by Frank Bertucci

PHILADELPHIA - Frank Dolson's name has been missing from the pages of Philadelphia's newspapers for nearly 10 years, since his retirement from The Philadelphia Inquirer. However, the 1954 graduate of the University of Pennsylvania has remained a Friend of the Penn Relays, and will now have his name associated with the Relays in perpetuity with his endowment of the Relays director's position.

Through an endowment of $1.25 million, Dave Johnson has become the first Frank Dolson Director of the Penn Relays.

Dolson's first contact with the Relays was as a Penn undergraduate, and he covered the Carnival as a columnist for both The Inquirer and The Evening and Sunday Bulletin for nearly 50 years, and still returns each year as a spectator.

"This is a unique event," Dolson said. "There's nothing like it in the world, and the directors have always been passionate about the Relays. Ken Doherty is responsible for a lot that's still happening at the Relays. Jim Tuppeny added the women's events on Thursdays, and Tim Baker and Dave Johnson have continued their work."

After leaving The Inquirer, Dolson began working with the New York Yankees with another Friend of the Penn Relays, George Steinbrenner, who himself has made a significant contribution to the Relays through the annual presentation of the Henry Steinbrenner (George's father) Family Heritage Award.

Dolson's total contribution to Pennsylvania athletics goes beyond the Penn Relays. A portion of the endowment will go to the football program for the 1959 Ivy League Football Championship Coaches Endowed Scholarship in the name of Dewey King, an assistant coach with that first Penn Ivy League football championship team.

All of Dolson's professional career has been spent in Philadelphia, except for a brief stay with a just-starting-out weekly sports magazine in New York City in 1954: Sports Illustrated. He still resides in the Philadelphia suburbs. He was The Inquirer's sports editor for many years, and also served a two-year term as President of the Philadelphia Sports Writers Association.

The word Frank Dolson continually uses when he speaks of the Penn Relays is "passion."

"All of these people come in here at their own expense from all over to work at the Relays," he said. "How many years (68, actually) did Herman Mancini stand on his feet for hours in the paddock area? How many athletes are there every year? Where else are there so many people so passionate about one event? It's really fantastic. There's nothing else like it in the world."

And with the Frank Dolson Director of the Penn Relays endowment, his name will forever be a part of the Penn Relays.