Legendary sports commentator Frank Deford dies at 78

Frank Deford, the legend in the world of sports journalism and sports commentary, took his last breath at 78, in Key West, Florida.

According to CNN, National Public Radio (NPR) confirmed the news where Deford, after delivering commentaries for 37 years, took retirement earlier this month.

The Baltimore native spent 50 years writing for Sports Illustrated. The SI Twitter account called him a "titan and a gentleman." He also wrote 18 books, nine of which were novels. His 1981 novel 'Everybody's All-American' was adapted into a movie.

He was awarded the National Humanities Medal by the former U.S President Barack Obama in 2013 "for transforming how we think about sports."

Deford was also named to the National Association of Sportscasters and Sportswriters Hall of Fame, was voted Sportswriter of the Year numerous times, won a Peabody Award and an Emmy, and in 2013 was given the PEN/ESPN Lifetime Achievement Award for Literary Sports Writing.