Arthur F. Rense (1917 – 1990) was a sports journalist for the Los Angeles Daily News. He also served as the director of public relations for Howard R. Hughes' Summa Corporation.
Biography
Arthur Frederick Rense was born on May 20, 1917, in Cleveland, Ohio, to parents who were immigrants from Austria and Italy, Joseph Rensi and his wife, Rosalia Luther. He had six siblings, five brothers—Louis, Rudolph, Andrew, Frank, and William—and one sister, Rose. After earning a degree in English from Ohio State University, Rense served in the United States Coast Guard during World War II.
Career
After World War II, Rense moved to Los Angeles and began working as a sports writer for the original Los Angeles Daily News, one of four newspapers in downtown Los Angeles. The newspaper called itself "the only Democratic newspaper west of the Rockies." Rense wrote about many sports, including games played by the young UCLA basketball coach John Wooden and the new Los Angeles Rams football team, which won a world championship in 1951. In 1954, after the Daily News closed, Rense joined United Press as a reporter. In 1957, he started and managed a group of magazines, including The Art Rense Sports Book: Professional Football, the first magazine focused only on professional football.
From 1959 to 1974, Rense worked in public relations for the Douglas Aircraft Company’s Missiles and Space division, which existed before the company became McDonnell-Douglas. In the mid-1970s, he became a public relations specialist for Harvey Mudd College. Later, he worked with football player Tom Harmon on a sports show in Las Vegas called Tom Harmon's Football Today. After that, Rense handled public relations for hotels in Las Vegas owned by the Summa Corporation, especially the Desert Inn. Rense was always a poet, writing poetry as a lifelong hobby.
Arthur Rense Prize
In 1998, Paige, the wife of Arthur Rense, created the Arthur Rense Prize in poetry. This award is given every three years by the American Academy of Arts and Letters. It gives $20,000 to a poet who is exceptional.