Oregon's original newspaper sports columnist, L.H. Gregory (May 18, 1886 – August 15, 1975) was the sports editor and a columnist for the Oregonian for 52 years from 1921-1973. He had tremendous influence in the sports world as he wrote about state of Oregon and commented on national sports stories as well.
You know a journalist has influence when the nicknames and descriptives you wield end up becoming poplar. He gave Medford High School's football team the "Black Tornado" monicker after a big win. The team had been known as the Tigers up that point. Not anymore. He named the 1939 Oregon basketball national champions "The Tall Firs" and popularized the term "Webfoots" for UO teams. A young Portland Beavers baseball player bound for the bigs had a long last name, didn’t fit well in headlines. So, John Paveskovich became Johnny Pesky. That stuck through his career.
His full name was William Lair Hill Gregory (hence the L.H.) and he grew up in Portland and attended the University of Washington without graduating. Returning to the Rose City, he worked the Telegram and Journal papers before joining the Oregonian in 1914. Seven years later, he was sports editor and began penning his very popular column "Greg's Gossip" in 1927. L.H. didn't just write about Oregon sports, he incorporated national events into his column which became essential reading. Portland Beavers baseball and boxing were two of his favorite subjects.
He has been honored by the National Hall of Fame, Los Angeles Times in 1955, won the Amos Voorhies Award by Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association in 1962, and countless sports writing firsts, including names for Medford “Black Tornado” football team and “Tall Firs” for University of Oregon’s NCAA basketball championship team of 1939.
L.H. Gregory is also a member of the Oregon Newspaper Hall of Fame.