Lyall F. Smith (November 22, 1914 – October 8, 1991) was an American sports writer and editor. He was the sports editor and columnist for the Detroit Free Press from 1945 to 1965 and the president of the Baseball Writers' Association of America from 1955 to 1956. He later served as the public relations director and business manager for the Detroit Lions from 1965 to 1980. Early years A native of Peoria, Illinois, he attended Bradley University and the University of Illinois. He was inducted into the Bradley University Athletic Hall of Fame in 1950. Smith began his career in journalism as a reporter for the Chicago Daily News. He spent seven years with the Chicago Daily News from 1938 to 1945. He claimed to have given the "Whiz Kids" nickname to the 1943 Illinois basketball team. Detroit Free Press In March 1945, Smith was hired as the sports editor and columnist at the Detroit Free Press, a position he held until 1965. During his time with the Free Press Smith was included in the committee of baseball writers charged with selecting the American League Most Valuable Player. In 1947, Smith became involved in a controversy over competing claims to the national collegiate football championship by undefeated teams from Notre Dame and Michigan. Notre Dame was ranked No. 1 in the final regular season AP Poll, but Michigan went on to defeat USC by a score of 49-0 in the Rose Bowl. Smith urged the Associated Press to conduct a post-bowl poll, arguing that Michigan had defeated three common opponents by larger margins than Notre Dame and had a tougher schedule. After Smith's comments, the AP agreed to conduct a post-bowl poll, the first of its kind, and Michigan was selected as the national champion in that poll by a vote of 226 to 119. After the results were tallied, Smith wrote in The Sporting News, "Michigan won another football battle!" Also in January 1947, Smith broke the story of the Detroit Tigers' decision to sell Hank Greenberg to the Pittsburgh Pirates. Smith reported that Tigers owner Walter O. Briggs had read comments from Greenberg about his desire to play for the Yankees and concluded that "Greenberg was ungrateful, unkind and unfair to Detroit," and ordered the team's general manager to "get rid of Hank." In August 1948, three days after the death of Babe Ruth from cancer, Smith proposed