Vincent X. Flaherty was an American sports columnist and screenwriter.
He was born in Washington DC. He was the youngest of five children born to Michael
(abt.1870-1957) and Mary Rosella Dobbyn Flaherty (abt. 1872-1944). His
father was born in Missouri, the son of Irish immigrants and worked in
the nation's capitol as a printer with the Government Printing Office.
His mother was born in Washington D.C. the daughter of an Irish father
and American mother. Edmund Flaherty, Vincent's second oldest brother,
later became known as the actor
Pat Flaherty. His other siblings were,
James Wilson Flaherty (1895-?), Leo Michael Flaherty (1898 -1982) and
Beatrice Flaherty Dangerfield (abt. 1902-?).
Flaherty, who had been a standout football and baseball player in high
school, became one of America's premier sports writers.
Walter O'Malley, owner of the Los
Angeles Dodgers, credited Flaherty's sports columns that appeared in
the Los Angeles Examiner for generating the fan support needed to bring
major league baseball to the West Coast.
He became involved with the film Jim Thorpe -- All-American (1951)
through his brother, Edmond, who was a friend of Thorpe's and had
originally started the project. Flaherty's fame was such that he
frequently could be seen socializing with the Hollywood A-List of the
1940s and 50s.
Vincent X. Flaherty died of a heart attack in Los Angeles on 6
September, 1977. At the time of his death he had been retired for
twenty years and was working on a biography of General
John J. Pershing. He was survived by
his wife, the former Katherine Higgins and a son, Vincent Jr.
