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Junior Member
 
Group: Administrators
Last Login: 04 August 2009 12:24
Posts: 16,
Visits: 70
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I am President of the Sports Journalists’Association and proudly so because I reckon that more often than not some of the best written articles in the paper are in the sports pages. The problem is – and always has been – that very few editors agree with me. Most I worked for, with the honourable exceptions of Harry Evans at the Sunday Times in the 70s and Max Hastings and Charles Moore at the Sunday Telegraph in the 90s had not the slightest knowledge of what went on the back pages. One editor I worked for called us the ‘Toy Department’.
There was a conference on the subject of sports writing recently and it set me thinking about those who I admire and have been influenced by.
Best book about football: Arthur Hopcraft ‘The Football Man’ along with Eamon Dunphy’s "Only a Game?: Diary of a Professional Footballer" are both outstanding.
Best cricket writer: From the past Cardus, R. C. Robertson-Glasgow and Jack Fingleton. Of the present: Michael Atherton, Steve James, Gideon Haigh, Scyld Berry, Christopher Martin-Jenkins, Derek Pringle form my nucleus of an impressive bunch, particularly ex players.
Best book about a sport: Ernest Hemingway’s ‘Death In The Afternoon’, that’s if you regard bull fighting as a sport.
Favourite columnists / feature reporters: Martin Samuel, Paul Hayward, Patrick Collins, James Lawton, Hugh McIlvanney.
Favourite line in a sports report: Hugh McIlvanney reporting Ali’s Rumble In the Jungle against George Foreman: “We should have known that Muhammad Ali would not settle for any ordinary old resurrection. His had to have an additional flourish. So, having rolled away the rock, he hit George Foreman on the head with it..”
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Forum Newbie
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 14 February 2010 12:54
Posts: 4,
Visits: 16
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| Must nominate as best golf books "A Good Walk Spoiled", "The Majors" and "Caddy For Life". All by John Feinstein. The latter has the human aspect of Bruce Edwards' fight against ALS and the wonderful relationship he shared with Tom Watson.
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 29 June 2010 00:38
Posts: 172,
Visits: 299
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A great sporting trilogy by Colin Shindler has given me great entertainment: "Manchester United ruined my life", "Fathers, sons and football" (about the Summerbee dynasty) and "George Best and 21 others". Written with great wit, warmth and style.
Francis
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 29 June 2010 00:38
Posts: 172,
Visits: 299
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"Fatty batter" by Michael Simkins is an amusing memoir by an enthusiastic amateur cricketer. Simkins is an actor who grew up above a sweet shop and would possibly have achieved great things in the game were it not for the temptations of the confectionery!
Francis
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 29 June 2010 00:38
Posts: 172,
Visits: 299
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John Major's "More than a game" is a superb history of the early years of cricket, bringing to life the many eccentric characters who got the sport started. John's love of the game just oozes from every page. Highly recommended.
Francis
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 07 August 2010 18:06
Posts: 260,
Visits: 356
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| Ill have to throw in the Jimmy Greaves biography of at least a decade back. Full of behind the scenes tales that the fans love to hear. My Favourite was when THE great Bobby Moore was marking Greavsie at a corner. " Where we going for a pint after the game" said Greavsie to his lifelong buddie
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 29 June 2010 00:38
Posts: 172,
Visits: 299
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| My local paper, the Manchester Evening News, has a pretty good reputation for sports writing over the years. When I was growing up in the 60s, David Meek covered Man Utd and Peter Gardner covered City. They were so good for so long at their jobs that any unsuspecting youngster would think that they were A) part of the furniture at their respective clubs, and B) that they would go on forever. It was a sad day when they stopped, because they enriched the game that they reported. You really can't ask more of a writer than that. More recently Paul Hince has written entertainingly on soccer (mainly but not exclusively from a City viewpoint). His nickname for Sir Alex Ferguson is Taggart (after the TV detective) and a while ago he wrote an excellent piece on the charitable side of Fergie, which doesn't often get reported.
Francis
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 29 June 2010 00:38
Posts: 172,
Visits: 299
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| I've been reading John Arlott's Book of Cricketers, a compilation he put together in the 1970s of pen-pictures of his favourite cricketers, from Hobbs to D'Oliveira to Brearley and many more. He was truly a master of the written and spoken word, in fact it's impossible to read this without hearing that marvellous Hampshire accent. He made his commentary much more interesting than most others, because of his wide experience of life, his love of the English language and his pure enjoyment of the game.
Francis
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Forum Newbie
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Last Login: 20 October 2009 23:38
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[font=Arial][/font]Agree with the sentiments of Parky's original post. Sport columns have always been one of my favourite areas of reading. Strange how sports writing seems to attract such quality journalism, cricket in particular.
Wouldn't it be nice to be able to buy a weekly digest of all the decent sports articles? That way I would be able to read Martin Samuel again - am sure he had good reason for leaving The Times but what a shame he has gone to a rag that is so grubby that I can't possibly be persuaded to buy it. Paul Hayward is up there too - altho he tend to overdo the 'war' and 'battle' metaphors in his copy - he seems to be writing the Observer sports section on his own these days.
To the list of journalists I should add Matthew Engel and Frank Keating. Frank had a brill turn of phrase but could always raise a smile too.(Is he still writing??) Simon Barnes ought to get a mention as well.
Agree too about the Hopcraft book. But given the number of class journalists we have isn't it odd there are so few classy sports books about. To the list I would add Barnes' book on the meaning of sport. It contains some brilliant insights, as does his columns (occasionally drifting into self indulgence) and is worth buying. I've just picked up Ed Smith's book about what sport teaches us about life. It's a series of sports essays and this is looking good too. Both these books contain original thought at the expense of the turgid narrative that is the hallmark of most of the sports books you will find on the shelf at Waterstones. At about a fiver off the net they are well worth the money.
I'll mention 'Free Money' by Declan Murphy too. About sports gambling - some of the narrative is a little dull but its worth the effort for the insights and clear thinking about the psychology of betting on sports events.
Finally if we are talking about sports papers can't fail to mention that great local institution, Sheffield Newspapers' Green 'Un - a publication that I know Parky will be familiar with. Never found a Saturday evening sports paper to compare. I been reading this man and boy as have thousands of other addicts. It's mailed overseas to South Yorkshire expats around the glob too. No Paul Haywards in there but its on the street at six o'clock without fail with match reports, results, tables and great coverage of regional sport and football. Ain't a proper Saturday without the Green 'Un. All for 60p!
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Supreme Being
Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 27 May 2010 14:26
Posts: 117,
Visits: 253
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| I have read some great sports books, I must admit mainly about football and cricket and motor sport, though I have an interest in most sports. One of the best lines I ever read was from one of Michaels own books, and you could'ny make it up, it had to be real. That was when "Skinner" Normanton asked a famous footballer, who had come to Barnsley in the F.A.Cup, "Does tha want to go to Sheffield Royal or Barnsley General hospital?". Apologies if I have the wrong hospitals, but it goes to show how soft our game has got. If someone from the lower divisions asked a Premier League player like Drogbha the same question, he would probably be prosecuted, and Drogbha would be rolling around the car park for a day and a half holding his overprotected legs. Paul.
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