Si Burick's career as a sports editor and columnist for The Dayton Daily News spanned nearly sixty years. Burick covered major national and international sports events from the 1920s to the 1980s and gained a national reputation without ever working for a major metropolitan newspaper.

Born 14 June 1909 in Dayton, Ohio, Simon Burick was the son of Rabbi Samuel F. and Lillian Burick. Burick's father, a Polish Russian immigrant, was the spiritual leader of Dayton's Beth Abraham Synagogue for more than fifty years. On 28 June 1935 Burick married Rachel "Rae" Siegal. They had two daughters, Lenore and Marcia.

After graduating from Dayton's Stivers High School in 1926, Burick entered the University of Dayton, intending to study medicine. But by then he was already launched on his journalistic career; offered a full-time job at The Dayton Daily News as he prepared for his second year at the university, he readily gave up...