1957 prize winner … “The Relay”

In late 1957 I was working in NY City and it was there that I met my husband-to-be. Richard had just left an interesting stint with “LIFE” magazine. He had been an assistant photographer and, although it was a heady experience, he wanted to get out on his own.

He was launching his own career as a free lancer in the photography field when we met, but I never tired of the stories he told of his 4 years at “LIFE“. He actually took a portrait shot of Margaret Bourke White and she wrote a lovely letter to him stating that it was one of the best portraits of her that had ever been taken. I still have her autobiography but I’m sorry to say that I lost the letter years ago.

I have often wondered what would have happened to Dick’s career (and our life together) had he stayed with “LIFE”. The picture that you see is titled “The Relay” and it was one that he took on assignment for “TIME” magazine. It was shot in Madison Square Garden in late 1956 and it won first prize for the category in the 1957 issue of “PHOTOGRAPHY ANNUAL”.

This should have been the start of an illustrious career but it was cut short by sickness. He was a very brittle Type 1 diabetic and it made it impossible for him to continue in a business that required odd hours and much travel. He died in 1990 at the age of 59.

My daughter and son-in-law have a small gallery of Dick’s photos in their home in New York. They are photos that he had printed and mounted himself and “The Relay” is among them.