EAST GREENWICH, R.I. (AP) — In medical school and throughout his career as a neonatologist, William Cashore often was asked to proofread others’ work. Little did they know he was a spelling champion, with a trophy at home to prove it.
“They knew that I had a very good sense of words and that I could spell correctly,” he said. “So if they were writing something, they would ask me to check it.”
Cashore won the Scripps National Spelling Bee in 1954 at age 14. Now 84, he’s the oldest living champion of the contest, which dates back to 1925. As contestants from this year’s competition headed home, he reflected on his experience and the effect it had on him.
“It was, at the time, one of the greatest events of my life,” he said in an interview at his Rhode Island home. “It’s still something that I remember fondly.”
Cashore credits his parents for helping him prepare for his trip to Washington, D.C., for the spelling bee. His mother was an elementary school teacher and his father was a lab technician with a talent for “taking words apart and putting them back together.”
“It was important for them, and for me, to get things right,” he said. “But I never felt pressure to win. I felt pressure only to do my best, and some of that came from inside.”
When the field narrowed to two competitors, the other boy misspelled “uncinated,” which means bent like a hook. Cashore spelled it correctly, then clinched the title with the word “transept,” an architectural term for the transverse part of a cross-shaped church.
“I knew that word. I had not been asked to spell it, but it was an easy word for me to spell,” he recalled.
Cashore, who was given $500 and an encyclopedia set, enjoyed a brief turn as a celebrity, including meeting then-Vice President Richard Nixon and appearing on the Ed Sullivan Show. He didn’t brag about his accomplishment after returning to Norristown, Pennsylvania, but the experience quietly shaped him in multiple ways.
“It gave me much more self-confidence and also gave me a sense that it’s very important to try to get things as correct as possible,” he said. “I’ve always been that way, and I still feel that way. If people are careless about spelling and writing, you wonder if they’re careless about their thinking.”
Preparing for a spelling bee today requires more concentration and technique than it did decades ago, Cashore said.
“The vocabulary of the words are far, far more technical,” he said. “The English language, in the meantime, has imported a great many words from foreign languages which were not part of the English language when I was in eighth grade,” he said.
Babbel, which offers foreign language instruction via its app and live online courses, tracked Cashore down ahead of this year’s spelling bee because it was interested in whether he had learned other languages before his big win. He hadn’t, other than picking up a few words from Pennsylvania Dutch, but told the company that he believes learning another language “gives you a perspective on your own language and insights into the thinking and processes of the other language and culture.”
While he has nothing but fond memories of the 1954 contest, Cashore said that was just the start of a long, happy life.
“The reward has been not so much what happened to me in the spelling bee but the family that I have and the people who supported me along the way,” he said.
Ramer reported from Concord, New Hampshire.
William Cashore, 84, smiles as he looks at his 1954 Scripps National Spelling Bee championship trophy, Wednesday, 29 May, 2024 in Greenwich, Rhode Island. As a 14-years-old Cashore correctly spelled the final two words of the contest, uncinated and transept, in 1954. (AP Photo/Rodrique Ngowi)
SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — By adding Dennis Schroder, the Golden State Warriors believe they have found the perfect backcourt mate to complement Stephen Curry.
Curry can't wait to get going in what he expects to be a “seamless transition for him.”
“It can help me, it can help us,” Curry said. “What helps me helps us.”
Golden State landed Schroder in a trade with Brooklyn finalized Sunday that sends injured guard De’Anthony Melton and guard Reece Beekman to the Nets.
The Warriors are looking forward to seeing Schroder on both ends, attacking the basket and bringing a much-needed intense defensive dynamic.
“I just love his competitive nature, he's got that Dawg in him and you can kind of tell,” Curry said. “He doesn't talk that much but he's very animated and I've never not seen him in the moment trying to rip-your-head-off type vibe. I like that.”
Schroder is expected to join the team Monday to undergo his physical and have a couple of practices ahead of Thursday's game at Memphis.
“I’m thrilled. I told Dennis today he’s kicked my (butt) on three different continents,” Warriors coach Steve Kerr said. “You can’t beat ‘em, join ’em — ’22 playoffs I thought he was brilliant against us with the Lakers. Watching him in FIBA the last two summers, Philippines and we played them in London in an exhibition game. He’s a gamer, he’s a competitor, pick-and-roll player, two-way player.”
Kerr said he and his staff will discuss Schroder's role but considers him a likely starter considering “we've been changing our starting lineup almost nightly, searching.”
The trade was agreed to Saturday. League rules didn't allow the trade to become official until Sunday, when Melton's contract became eligible to be moved.
Also in the trade: a slew of second-round draft picks. Golden State will receive a second-rounder next year (a top-37-protected pick that originally belonged to Miami) and Brooklyn gets three second-rounders — in 2026 and 2028 (both via Atlanta) and Golden State's pick in 2029.
Schroder averaged 18.4 points and 6.6 assists this season for the Nets, who are 10th in the Eastern Conference. But the trade doesn't give them much in the way of on-court help this year: Melton is out for the remainder of the season while recovering from surgery to repair his left ACL.
“Losing Melt was a huge loss,” Kerr said. “I want to say thanks to De'Anthony and Reece Beekman for everything — their contributions, their commitment, their effort. It's always hard to trade guys and we wish them both well. But you've got to do what you've got to do to get better and this was a move that we felt made perfect sense, so he will fill what Melt was doing for us in terms of being able to play on or off the ball, excellent defender, long wingspan. He's a steals guy, forced turnovers, pace, everything that we need we feel like he can provide.”
Beekman scored two points in two appearances with Golden State this season.
The move gives the Warriors, who enter Sunday fifth in the Western Conference at 14-10, another shooter to pair alongside all-time 3-point leader Curry. Schroder is making 2.5 3-pointers per game this season and shooting 39% from beyond the arc — both career bests.
Golden State becomes Schroder's eighth team in 12 NBA seasons. He had stints with Atlanta, Oklahoma City, the Los Angeles Lakers, Boston, Toronto and Houston before joining the Nets. He also helped lead Germany to the 2023 Basketball World Cup title.
“It's a great pickup for the Warriors,” Dallas coach Jason Kidd said, “a veteran who understands how to win.”
AP Basketball Writer Tim Reynolds contributed to this story.
AP NBA: https://apnews.com/NBA
Brooklyn Nets' Dennis Schroder reacts after scoring during the first half of an NBA basketball game against the Milwaukee Bucks, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
Brooklyn Nets' Dennis Schroder, left, looks to shoots over Milwaukee Bucks' Brook Lopez, right, during the second half of an NBA basketball game, Sunday, Dec. 8, 2024, in New York. (AP Photo/Heather Khalifa)
