Peters, Nick

April 1, 1939 – March 23, 2015 

Nick Peters, who covered the Giants for 47 years for three newspapers and was honored at the 2009 Hall of Fame induction ceremony, died at his Elk Grove (Sacramento County) home Monday after a lengthy illness. He was 75.

Known as “The Greek” throughout the baseball community, Mr. Peters covered more Giants games than any other reporter and wrote five books on the team. He was the 2009 winner of the J.G. Taylor Spink Award for “meritorious contributions to baseball writing,” which he received at the Cooperstown ceremony.

In a statement, the Giants called him “a legend among sportswriters in Northern California and throughout baseball. ... Nick was known not only for his writing talent and encyclopedic knowledge of baseball, but also for his mentorship of many young reporters.” The Giants’ interview room is named after Mr. Peters.

Mr. Peters was born in San Francisco in 1939, graduated from Lincoln High School in 1957, attended San Francisco City College and earned a journalism degree at San Jose State. His first baseball game was at Seals Stadium in 1946.

"The Yankees, (St. Louis) Browns, Indians and Giants came out for exhibitions, and that was my first taste of big-league ball,” Mr. Peters said in 2009. “That really piqued my interest. I knew in high school I’d never be a ballplayer, and writing came naturally. It was a way to keep in touch with sports.” 

Mr. Peters first job in Journalism was on the Chronicles sports desk, but he soon left to cover the Giants for the Berkeley Gazette and later became a full time baseball writer for the Oakland Tribune in 1979 and later for the Sacramento Bee. Mr. Peters died of cortical basal ganglionic degeneration a rare neurological disease similar to ALS. He is survived by his wife of 42 years Lise, his daughter Lisa, son-in-law Brian and three grandchildren and sister Barbara Peters Sink.