`THE STEAMER' WAS ONE OF A KIND.

Byline: STEVE DILBECK

He was frail now, his skin translucent, his step showing the wear from 80 hard years. He moved through the Dodger Stadium press box carefully but with familiarity, though few eyes now knew him.

Bud Furillo recognized a face, stopped to say hello, called me by name, handed out a compliment. The eyes still sparkled, the hair gray but thick, the mind still sharp.

It was 11 days ago. The last chance most in the Los Angeles sports scene would have to pass a moment with a man once a giant in this town. Considered by many to be the dean of L.A. sportswriters, Furillo died in his sleep early Tuesday at an assisted living home in Ojai.

Bud Furillo was an original. He worked hard, played hard, drank hard, lived hard.

He was an absolute character. Equal parts moodiness and brilliance, old-school and innovator, teacher and celebrity, wild and serious.

He was all sports journalist. Ink flowed in his veins, even years after he left as sports editor of the old Herald-Examiner to devote his full attention to sports radio.

``I never met anybody who loved newspapering like he did,'' Steve Bisheff said.

Bisheff, now a sports columnist at the Orange County Register, is one of an amazing stream of talented young sportswriters Furillo mentored. Allan Malamud, Jack Disney, Steve Harvey, Doug Krikorian, Mitch Chortkoff, Gordon Jones, Joe Jares and Bisheff -- names familiar to generations of newspaper readers in Los Angeles -- all sharpened their craft at the elbow of Furillo.

Furillo helped set the tone with his popular column, ``The Steam Room,'' and L.A. enjoyed a lively, colorful, personality-driven sports section.

``I learned more journalism in one year under Bud than in all my years in school,'' said Disney, now assistant publicist for Santa Anita.

Furillo seemed to travel with an entourage of young sportswriters and media members. The Steamer was a walking happening.

Followers speak of him with reverence; speak of an almost larger-than-life figure. He was a man who made an impact.

The Youngstown, Ohio native arrived in the L.A. sports market in 1948. He never attended college but was a born reporter.

Furillo was here when the Rams, Dodgers and Lakers came, when USC regained national football prominence under John McKay, when John Wooden turned UCLA into college basketball's greatest power.

It was a golden era in Los Angeles sports, and at times he seemed as much participant as observer.

He was only about 5-foot-7, but commanded a room. He was respected and known not only by sports figures, but those in entertainment and music and politics.

``He was a powerful figure in this town,'' Bisheff said. ``He could pick up the phone and get Pete Rozelle, McKay -- any of the greats all over the country.''

Bisheff said when the Lakers played the Knicks in the 1970 NBA Finals, Furillo took him on his first trip to New York. A first stop was a popular Manhattan bar.

``We're standing there and he introduces me to (jockey) Eddie Arcaro and Arnold Palmer, (columnist) Jimmy Cannon,'' Bisheff said. ``He knew everybody. I just stood there with my mouth open.''

Furillo was the sports editor his last 10 years at the Herald-Examiner, leaving in 1974. The '50s and '60s were a much different era in sports journalism. Sportswriters still hung out with players, mingled with managers and coaches.

It was a special time in Los Angeles, and Furillo often seemed at its center. He was a hands-on sports editor who made it a point to be at the ballpark or arena or stadium or the track. He knew the athletes, covered them, partied with them.

Meanwhile, he pushed his young reporters hard. He had a frequent temper, but then he was passionate about everything he did.

``He was also an innovator,'' Disney said. ``He was the first one to really blanket coverage big events with multiple stories.

``Bud could be difficult, but was always loving. Even when yelling at you -- and there were many of those times -- you knew he loved you. And the next day he would do something extraordinary to show it.''

He was part-owner of a bar in Downey, and put his time in there, too. Sleep and Furillo were an inconsistent pair.

``One time I called him and he said, `What day is it?' '' Bisheff said. ``I told him Wednesday and he said, `What the hell happened to Monday and Tuesday?' ''

Furillo was at home with the Racing Form and Ring Magazine, with sports big and small. None were closer to his heart than USC football; he was inducted into the USC Athletic Hall of Fame in 2004. He spent five decades covering sports in L.A.

``He was a wild and a moody guy,'' Jares said. ``He could go into his dark Sinatra moods. But when he was in a good mood, he could bring the sports section to life. He would sparkle.''

He left the Herald-Examiner when it wouldn't allow him to continue his radio talk show.

``He told me he cried the day he left the Herald,'' Jares said.

It was probably a mistake, but Furillo threw himself into his new full-time job at KABC-AM. He did both a general sports talk show and a Dodgers talk show, many of the years with Tommy Hawkins, the former Laker, and now an executive with the Dodgers.

``He was totally dedicated to his craft,'' Hawkins said. ``A hard-nosed journalist who wanted nothing to do with speculation, only facts. Yet was on top of every story.

``There was nobody bigger in this town than Bud Furillo as a sportswriter.''

Eleven days ago, Furillo rode a bus with fans to a Dodgers game, an icon paying one final visit home.

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CAPTION(S):

2 photos

Photo:

(1 -- color) Bud Furillo, left, talking with Sparky Anderson, started covering the L.A. sports scene in 1948.

(2) Bud Furillo, interviewing Jackie Robinson's widow, Rachel, ``was a powerful figure in this town,'' Steve Bisheff said.

Photo courtesy of the Los Angeles Dodgers