{{Short description|American sportswriter (1910–1999)}} {{Use mdy dates|date=March 2025}} {{Infobox person | name = Watson Spoelstra | image = | caption = | birth_name = | birth_date = {{Birth date|1910|4|5}} | birth_place = Grand Rapids, Michigan, U.S. | death_date = {{Death date and age|1999|7|20|1910|4|5}} | death_place = Largo, Florida, U.S. | death_cause = | other_names = | known_for = ''Waddy's World'' (1947–1973)<br>Founder and leader, Baseball Chapel (1973–1982) | education = Hope College | employer = ''The Detroit News'' (1945–1973) | occupation = Sportswriter | title = | height = | term = | predecessor = | successor = | party = | boards = | spouse = | partner = | children = Jon Spoelstra | parents = | relatives = Erik Spoelstra (grandson) | signature = | website = | footnotes = }} '''Watson N.''' "'''Waddy'''" '''Spoelstra''' (April 5, 1910 – July 20, 1999) was an American sportswriter for ''The Detroit News'' from 1945 to 1973. He served as the president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America in 1968. After retiring from ''The Detroit News'', he founded Baseball Chapel, a Christian ministry for professional baseball players, which he led from 1973 to 1982.
Spoelstra was born in Grand Rapids, Michigan in 1910. He attended Hope College where he played baseball and basketball. He became Hope College's all-time leading scorer in basketball. He graduated from Hope College in 1932.<ref name="WJI">{{Cite web |last=Hoak |first=Benjamin |title=Watson Spoelstra (1910–1999): 'Player, Writer, Visionary' |url=http://www.worldji.com/resources/view/45 |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110929123837/https://www.worldji.com/resources/view/45 |archive-date=September 29, 2011 |website=World Journalism Institute}}</ref>
After graduating from college, Spoelstra was hired as a sportswriter by the Associated Press, assigned to Detroit. In approximately 1945, Spoelstra was hired by ''The Detroit News'', where he remained for nearly 30 years.<ref name=WJI/>
His son Jon Spoelstra is a former National Basketball Association executive and his grandson Erik Spoelstra is the current head coach of the Miami Heat.<ref>{{Cite news |last=Abrams |first=Jonathan |date=May 28, 2011 |title=Spoelstra Raised to Be in N.B.A., and Rising to Challenge |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/sports/basketball/spoelstra-has-heat-right-where-it-wanted-to-be.html?_r=1 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110531155817/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/05/29/sports/basketball/spoelstra-has-heat-right-where-it-wanted-to-be.html |archive-date=May 31, 2011 |access-date=2025-03-10 |work=The New York Times |page=SP1}}</ref>
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Spoelstra, Watson}} Category:1910 births Category:1999 deaths Category:20th-century American journalists Category:Associated Press reporters Category:Baseball writers Category:The Detroit News people Category:Hope College alumni Category:Sportswriters from Michigan Category:Writers from Grand Rapids, Michigan