The All-time Best Sports Writer
Mates,
One of my old gang buddies who still lives in LA sent me this article today. It's about Jim Murray who is widely considered the best sports writer of all time. I was in LA back in day, and was an avid LA Times reader, sports section most importantly. Jim Murray really was the best. He had an amazing mix of insight, wit, and humility that made his stories a must-read on any given day.
Around that time the Freep's best sportswriter, Mike Downey got hired by the LA Times, too. He was pretty great in his own right. Before the internet, yes, when actual paper papers were the order of the day, these guys wrote. Some of the quotes in the article:
There was never anybody like Murray. Never will be. He was part sports columnist, part Don Rickles and part Socrates. He wrote for The Times for 37 years and won his Pulitzer for commentary in his 30th year. The general reaction to that, at the paper, and around Los Angeles, was: What took the Pulitzer people so long? The problem was, sports writers didn’t win Pulitzers except if they worked for the New York Times. Still don’t. Only a writer the caliber of Murray could break the East Coast stranglehold. Now, the New York Times doesn’t even have a sports section. Ponder that, Pulitzer people.
and another here:
Vin Scully, about whom Murray wrote: “Vincent Edward Scully meant as much or more to the Dodgers than any .300 hitter they ever signed, any 20-game winner they ever fielded. True, he didn’t limp to home plate and deliver the home run that turned a season into a miracle — but he knew what to do with it so it would echo through the ages.” At Murray’s death, Scully said, “Every day, he faced the same challenge, the same blank piece of paper, tauntingly unfurled and hanging out of the typewriter like a mocking tongue, daring him to be different, fresh, funny and incisive. And every day, for more than 35 years, Murray not only accepted that challenge, but triumphed.”
They include a handful of his written quips in the article. Link to article here: https://www.latimes.com/sports/story/2023-08-16/jim-murray-appreciation-los-angeles-times-sports
Hopefully you will think it's worth the 2-3 minutes to read. Jim Murray really was a great writer.
XM
August 16th, 2023 at 9:42 PM ^
Brian Cook is the greatest sports writer of all time and I'll die on that hill
August 16th, 2023 at 9:47 PM ^
vastly different genre and context, but no doubt brian is gifted.
August 17th, 2023 at 7:38 AM ^
spare us the hymnals, cooler poopers
August 17th, 2023 at 9:39 AM ^
at least you didn't say "Drew Sharp"
August 17th, 2023 at 3:44 PM ^
My favorite is Johnny from RBUAS. He carried me through some dark days of Michigan football.
August 16th, 2023 at 9:51 PM ^
Not happy when Downey left here. Sidd Finch's Imagineer.
August 16th, 2023 at 10:26 PM ^
Downey was awesome. That was a sad day.
He cashed in but it seemed like his heart was always in the D.
August 16th, 2023 at 10:33 PM ^
Love me some Mike Downey (or at least did BITD) but Sidd Finch was a George Plimpton thing? Did Downey have some involvement with it?
"He's a pitcher, part yogi and part recluse. Impressively liberated from our opulent life-style, Sidd's deciding about yoga—and his future in baseball."
August 17th, 2023 at 2:06 AM ^
Just missed Downey is all and wanted the Paper Lion April Fool creator to get his due.
Liked pj O’Rourke’s National Lampoon writing (to no one’s surprise) style though not a sports writer.
August 17th, 2023 at 1:26 PM ^
Agreed. Sidd FInch was Plimpton, not Downey.
August 16th, 2023 at 11:12 PM ^
Mike Downey was the best Detroit sports columnist of my lifetime. Funny, funny, funny guy. He was only here for a few years in the early 1980s, and when he left the Free Press, he was replaced by Mitch Albom.
And then Albom was great for a few years, too. Funny, self-effacing. His "Live Albom" column was awesome. Then he became a smarmy asshole and the rest is history.
August 17th, 2023 at 10:42 AM ^
Shit Burs that landed on Trumbull.
Walk off!
August 17th, 2023 at 11:14 AM ^
At one point I was legitimately happy for Albom when he hit the big time (just like I was for Downey). It's always good to see someone working in Detroit go up the ladder, even if they're just passing through.
Now I cringe whenever I see the guy's name.
August 18th, 2023 at 8:18 AM ^
I liked Albom for a few years. Then, his writing style got increasingly formulaic. The device that I remember easiest is how he'd repeat the same phrase 3-4 times throughout the column to try to establish continuity. But plenty of people buy his books.
Plus, he crossed the picket line during the 1995-97 strike. I'm a union member and could not abide that.
Downey was good to read though. I liked him a lot. His departure was a real surprise.
And speaking of Detroit sportswriters, I do recall reading Watson Spoelstra at the Detroit News... grandfather of Erik. Yeah, I'm old.
August 16th, 2023 at 9:55 PM ^
Back in the 90s, Rick Reilly's last page of Sports Illustrated was must read!
August 16th, 2023 at 10:53 PM ^
I was going to post the same thing. HOF sportswriter, Sportswriter of the Year numerous times, humorous, inciteful and a must read every week. He is on the Mount Rushmore with Murray.
August 16th, 2023 at 11:49 PM ^
If you haven’t read “Who’s your caddy?” I strongly recommend. Very funny book by Rick Reilly.
August 17th, 2023 at 1:12 PM ^
I liked Reilly back in the 90s when I was a youngster. I stopped reading him for several years and when he emerged, briefly, on ESPN's website he was a worthless hack (like Albom). The takeaway seems to be that it's hard to maintain a high standard for a prolonged period of time. Or those guys just got rich and lazy so they mailed it in. Probably the latter.
August 17th, 2023 at 3:41 PM ^
Reilly wanted to Dan Jenkins, the best sportswriter of all time hisownself. Great at SI, Golf Digest, and in his books. I have even gotten my wife to ask my 3 boys if they are "hurt or injured? Why? because you gotta play hurt." True genius.
August 16th, 2023 at 10:00 PM ^
Not the greatest of all time, but I liked Ralph Wiley on ESPN Page 2. Gone too soon at 52 in 2004. His last column was on the Pistons/Lakers championship series. (He had said Detroit should win.)
August 16th, 2023 at 10:04 PM ^
David Halberstam is my guy. Read Summer of 49 or October 1964 if you’re a baseball fan
August 16th, 2023 at 11:03 PM ^
If we're going there, I propose Roger Kahn. The Boys of Summer was superb.
August 17th, 2023 at 6:09 AM ^
Both these writers were fantastic. The only problem with Halberstam's baseball books is that he only wrote two of them.
And I remember that my parent bought "The Boys of Summer" for their 12-year-old son. Then they realized that the language was pretty raw, and my mother wouldn't let me read it (not realizing that I'd already heard worse in school.)
August 18th, 2023 at 8:19 AM ^
Let's go back to Paper Lion by George Plimpton.
August 16th, 2023 at 10:14 PM ^
Was going to post “Jim Murray” as I saw the article too and concur. So does Keith Jackson.
August 16th, 2023 at 10:25 PM ^
In my time writer: Downer
Announcer: Local Van Patrick. National Mel Allen / Lindsay Nelson.
MGoVoice, Voice Ufer, National Keith Jackson.
Yup, I'm old.
August 16th, 2023 at 10:37 PM ^
you forgot ernie harwell, george kell, and bruce martin. nationally, i loved vin scully and grew fond of chick hearns, the laker announcer - a homer like ufer.
yeah, i'm old, too.
August 16th, 2023 at 11:11 PM ^
Maybe an unpopular opinion, but Ralph Lawler >>> Chick Hearn.
August 17th, 2023 at 8:37 AM ^
Every person you mentioned was a great sports announcer but this discussion is about sports writers.
August 17th, 2023 at 9:02 AM ^
correct, and in direct response to bluerude's listing of his favorite sports announcers in his second and third lines.
August 17th, 2023 at 12:05 PM ^
+1 for you Bruce and Sid Vicous. My bad...
August 16th, 2023 at 11:08 PM ^
Van Patrick was such a good football announcer. I loved when he drew out Phil-a-delllllll-phia. or Los Annnnn-jell-eeze. No so much fun calling Notre Dame games but that had more to do with the subject matter.
August 17th, 2023 at 12:07 PM ^
Best Van isms, ball the the 33 yard n half we'll call it the 34.
August 16th, 2023 at 10:50 PM ^
Mitch Albom was the best when he still wrote about sports. He’s still good, but I miss his regular sports columns
August 16th, 2023 at 11:06 PM ^
You do you, but I find him very preachy and self-serving.
August 17th, 2023 at 8:20 AM ^
Hi radio show is brutal. His sidekick must be told to agree with and laugh at everything Mitch says.
I ran into him at Mott after my youngest was born. Everyone congratulates when you have a newborn. My wife and I got onto an elevator with him and he doesn't say a word. Leads me to believe the stories you hear about him off air are true.
August 17th, 2023 at 8:53 AM ^
Back in the 90’s when he was writing for “Tuesdays with Morrie” he was living in Ann Arbor. My dad was a FedEx driver at the time. Pops went to give him a package. Album opens the door and goes “What?!”, takes the clipboard to sign, and throws it back at my dad. My dad was furious. He wanted to punch Albom in the face.
He still hasn’t forgotten it.
August 17th, 2023 at 9:03 AM ^
You hear about this stuff all the time with him. I mean he was probably at Mott doing charitable work which is great, but there is this off camera side of him where he can't stop being a dick.
August 17th, 2023 at 10:45 AM ^
His ego got the better of his talent.
Shooter McGavin style.
August 17th, 2023 at 11:35 AM ^
The brother of a friend of mine was a carpenter in the Detroit area and did some minor work at Albom's house. Apparently Albom was just a thoroughgoing dick to deal with.
August 16th, 2023 at 11:13 PM ^
1980s-1990s Mitch was pretty darn great. He is a gifted writer, but I'm not a fan of his non-sports commentary.
August 17th, 2023 at 9:58 AM ^
This is accurate. His articles were a must read for any Detroit sports fan from that era. Once he had success writing his books and branching off to other non-sports projects, his sports coverage faded and when he did write about sports, he came off as preachy. Also, there was this in the early 2000's:
Albom, Free Press apologize for misleading Final Four column
August 17th, 2023 at 2:00 PM ^
I think his sportswriting career started to go downhill when he landed the role of Kevin on "The Wonder Years."
August 16th, 2023 at 11:04 PM ^
Can't think of many sports writers but I think the greatest thing I've ever read about sports is David Foster Wallace's article on Roger Federer back in the day. I re-read it several years ago after he passed away and it was still fascinating. I don't even really care for tennis that much but that piece is amazing.
August 16th, 2023 at 11:13 PM ^
Gotta give Joe Falls some love.
August 17th, 2023 at 12:09 PM ^
HM, Pete Waldmier. Another witty writer.
August 17th, 2023 at 4:05 PM ^
Never liked Falls. Maybe I was reading him too late in his career, but to me, he fell into the category of the "Everything was better back in my day" crabby old fart.
August 16th, 2023 at 11:17 PM ^
Michigan's own Kevin Allen.
August 16th, 2023 at 11:20 PM ^
Rick Reilly, Frank Deford
Those guys were tremendous
Brian Cook indeed is unusually good. He should write some books to add to the mix. I'd buy one.
August 16th, 2023 at 11:36 PM ^
Growing up in the metropolitan New York City area, I was exposed to the great sports sections of the numerous daily newspapers from NYC, including the New York Herald Tribune and its columnist Red Smith whom some have called the greatest sportswriter of the 20th century. LINK
During my college and law school years, I got to read The Boston Globe and columns by Peter Gammons, Bob Ryan and Bud Collins among others. I'd often stop at the out-of-town newspaper stand in Harvard Square to pick up The New York Times just to read Red Smith's columns after he joined that paper's staff in 1971.
As a long-time New York/San Francisco Giants fan, I still enjoy reading Red Smith's column about The Shot Heard 'Round the World in the third game of the 1951Naional League playoff series between the Giants and Dodgers. LINK