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“The thrill of victory . . . and the agony of defeat.”
Sound familiar?
If you watched TV on Saturday afternoons between April, 1961 and January, 1998 you most likely would recognize it as the opening catch phrase to ABC’s “Wide World of Sports” (WWOS), a sports anthology television program which appeared on that network during those dates.
Trivia time: Who was the announcer that making that introduction?
Answer: It was the inimitable voice of Jim McKay, who hosted the show and also was a staple of Olympic telecasts during those years.
As you may recall, his introduction to the show was accompanied by a short video segment consisting of brief clips of different sporting events. The clips varied over the show’s lifespan . . . with one exception.
More trivia: What was the only sporting video clip in that opening which was constant in all the show’s episodes, and what was it meant to convey?
Answer: A ski jumper missing his jump in an epic crash during an international competition. It was matched up with the words in the opening “. . . and the agony of defeat.” Watch a sample show
And if your nostalgia itch still needs a little scratching, watch the WWOS 25th Anniversary show hosted by McKay himself.
If you watched the show on a regular basis, that was probably a gimme of a trivia question. Need more of a challenge? Try this: What is the skier’s name, and what country did he represent?
Kudos if you got this one without looking it up – I had to! Vinko Bogataj, from Slovenia. And if you’re wondering whether or not he was injured, unbelievably he was not hurt in the fall. Physically, that is. His ego probably took a hit, and I’m sure he’s not proud of the occurrence having been shown weekly on television for years!
Unfortunately, with the advent of cable sports telecasts and improved video capabilities, the show became less relevant and ended January 3, 1998. Fortunately for sports enthusiasts, however, Jim McKay continued to cover sports on television over a wide range of athletic competition. Sadly, McKay passed away in 2008. A true giant in his field!
So where am I going with this little trip down sports television memory lane? After all, this is a writer’s blog.
True, but it’s as much about reading as it is writing. And I recently read Jim McKay’s autobiography, The Real McKay, a rather clever allusion to “the real McCoy,” which he was in the true sense of that idiom applied to sports journalism. His story prompted me to write a blog not on sports per se, but on sports books, and I thought this little reminiscence for McKay and WWOS would be a good lead-in. I hope you agree!
I’ll start with his book, which is chock-full of stories about his early career and his journey in sports broadcasting, including memorable events along the way, at the Olympics, during Wide World of Sports, and many other individual notable events – horse racing including the Kentucky Derby, auto racing such as the Indianapolis 500, and the Masters and other golf tournaments, to name just a few. There are many takeaways from the book and his observations, but there are three for me that I feel are worthy of sharing.
First is how he came to have this incredible career. McKay, né McManus, was a young news journalist in Baltimore when he was offered a position by CBS as a sports broadcaster. He describes at length how he and his wife struggled with the decision to abandon his journalistic career for that of a mere “sportscaster,” fearing a loss of being taken seriously as a reporter and not being able to make a living in sportscasting. You only need to consider the totality of his exceptional career to understand the irony of his hesitancy in making that decision!
The second takeaway for me is his recounting of the seemingly endless list of high points in sports that he was an integral part of by virtue of his broadcasting. I can’t say he proclaimed any one as his favorite, but I have mine. It was the famous “Miracle on Ice,” the USA hockey team’s victory over the Russian team for the Gold Medal at the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY. The magnitude of that achievement is brought home by recognizing that the Russian team was considered the best in the world, composed of NHL caliber players, and the American team was mostly a bunch of college players. What was their edge? An incredible coach, Herb Brooks, who knew how to motivate players and get the best out of them as a team.
As an aside, this past year marked the 40th anniversary of that improbable outcome. So if you haven’t watched the 2004 Disney movie “Miracle” depicting the story of that incredible feat, with Kurt Russel as Coach Brooks, get the DVD, grab your favorite beverage, and be prepared for an emotional roller coaster of a ride that will leave you swelling with American pride!
The last, and most momentous takeaway from his book, at least for me, is the undisputed low point of his career. It was the 1972 Summer Olympic Games in Munich, West Germany when members of the Palestinian terrorist group Black September took eleven members of the Israeli team hostage, ultimately killing them all.
McKay’s reporting of the event in real time from his vantage point as anchor of the ABC broadcast team dispelled any doubts about his gravitas as a news journalist. He was at the same time straight forward, sobering, reflective, and emotional. It was hailed as a journalistic accomplishment of the highest level, winning him several awards. Despite the accolades, McKay clearly considers this the low point in an otherwise stellar career experience. I think we can all agree it was the low point in sports history. Period.
In a previous post I talked about favorites, so now I’m going to discuss some of my favorite sports books that I think any fan would enjoy reading.
The first is one that resonated personally with me, “Final Rounds – a father, a son, the golf journey of a lifetime.” But not just because I enjoy golf. The author, James Dodson, shared a singular passion with his father for the game of golf. So when he learned that his father had but several months to live, he decided they would set out together to play many of the most famous golf courses in the world, including St. Andrews and other British Open venues. The book is much more than simply a golf travelogue, however. It is about the deeply moving relationship between father and son through their shared passion for the game.
I learned to play golf in my very early teens, swinging my dad’s clubs in our yard. I vividly remember the starter golf club set he bought me and the professional lessons we took together at an indoor golf school.
Although the circumstances were very different, Dodson’s narrative is emotionally engaging, and evoked wonderful memories of the rounds I played as a teenager with my father during the summer, often with a family friend. When I went off to college, these sessions diminished and faded away. But the memory never has.
Speaking of golf, another fascinating book I enjoyed is “Arnie and Jack: Palmer, Nicklaus, and Golf’s Greatest Rivalry” by Ian O’Connor. You don’t have to be a golf fan to recognize the two names. The book is a great exploration of the complex relationship between these two golfers as competitors both on the golf course and in business, yet developing a deep friendship over time through their shared devotion to the game.
Nicklaus, a “youngster” entering the world of professional golf when Palmer was mid-career, is known for accumulating the most career major tournament wins and considered one of the greatest players in history. But it was Palmer that earned the title “King of Golf,” not only because of his success on the golf course, but also by virtue of his charisma and engaging style with his fan base. He is rightfully credited with the tremendous growth in the popularity of golf as a pastime that occurred throughout his career and endures to this day. Palmer also pioneered the use of sports marketing with equipment and product endorsements that has become commonplace in the world of golf, not to mention in all of professional sports.
O’Connor’s narrative insightfully explores the friendship that developed and flourished over time between these two golfing greats despite the fierce rivalry between them on the golf course, and later in business. The book is a great read even if you’re not a golf enthusiast.
One other golf book I read introduced me to my all-time favorite sports author, John Feinstein. It’s a great book, and has a great title, one that will resonate with those who find golf, let’s just say, less than enjoyable. The book is “A Good Walk Spoiled,” a saying often attributed to Mark Twain, but not likely so since it first showed up in print in 1948 and Twain died in 1910. Still, sounds like something he would say!
Back to Feinstein’s book. The subtitle is “Days and Nights on the PGA Tour,” and is a perfect example of why I love all his books. Feinstein doesn’t just write about the sport, he explores the lives and travails of the people engaged in the sport. As the book’s back cover states, “A Good Walk Spoiled” reveals the struggles and triumphs of the world’s greatest golfers over the course of a year on the PGA Tour.” That says it all.
He has written a number of such books about golf, all with the same theme, delving deep into the life, experiences, the ups and the downs of the athlete.
For example, “Tales From Q School” explores the life of amateur golfers trying to qualify to play on the game’s professional circuit, the PGA Tour. A golfer cannot just “turn pro,” and there is no professional “draft” as in other team sports. A player must qualify to play on golf’s premier stage, where the big money is to be made, and “Q” School is that qualifying process. It’s where the rules of golf are learned and tested, and players compete for the annual limited number of spots afforded to those that succeed. In other words, it’s highly competitive, to say the least. Dreams come true, and others are delayed, if not dashed forever. Again, as the book’s back cover reveals, “. . . the core of the book is taken up with getting inside the heads of the competitors . . . and drives home the point that golf is, above all, a humbling, even humiliating game.” Feinstein clearly loves the sport, but it is the personal approach to the athletes that engages the reader.
Although Feinstein has published a number of books on golf, he is not just a golf writer. Not by a long shot. His books encompass just about all major sports, both college and professional – baseball, football, basketball, tennis. And in every one Feinstein explores the dreams and fears, successes and failures, emotional impact of the specific sport on the participants and their families.
His first such book, “Season on the Brink,” chronicles the 1985-86 season of the Indiana University men’s basketball team and their brilliant but fiery and controversial coach Bob Knight. Prone to irascible outbursts, both in practice and during games, he once threw a chair onto the court in response to a referee’s technical foul call in a game with Purdue. Watch it here As is his pattern, Feinstein focuses on the players and the effect Knight’s behavior and coaching style had on them as well as the NCAA.
After reading “A Good Walk Spoiled,” I was hooked on Feinstein. I read several more of his efforts on golf – “Open: Inside the Ropes at Bethpage Black,” “The Majors,” and the aforementioned “Tales From Q School,” – loved them, and decided to try another sport. I wasn’t disappointed!
I started with “A March to Madness: the View From the Floor in the Atlantic Coast Conference.” It was equally insightful to his efforts on golf, taking the reader through the entirety of the 1996-97 season of all nine teams in the Atlantic Coast Conference leading up to and including the men’s NCAA college basketball tournament, often referred to as “March Madness.” To quote the book’s jacket cover, “Feinstein follows all nine ACC teams through the unforgettable season and illuminates the almost inconceivable pressures on coaches and players.” Again, the personal insights are amazing. What a great read!
Next on my list came “A Civil War: A Year Inside College Football’s Purest Rivalry, Army vs Navy.” His recounting of both teams, their preparation for the biggest football game of the players’ lives while undergoing the rigors of education and preparation of the two military academies, and their thoughts and emotions in anticipation of their upcoming service commitments, is nothing short of spellbinding. Another example of Feinstein’s skill at weaving the sense of athletic achievement together with insight to the effect of the sport on the players, their families, and the coaches.
And then there is “The Last Amateurs: Playing For Glory and Honor in Division 1 College Basketball.” Feinstein really shines here. The book follows the basketball teams of the Patriot League, one of the NCAA’s smallest Division 1 conferences, including schools such as Army, Navy, Colgate, Holy Cross, Lafayette, Lehigh, Bucknell – none known as athletic powerhouses. Feinstein paints a picture of scholar-athletes that play for the love of the game while maintaining their educational priorities. As he points out, “No one leaves the Patriot League schools early to join the NBA, and few have athletic scholarships even though they carry full course loads of real college classes, without the lavish support network provided at larger schools.”
Early in the book Feinstein quotes one talented player who chose Colgate over Duke when recruited by both basketball programs: “When I visited there (Duke), every player I talked to had chosen Duke because they thought it was the best place for them to play basketball. Clearly basketball came first for all of them . . . and I just didn’t feel I would fit in being in an environment where everyone around me thought of himself as a basketball player first and foremost. At Colgate I knew basketball would be important, I knew we would work hard, but it wouldn’t be everything.”
The book is a fascinating look at what Feinstein calls “the last amateurs!”
“One on One: Behind the Scenes With the Greats in the Game” is a little different effort on Feinstein’s part, but equally entertaining. It is a collection of his private interviews with a number of notable greats within their respective sport.
More recently, “The Legends Club: An Epic College Basketball Rivalry” (2016) is a frank and at times emotionally moving recounting of the fierce rivalry, both on the basketball court and in player recruitment, of three highly successful coaches in the ACC, perennially one of the most successful conferences in college basketball – Dean Smith (University of North Carolina), Mike Krzyzewski (Duke University), and Jim Valvano (North Carolina State University). Feinstein deftly explores the unique nature of the friendship formed among them and their families despite the highly competitive nature of their relationship in the arena of college basketball.
And in “Quarterback: Inside the Most Important Position in the National Football League” (2018), Feinstein shines a bright light on one of the most expectation-laden roles in all of professional sports and its effect on the players, their teams, and their families.
At the moment I’m reading “Where Nobody Knows Your Name: Life in the Minor Leagues of Baseball”, in which Feinstein explores the trials and travails of several men – players and managers – struggling to escape the realm of minor league baseball and reach the major league – and most importantly, stay there. It’s at the same time easily readable and emotionally engaging.
I can’t end my list of great sports reads without mentioning my favorite sport – hockey. I have two books to mention.
The first is “The Greatest Hockey Stories Ever Told: the Finest Writers on Ice.” A definite must for true hockey fans, it is “an anthology of classic tales from the locker room, behind the benches, in the buses, and of course, on the ice itself,” from players, coaches, and sports commentators. It even has a chapter on how to construct an ice rink in your back yard! And as a bonus, the last chapter is the final fourteen pages of the script for the 1977 movie Slap Shot! A hockey cult favorite, the movie is a hyperbolic fictional depiction of the game and life in the minor leagues during the 1970’s. If you really are a hockey enthusiast, the movie is a must see, and this script segment is a treat. Even if your not a hockey fan, the movie is good for some real laughs. Besides, it stars Paul Newman!
In Jay Atkinson’s “ICE TIME: A Tale of Fathers, Sons, and Hometown Heroes,” the author chronicles his true life return to his high school hockey team as a volunteer assistant. This book is not simply about the sport. Indeed, it is much more, taking us inside the lives of the players, coaches, and their families. I think this quote from the book cover sums it up perfectly: “In emotionally vivid detail, Ice Time travels into the rinks, schools, and living rooms of small-town America, where friendships are forged, the rewards of loyalty and perseverance are earned, and boys and girls are transformed into young men and women. . . . He takes us onto the ice and into the heart of a town and a team as he explores the profound connection between fathers and sons, and what it means to go home again.”
You don’t have to be a hockey fan to enjoy this read, or even a sports fan for that matter. Yes, it uses hockey as a backdrop, but its real message is about people, families, growing up, and friendships – in sum, life. I found it absorbing, nostalgic, and emotionally moving, and I believe you will as well.
So that’s it – my personal hall of fame of sports writing and reading. I hope you’ve enjoyed this excursion into this particular genre. It’s not fiction, even though it may seem like it. Sports fans take for granted what they see on the field, but it’s the “behind the scenes” stories that make them real people to the reader instead of the heroes we expect of them when competing.
I hope you have enjoyed my indulgence in writing this post, at least as much as I have enjoyed putting it together.
Here’s hoping all my readers a Happy, Safe, and Healthy New Year. Hopefully we can soon put 2020 in the rear view mirror.
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