‘A kind, gentle spirit,’ former Ledger preps editor Durward Buck dies at 88
Former Ledger prep sports editor Durward Buck died on Sunday after a brief illness. He was 88
Former Ledger NFL writer Mike Cobb remembered covering Super Bowls when former Polk County high school stars were participating, and inevitably during the interview session when the players found out Cobb was from The Ledger, one question always came up.
How’s Durward Buck?
To say that Buck made an impact on Polk County high school sports would be an understatement. In more than a quarter of century of sports journalism in Polk County, including into his retirement years, Buck chronicled the exploits of high school athletes and teams, and he is a member of multiple sports hall of fames. Former Ledger sports editor John Valerino called him the “dean of prep sports writers in Florida.”
Durward Jackson Buck died on Sunday. He was 88.
“Durward was one of a kind,” former Winter Haven track and cross country coach Harry Wooddell said. “He really was. He was a very caring human being. He was very influential in track and filed in the ’80s and ’90s. He didn’t write negative stories. He was very positive. He was very caring. He would write the positive aspects of a story.”
It’s what drew him to covering high school sports.