Administrative Information

Access

Collection is open for use without restrictions

Use Restrictions

None

Preferred Citation

Box/Folder, Hank Wolfe Papers, M 171, Special Collections and Archives, James Branch Cabell Library, Virginia Commonwealth University

Acquisition Information

The collection was donated to the Department by Mrs. Dinah Wolfe on 13 March 1981.

Biographical/Historical Information

Hank Wolfe (12 January 1907-3 February 1981), newspaperman and athletic organizer, was born in Baltimore, Maryland. At the age of six he moved to Richmond, where he remained for the rest of his life. During his youth he issued a monthly newsletter for the Rotary Boys' Club and played on the Club's varsity basketball team. Wolfe graduate from John Marshall High School in 1924 and the Massey Business College in 1926. Following graduation he worked for the Chesapeake and Ohio Railway and as a part-time reporter for the Richmond News Leader. In 1936 he became a full-time sportswriter for the paper, and in 1947 he became copy editor. He stayed with the paper for 56 years, retiring in 1978. From 1952 to 1962 he also edited The Reflector, the monthly journal of the Richmond Jewish Community Center.

In the 1930s, Wolfe organized the Richmond Athletic Commission and for several years was the secretary of the Richmond Baseball Commission. He was responsible for the establishment of the Richmond Jewish Athletic Hall of Fame. From 1944 to 1968, Wolfe was State Commissioner of the Virginia Amateur Softball Association. During that time he introduced the use of 10", 12", 14" and 16" softballs in tournament play, a tournament for college teams and one for mixed team play. Because of his efforts as an organizer, the City of Richmond became known as the "Softball Tournament Capital of the World." National Softball Week started in 1951 and the National Softball Hall of Fame proposed in 1956 were his ideas.

Wolfe was a member of Temple Beth-El, the Richmond Jewish Community Center, the American Association of Retired Persons, and the Richmond Institute of Lifetime Learning. He was an honorary member of the United States Slo-Pitch Softball Association. He and his wife, Dinah, had three daughters.

Scope and Content Information

The collection contains materials relating to Wolfe's career as a newspaperman and work as an athletic organizer in Richmond, Virginia, from 1932 to 1978. In addition to biographical materials, there are records relating to his service on the Richmond Baseball Commission in the mid-1930s, his membership in the Richmond Newspaper Guild and his organization of the Richmond Jewish Athletic Hall of Fame for 1954-1957. There are lists of Virginia athletic championships maintained by Wolfe and some extraneous pieces relating to sports in Richmond. The collection has one folder of correspondence and contracts concerning Wolfe's employment as a part-time territorial scout for the Cleveland Indians Baseball Club from 1951 to 1961. The bulk of the papers relate to Wolfe's tenure as State Commissioner for the Virginia Amateur Softball Association from 1944 to 1968. there are ten scrapbooks (1927-1966) that Wolfe maintained of his sports column for the Richmond News Leader.

Arrangement

Materials arranged in chronological order

The collection is arranged by series and topically therein. The scrapbooks have been separated from the main collection and are located in the oversize collections area. Photographs will be removed to the University Photograph Collection.