/beaton-1971/}}</ref> After David Fine was arrested in connection to the Sterling Hall bombing at the University of Wisconsin, Beaton became chairman of a fundraising committee to assist with the legal defense for Fine.<ref>{{cite news|title=Fine's Friends Launch Delaware Fund Drive|date=February 4, 1976|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=2|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92569002/beaton-1976/}}</ref> By 1976, Beaton lived in Newark, Delaware,<ref name="jan-9-1976" /> and graduated from the University of Delaware.<ref name="Schudel-2011" />
==Journalism career== Beaton became a reporter for ''The News Journal'' in Wilmington by September 1977.<ref>{{cite news|title=Lion Eleven May Roar This Year|last=Beaton|first=Rod|date=September 14, 1977|newspaper=The News Journal|location=Wilmington, Delaware|page=28|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92569557/beaton-1977/}}</ref> He reported on local high school sports then regularly wrote hockey columns on the Philadelphia Flyers.<ref name="Schudel-2011" /> When ''USA Today'' was founded in 1982, Beaton was one of its original writers. He continued to write about hockey, in addition to baseball coverage for the Philadelphia Phillies and Baltimore Orioles. He also reported the Daytona 500, the Super Bowl, and the Winter Olympic Games.<ref name="Schudel-2011" />
The Professional Hockey Writers' Association (PHWA) elected Beaton its president from 1985 to 1987.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.thephwa.com/about-the-phwa/|title=About the PHWA|year=2021|website=Professional Hockey Writers' Association|access-date=January 12, 2022}}</ref> The PHWA had annually chosen participants of the All-Star Game of the National Hockey League prior to the league's fans voting for the starting players as of the 1986 All-Star Game.<ref name="jan-31-1986">{{cite news|title=Fans salute Pelle with one last start|last=Ross|first=Sherry|date=January 31, 1986|newspaper=The Record|location=Hackensack, New Jersey|page=81|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92447172/phwa-1986/}}; {{cite news|title=Pelle a favorite with hockey fans (continued)|last=Ross|first=Sherry|date=January 31, 1986|newspaper=The Record|location=Hackensack, New Jersey|page=85|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92446596/phwa-1986/}}</ref> As the PHWA president, he led the committee which nominated the players to appear on the ballot, ensuring that at least one player from each team was listed. He felt that the previous voting system by the PHWA had glitches, whereby players who received votes at both the center and winger positions did not accumulate enough votes at a single position to make the All-Star Game.<ref>{{cite news|title=All-Star Ballots Stir Controversy|last=Jacobs|first=Jeff|date=October 27, 1985|newspaper=Hartford Courant|location=Hartford, Connecticut|page=91|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92446075/phwa-1985/}}</ref> When the league's fans voted Pelle Lindbergh as a starting goaltender in the 1986 game despite his death a few months earlier, Beaton doubted that the PHWA would have been chosen Lindbergh since its members were not sentimental and took the choice seriously.<ref name="jan-31-1986" /> Beaton felt that the fans "had voted with reasonable intelligence", and choosing Lindbergh "was a quality gesture", but was disappointed when a deserving player did not play because fans voted for a long-term star instead.<ref>{{cite news|title=The fans have first choice|last=Konrad|first=Jim|date=February 3, 1986|newspaper=The Record|location=Hackensack, New Jersey|page=45|url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/92447319/phwa-1986/}}</ref>
Beaton focused solely on writing about baseball for ''USA Today'' since the late 1980s. He annually attended and reported on spring training, the Major League Baseball All-Star Game and the World Series. He traveled to Minor League Baseball games to watch the younger players and write about them prior to them making the major league.<ref name="Schudel-2011" /> He was credited by ''The Washington Post'' journalist Matt Schudel for establishing a network to gather information, for writing columns that discussed prospect talent for each major league team, and for giving many future star players "their first national exposure".<ref name="Schudel-2011" />
{{Blockquote|text="Back before the internet gave us so much information so easily about so many teams, if you wanted to learn something about teams outside of your home market ... you read Rod Beaton".|author=Tom Verducci|source=''Sports Illustrated''<ref name="Schudel-2011" />}}
thumb|Barry Bonds, {{circa|1993}}|alt=Baseball player wearing a San Francisco Giants uniform and a black betting helmet, while swinging a baseball bat
On May 9, 1996, Beaton and Barry Bonds of the San Francisco Giants were involved in a shoving incident in the team's clubhouse one hour before a game against the St. Louis Cardinals, while Beaton was waiting to interview Robby Thompson.<ref name="Gay-1996">{{cite news|url=https://www.sfgate.com/sports/Irritated-Bonds-shoves-reporter-2982953.php|title=Irritated Bonds shoves reporter|last=Gay|first=Nancy|date=May 10, 1996|newspaper=San Francisco Chronicle|location=San Francisco, California|access-date=January 12, 2022}}</ref> Bonds told Beaton to leave, when Beaton replied that according to Major League Baseball rules, 15 minutes remained to talk with players. Bonds then waved a finger in Beaton's face and shoved him in the chest, when the incident was broken up by members of the team's coaching staff and front office. They spoke again after the game and Beaton said, "He accused me of having an attitude", and that "I told him he went over the line by shoving me, but there was no apology".<ref name="Schudel-2011" /><ref name="Gay-1996" /> Bonds felt that the incident was overblown and stated that, "We don't have a problem. We like each other. It was a big joke — he just got whacked out".<ref name="Gay-1996" /> Beaton did not file any formal complaint about the incident, despite ''USA Today'' filing a grievance with the team.<ref name="Gay-1996" />
Several years later, Beaton and Bonds were at the same baseball gathering, where Beaton was unable to get up from a chair due to Parkinson's disease symptoms. Bonds helped Beaton get to his feet, while others walked by. According to Beaton's wife, he never criticized Bonds again.<ref name="Schudel-2011" /> As Beaton's medical condition worsened, he retired from journalism in 2006.<ref name="Schudel-2011" />
==Reputation== ''Sports Illustrated'' writer Jeff Pearlman described Beaton as a journalist who was willing to assist younger writers and offer reassurance, and would not degrade a player just to get attention. Pearlman felt that Beaton wrote "in a voice that was authoritative and oft-funny", and that "Beaton guided his readers through the ups and downs of a season with precision, intelligence and understanding".<ref name="Pearlman-2009" />
==Personal life== Beaton was married twice, and had two sons with his second wife, Maria.<ref name="Schudel-2011" /> During the mid-1980s, his wife Maria worked in the stands at Memorial Stadium while he reported on the Baltimore Orioles.<ref name="Pearlman-2009" /> He resided in Herndon, Virginia,<ref name="The-News-Journal-2011" /> and enjoyed cooking baby back ribs and spicy chili.<ref name="Schudel-2011" />
Beaton's wife noticed a change in his behavior in the mid-1990s, which included occasional violent outbursts, increased anxiety, and mobility problems.<ref name="Schudel-2011" /> In May 2000, he was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease.<ref name="Pearlman-2009" /> In 2006, his pacemaker was removed due to an infection.<ref name="Pearlman-2009" /> He had brain surgery three times since 2006, and moved to a nursing home in Arlington County, Virginia, as his faculties continued to decline. In 2007, his diagnosis was changed to dementia with Lewy bodies.<ref name="Schudel-2011" /> He continued to watch baseball on television through the last months of his life.<ref name="Schudel-2011" /><ref name="Pearlman-2009" /> Beaton died on June 22, 2011, at age 59.<ref name="Schudel-2011" />
==References== {{Reflist}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Beaton, Rod}} Category:1951 births Category:2011 deaths Category:20th-century American journalists Category:20th-century American male journalists Category:21st-century American journalists Category:21st-century American male journalists Category:Alexis I. duPont High School alumni Category:American newspaper journalists Category:Baseball writers Category:Deaths from Lewy body dementia Category:Deaths from dementia in Virginia Category:Journalists from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:Journalists from Virginia Category:People from New Castle County, Delaware Category:Sportswriters from Georgia (U.S. state) Category:University of Delaware alumni Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison alumni Category:USA Today journalists Category:Writers from Augusta, Georgia