“He practically invented at least two entire decades of his times, and had everybody believing that his street, Broadway, actually existed.”
Jimmy Breslin

Born in Manhattan, Kansas in 1880, Runyon cut his journalistic teeth in Pueblo, Colorado in 1895.  In 1905 Runyon joined the upstart Denver Post, from which he was fired in a matter of months for insubordination.  After a brief stint in San Francisco, he returned to Denver and The Rocky Mountain News.  After his stories were filed, he would repair to the cozy confines of The Denver Press Club where he held forth on all manner of subjects to anyone who would listen.  It became a Press Club tradition that has been carried forward to this day by many of the writers and artists who have followed in his footsteps.

As early as 1905, Runyon was on the Press Club’s board of directors.  Although written records of his official duties are hard to find, there is no doubt that he was among the club’s better customers, spending many hours there with a glass of whiskey in one hand and a poker hand in the other.

Runyon left Denver in the fall of 1910 to join the New York American as a sports writer.  His experiences there led to the dozens of stories about New York’s nightlife and its underworld that brought him international renown.  Several of his stories were made into hit movies, including Guys and Dolls, Little Miss Marker and Lady for a Day.  Runyon died in New York City in 1946.