A memoir by Whitelaw Reid coming in 2026
Spinnin' 'n' Winnin'
How Basketball Helped Me Through Anxiety,
Depression, Divorce and Made Me a Better Dad
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About the Author
Following the path of his great-great grandfather and namesake Whitelaw Reid, the Civil War journalist who served as a U.S. ambassador and ran for Vice President in 1892, and his grandfather, the former publisher and editor of the New York Herald Tribune, Whitelaw “Whitey” Reid began a lengthy career in the newspaper industry at the Nashville Banner in 1996.
The New York City native and Vanderbilt University graduate went on to serve as Sports Editor of The Pomerado Newspaper Group in Poway, California, before working as a sports reporter at the San Diego Union-Tribune for five years. At the U-T, Reid wrote on a wide range of sports and subjects, from Little League and Pop Warner, to Major League Baseball, professional surfing, skateboarding and the National Basketball Association.
In 2005, Reid was hired as the University of Virginia basketball beat writer at the Daily Progress in Charlottesville, Virginia. Reid followed the team’s every move for 11 years, which included the program’s first ACC championship since 1976. Reid became the first Progress reporter to win the Associated Press Sports Editors writing contest in four different categories – Beat Reporting, Game Story, Features and Project Reporting. His series on Coach Tony Bennett’s inaugural recruiting class, “The Six Shooters,” is etched in UVA basketball lore.
When Reid wasn’t writing about hoops, he covered the UVA lacrosse, soccer and tennis programs. In 2011, he was awarded first place in investigative reporting by the Virginia Press Association for a story on the UVA women’s tennis program that garnered national attention. In 2015, the VPA awarded Reid first place in its Sports Writing Portfolio category.
With the goal of teaching his kids to read, while also getting them excited about basketball, Reid self-published a children’s book, “The Ball Went Swish,” in 2016. That year, Reid left newspapers to work for UVA. He currently serves as Manager of Strategic Communications for the UVA Licensing & Ventures Group.
When not obsessing about his beloved Knickerbockers, you can find the Charlottesville resident ice skating with his daughter, Ellie, or shooting hoops with his son, Clyde, who, of course, is named after Knicks legend Walt “Clyde” Frazier.