“Growing up in Chicago, I was privileged to read some of the sports columnists that Ron Rapoport includes in this marvelous collection. Though I moved to New York to write my own sports column, I continued to enjoy the contemporary Chicago sportswriters. Now, we can re-read all of them, plus greats from past years. From Black Sox to Three-Peats is pure pleasure from beginning to end.”
THE BEST AMERICAN SPORTS WRITING brings together the finest writing on sports to appear in the past year.
Introduction
PioneersA Hot Tip from the Umpire
By Ring LardnerA Polecat in the Hotel: Major Leaguers Fail to Drop Color Bar
By Frank A. YoungThe Game of the Century
By Arch WardGeorge Halas: “I Always Liked the Tough Ones”
By Jack GriffinRay Meyer: The Name of the Game Is Loyalty
By David CondonBill Veeck: A Man for All Seasons
By Jerome HoltzmanDouble Duty Radcliffe: The One and Only
By Dave HoekstraLegends and HeroesIt’s a Beautiful Day for Mr. Cub
By David CondonWalter Payton: Records Are Like Dreams
By Bernie LincicomeThe Compelling Absence of Bobby Hull
By David IsraelA Whale of a Tale about Tony Zale
By John SchulianGale Sayers: Curtain Call for a Legend
By Ray SonsNellie Fox: The Mighty Mite Battles On
By David CondonDa Ex-Coach Hasn’t Mellowed One Bit
By Rick TelanderSummer Love: Harry Caray, a Radio, and Baseball
By Skip BaylessBack to the Bush Leagues with Minnie Minoso
By Tom FitzpatrickRyne Sandberg: Every Day Was a Battle
By Barry RoznerJust One Word for Terror: Butkus
By Don PiersonAndy Pafko and the Cubs: How Do You Explain a Love Affair?
By Steve DaleyWhat’s Up with Phil Cavarretta
By Joe GoddardFor Chico Carrasquel, White Sox Are Always There
By Mike DowneyRon Santo: “I’m Way Ahead of the Game”
By Paul LadewskiLeo Durocher: The Spit Take and the Bow
By Ron RapoportOnly in ChicagoWhat Is Wrong with the White Sox? Kid Gleason Asks
By James CrusinberryThe Called Shot Heard Round the World
By Westbrook PeglerTen Years after Woodstock, There Was Veeckstock
By David IsraelLee Elia Swings for the Seats, Hits Fans
By Robert MarkusWilliam Perry: Fat Is Where It’s At
By Mike ImremThe Bottom Line: Acupuncture Puts Jim McMahon’s Troubles behind Him
By Bob VerdiSteve Bartman: In the Middle of the Maelstrom
By John KassMagic MomentsSox Join Cubs, Pennant Is Won: Thousands of Baseball Fans Frantic with Joy over Victories Which Bring Both Flags to Chicago
By Hugh S. FullertonCubs Supreme in Baseball World:Final Victory over Detroit gives Chicago Club Greatest Record in the History of the Game
By I. E. SanbornWhite Sox Beat Giants: Crepe Dims Happy Lights of Broadway—Chorus Girls Weep, Waiters Sulk, and Joy Is Gone
By James CrusinberryTan Tornado Tears Loose with a Right: Joe Louis Writes His Name in Book of Champions at Sox Park
By Dan BurleyThe Homer in the Gloamin’: “Lord God Almighty”
By John P. CarmichaelBears Shock Redskins, and Everybody Else, 73–0
By Warren BrownA Tale of Three Bears—and the NFL Title
By John P. CarmichaelNo Contest: Bears the Best, Win Super Bowl XX
By Don PiersonWhite Sox Seize the Day, Own the City
By Jay MariottiFrom Glad to Verse: for Sox Fans, There’s No Rhyme or Reason behind 2005 Season
By Mike DowneyWildcats Pinch Themselves—All the Way to Pasadena
By Gene WojciechowskiSay Cheesesteak: Blackhawks Win Stanley Cup
By David HaughAny Team Can have a Bad Century1918: The Curse of the Bambino, Chicago Style—Ruth Triumphs over Vaughn, 1–0, in First Game of World Series
By Charles Dryden1945: The Great, the Good, and the Awful
By Warren BrownBrock for Broglio: Joined at the Hip
By Jerome HoltzmanMadness in Wrigley Field; Enjoy It While It Lasts
By Brent Musburger1969: Trial by Torture, One Day at a Time
By Rick Talley45 Runs Later, Cubs Come Up One Short
By Dave Nightingale1984: “This One Will Hurt for a Long, Long Time”
By Bob VerdiA Very Solid Book
By Mike Royko1989: The Boys of Zimmer Leave Their Hearts in San Francisco
By Philip Hersh2003: One More Desolate Night at Wrigley Field
By Rick MorrisseyMichael“The Shot” Is Too Good Not to Be True
By Terry BoersWhen Jordan Cried behind Closed Doors
By Bob GreeneChampions: Bulls Stampede to First Title
By Sam SmithBaseball, Birmingham, and Dreams of His Father
By Melissa IsaacsonJordan Applies a Perfect Touch to One Last Masterpiece
By Jay MariottiSo Long, Michael: It’s Been Great
By Bernie LincicomeNeighborhoodsK Town
By John SchulianRoof Bums
By Ron RapoportThe Sun Sets on Cubs’ Illusions
By Bernie LincicomeNorth versus South—the Twain Shall Finally Meet
By Dave HoekstraA Space Invasion in Wrigleyville
By Carol SlezakSox Fan Enters Lineup at Comiskey Park
By Mark Brown“If They Don’t Have a Truce by Tuesday, Derrick Rose Day Will Never Happen”
By Rick TelanderSidekicks and Amateurs, Forgotten Men and Lost Teams, Hustlers and ClownsScottie Pippen Thrived in Jordan’s Shadow
By Sam SmithEric Nesterenko and the Examined Life
By Bob GreeneLou Novikoff: “I Am Dead and Only Waiting to Be Buried”
By Tom FitzpatrickDoug Plank Leaves a Lasting Impression
By David IsraelBlood, Sweat, Tears, and Worse at the Finish Line
By Carol SlezakDarren Pang Measures Up as a Goalie
By Terry BoersDoug Atkins: A Study in Pride and Pain
By Rick TelanderThe Chicago Football Cardinals: Fabric of a Champion
By Bill GleasonThe Wimp at Work
By Bob GreeneThere Were Lots of Clowns, but Only One Andy
By Richard Roeperthe real worldSlaying of Israelis Recalls Nightmare at Dachau
By Robert MarkusFor Troops, Sports Provide a Strong Link to Home
By Mike ImremThey Teach You a Special Lesson
By Bob VerdiAn Earthquake That Brings Out the Best in So Many
By Ray SonsRemembering Sarajevo
By Philip HershOklahoma City: “Part of My Hometown Died”
By Skip BaylessRemembering Ben Wilson: “We Must Rise Up and Seize Control”
By Taylor BellFrom the Depths of Darkness, Theo Fleury and Sheldon Kennedy Find Light
By Barry RoznerWhen Silence Is the Only Answer
By Rick MorrisseyBattles Won and LostLook Who’s Beating the Cubs Now
By Al Monroe“We Are Tired of Staying in Flop Houses”
By Wendell SmithTaking a Stand and Paying the Price
By Wendell SmithWhen Jackie Robinson Came to Wrigley Field
By Mike RoykoHigh Time for Bud Selig to Pardon Buck Weaver
By Mike DowneyCrystals on Top of an Iceberg
By Jeannie MorrisFrom Too Tall to Scaling the Heights
By Melissa IsaacsonFrom the Heart“God Is My Primary-Care Physician”
By Lacy J. BanksI Cannot Escape the Compulsion to Be Thin—Even though I Know It Could Kill Me
By Diane SimpsonFishing with Mother: Strangled Chicken for Dinner
By Jack GriffinI Was a Bears Baby, Too
By Greg CouchRemembering the Land of Enchantment
By John KuensterWishing for Dreams That Can’t Come True
By Skip BaylessThat Stinging Sensation: This One’s for You, Dad
By Phil ArviaA Short Walk Down a Long Corridor
By Carol SlezakSummer’s End Recalls Memory of a Faded Dream
By John SchulianContributorsAcknowledgmentsAbout the Editor