"He was hired because the massive Times sports section during the 1984 Olympics needed a master word editor. Once he arrived, you dared not use "that" when "which" was correct. Restrictive and unrestrictive clauses were mostly interchangeable for the rest of us. Not for Kupper. His title was senior assistant sports editor. It could have easily been Staff Conscience Editor."
"He knew sports, loved its stories, loved writing many of them himself. He covered and wrote about everything. Each story was to the point, accurate, entertaining and without a whiff of the current "look at me" approach of so many writers. His specialty was auto racing. When he arrived at The Times, that specialty was already being handled by Hall-of-Fame auto writer Shav Glick."
Mike Kupper was hired to be a master word editor for the massive Times sports section during the 1984 Olympics and enforced exact usage and grammar. He held the title of senior assistant sports editor and acted as the section’s conscience, forbidding shortcuts, lazy phrases, vague sources and insufficient attribution. He improved colleagues’ work quietly and firmly by correcting mistakes and ensuring they understood why. He knew and loved sports, wrote many clear, accurate, entertaining stories, specialized in auto racing, partnered with Shav Glick, and wrote meticulously reported obituaries in retirement.
Read at Los Angeles Times
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