Si was born in Dayton on June 14, 1909, the son of Rabbi Samuel F. Burick & Lillian Buick. While a 16 year old student at Stivers, he began his illustrious career at the Dayton Daily News as a $2-a-week school correspondent. After graduating from Stivers, he enrolled at the University of Dayton with his sights set on medical school. However, James M. Cox, publisher, appointed him sports editor and he held that position for the remainder of his career.
He covered the Cincinnati Reds until his death in 1986. Si was the author of Alston and the Dodgers, a biography of Walter Alston; and The Main Spark, a biography of George “Sparky” Anderson. For at least nineteen years, he was voted Ohio’s Sports Writer of the Year. He was inducted into the writers wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1983. From the University of Dayton he received the Doctor of Humane Letters Degree in 1977 and the Distinguished Alumnus Award in 1980. The Dayton Daily News awards an annual journalism scholarship in his name.
He was elected president of the National Sports writers and Sportscasters Association in 1971; elected president of the Football Writers Association of America in 1972; and elected director of the Turf Writers Association of America in 1973.
Si and his wife Rachel had two daughters, Lenore and Marcia, and 4 grandchildren.
