Sure and begorra, Arthur Daley went into full "oirish" mode in his "Sports of the Times" column that Sunday paying tribute to Captain Patrick J. McDonald, who was retiring from the New York City police department. The Irish-born McDonald, who was six foot five and weighed 325 pounds, was an Olympic champion weight thrower. He had won two dozen national titles, including his first AAU championship in 1907 and his last in 1933. Daley also reminisces about the Irish-American "whales," a pod of behemoths who had dominated the sport in the early decades of the century.
Daley won a Pulitzer a few years later although not all of his fellow sports writers felt it was deserved. He was affable and likeable but some felt there were more colorful writers covering the beat.