Charles Ritter Collett

9/27/01

DAYTON, Ohio (AP) -- Charles Ritter Collett, a longtime sports writer and member of the writers' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame, died Tuesday at the age of 80.

Collett never fully regained consciousness after undergoing brain surgery.

His sports columns appeared in Dayton newspapers for 55 years. Although he retired as Dayton Daily News sports editor in 1991, he continued to write weekly columns until shortly before his death.

Collett was hired as sports editor of the Dayton Journal in 1946. The newspaper merged with the Dayton Daily News in 1986.

In 1992, Collett was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, N.Y., as recipient of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for sports writers who cover baseball with distinction.

Survivors include his wife, a son, a daughter and a sister