When former New York Yankees manager Billy Martin was arrested for punching a marshmallow salesman in a Bloomington bar, Scott Papillon broke the story.

He was among the first to interview Vikings quarterback Fran Tarkenton after the Hall-of-Famer played his final NFL game, and he beat the national press on Muhammad Ali's arrival at Rochester's Mayo Clinic for a checkup.

Papillon was a natural at finding a scoop, as well as bringing newspaper readers colorful game recaps and insights involving the Twin Cities' professional, collegiate and high school teams. He worked as a sportswriter for the Associated Press in Minneapolis from 1977 to 1981, and briefly as a sportswriter for the Minneapolis Star in the early 1980s.

"He was a low-key kind of guy, but he was determined to get the best story," said co-worker and AP photographer Jim Mone. "He took his work seriously, but he could be funny and was fun to be around."

Papillon died of melanoma March 19 at his home in New Brighton. He was 60.

A 1967 graduate of Columbia Heights High School, Papillon took his interest in writing and sports to the University of Minnesota, where he wrote for the Minnesota Daily in 1975-76. In a self-written eulogy that captured his wry sense of humor, he wrote that "he majored in journalism and English and minored in narcolepsy," said his wife, Karen.

He started his career at the Sun Post newspapers and as a stringer for AP. In his five years in AP's Minneapolis office, he covered the Golden Gophers football team's 1977 upset of Michigan and the men's hockey team's 1979 national championship, along with the Twins, Vikings and North Stars. Even though hockey was not his favorite sport, a career highlight came in 1981 when he had his picture taken next to the Stanley Cup during the North Stars-New York Islanders series, said Barry Fritz, secretary-treasurer of the Twin Cities chapter of the Baseball Writers Association of America. Papillon loved baseball and lived long enough to receive a tour of Target Field.

"He was proud of being thought of that highly," Karen said. "That was a tribute to his talent, but his family was more important."

After he left the AP, he was a sports columnist for the Minneapolis Star. He later worked for Fridley-based Medtronic as a public relations director in the cardiovascular division office in California.

Papillon was credited with writing one of the first books for fantasy football players. He also penned "Screeching Halt," a 2004 novel in which he takes readers into the wacky world of Minnesota politics through the experiences of a magazine editor.

Papillon served in the Navy for two years, interpreting Morse code in Iceland. He was a longtime member of what is now New Hope Church.

In addition to his wife, Papillon is survived by a son, Mickey, of Phoenix; his parents, Jim and Bennie Papillon of Fridley, and three brothers, Steve, of Sheridan, Ill., Mike of Fridley and Terry of Blacksburg, Va.

Services have been held.