Seymour Siwoff
{{Short description|American statistician and businessman (1920–2019)}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=December 2019}}
{{Infobox person
| name = Seymour Siwoff
| birth_date = {{Birth date|1920|11|09}}
| birth_place = Brooklyn, New York City, U.S.
| death_date = {{Death date and age|2019|11|29|1920|11|09}}
| death_place = Manhattan, New York City
| alma_mater = St. John's University
| family = Lela Swift Schwartz (sister)
| spouse = Gertrude Schatzberg
}}
Seymour Siwoff (November 9, 1920 – November 29, 2019) was an American statistician and businessman who was the president and chief executive of the Elias Sports Bureau from 1952 to 2019.{{cite news |author=Goldstein, Richard |title=Seymour Siwoff, Master of Sports Statistics, Is Dead at 99 |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2019/11/29/sports/seymour-siwoff-dead.html |website=The New York Times |date=November 29, 2019 |accessdate=December 19, 2019}} He was named a finalist for the 2020 class of the Pro Football Hall of Fame as a contributor, however he was not elected.{{cite news |title=Finalists for Special Centennial Slate Revealed |url=https://www.profootballhof.com/finalists-for-special-centennial-slate-revealed/ |publisher=ProFootballHOF.com |date=December 19, 2019 |accessdate=December 19, 2019}}
Biography
Siwoff was born in Brooklyn{{Cite news|first=Jerry |last=Kirshenbaum |authorlink= |title= His Word is the Law of Averages |newspaper=Sports Illustrated|date= August 18, 1969|url=https://vault.si.com/vault/1969/08/18/his-word-is-the-law-of-averages |accessdate=}} on November 1, 1920.{{Cite news|first=Ronald |last=Blum |authorlink= |title= Stats maven Seymour Siwoff dead at 99 |newspaper=The Daily Herald|date= November 29, 2019|url=https://www.dailyherald.com/article/20191129/news/311299845 |accessdate=}} His sister was television director and producer Lela Swift.{{Cite news|first1= Dominic |last1= Patten|first2= Erik |last2=Pedersen|authorlink= |title= Lela Swift Dies: Pioneering TV Director Was 96 |newspaper=Deadline|date= August 4, 2015|url=https://deadline.com/2015/08/lela-swift-dead-dark-shadows-ryans-hope-director-1201491962/ |accessdate=}} In 1943, he graduated from St. John's University with a degree in accounting and then served during World War II in the 88th Infantry Division where he was hit by shrapnel in Italy. He worked as an accountant after the war and in 1948 took a position with the Elias Sports Bureau, the official statistician of the National League, where he had interned during college. In 1952, he purchased the Bureau from the widows of Al Munro Elias and Walter Bruce Elias, who founded the company in 1913. Under Siwoff, the company was known for providing more obscure facts (day/night games, performance against left/right-handed pitchers, home/away, and with runners in scoring position), foreshadowing the modern era's advanced statistics. In 1980, the Elias Sports Bureau became the official statistician of the American League, replacing the Sports Information Center. Siwoff expanded the company into providing statistical support to the NFL, NBA, WNBA, Major League Soccer, and various television and radio networks.
Personal life
He was married to Gertrude Schatzberg (1921–2018); they had two children, Nancy Siwoff Gilston and Ronald Siwoff.{{Cite news|first= |last= |authorlink= |title= Gertrude Siwoff Author of her own wonderful life dies at age 97 |newspaper=The Star-Ledger|date=July 17, 2018 |url= https://obits.nj.com/obituaries/starledger/obituary.aspx?n=gertrude-siwoff&pid=189611045&fhid=2086 |accessdate=}}{{Cite news|first= Matt|last= Achudel|authorlink= |title= Seymour Siwoff, who knew the score for baseball and other sports, dies at 99 |newspaper=The Washington Post|date= November 30, 2019|url=https://www.washingtonpost.com/local/obituaries/seymour-siwoff-who-knew-the-score-for-baseball-and-other-sports-dies-at-99/2019/11/30/4d403e4c-1393-11ea-bf62-eadd5d11f559_story.html |accessdate=}} He died at his home in Manhattan on November 29, 2019. His grandson, Joe Gilston, is owner and president of the Elias Sports Bureau.
References
{{Reflist}}
External links
- {{cite news |author=Anderson, Dave |title=In skyscraper, all sports questions answered |url=https://www.newspapers.com/clip/40819982/globegazette/ |newspaper=Globe Gazette |via=Newspapers.com |date=June 19, 1975 |accessdate=December 19, 2019}}
{{Authority control}}
{{DEFAULTSORT:Siwoff, Seymour}}
Category:United States Army personnel of World War II
Category:American chief executives of professional sports organizations
Category:American statisticians
Category:American technology chief executives
Category:Businesspeople from Brooklyn