Exploring the imagination of sports in books, history and culture
Also In This Issue: 150 Years of Baseball in Japan; College Football’s Twilight; The Mermaid Hunter Who Invented Football; The Greatest Kicker in NFL History; Bronko Nagurski; Bobby Fischer; 1972 Summit Series; The Birth of Women’s Olympic Rowing; Vic Seixas; Buzz Bissinger vs. Deadspin; Remembering Tom Weiskopf and Pete Carril
I will wade into the GOAT wars over Serena Williams’ place in tennis history only so briefly. Being a creature naturally disposed to favor those in my own generation, I will only restate here that to me Martina Navratilova is at the top of the perch.
A couple of reasons why: Martina won a Wimbledon mixed doubles title in her 50s, and during the peak of her career competed against a much stronger field. Aside from her legendary rivalry with Chris Evert, as she reached her twilight Navratilova more than held her own against Steffi Graf.
I’ve tried to find some of the best perspectives from across the spectrum that are linked below, and don’t want to get in the way of that.
One other link here that’s worth noting, and isn’t clear from the headline: Sports Substacker extraordinaire Ethan Strauss has a rocking piece about Buzz Bissinger taking on the new wave of sports bloggers, including a memorable 2008 exchange with Deadspin co-founder Will Leitch on the “Bob Costas Show.”
It was a harbinger for 21st century media wars that rage on, and “What if the Old Guys Were Right” revisits how the author of “Friday Night Lights” became a growling warrior for the older generation of print-added sports hacks that resonates today.
“Whatever the reasons, the boomer writers gave off an impression of hating rather than celebrating their subject,” Strauss writes. “And they gave it off all while demanding that the bloggers not reveal the athletes to be less than boy scouts.”
Enjoy, and Happy Reading Sports Bibliophiles!
News & Issues
Is Serena Williams the GOAT? Probably. Maybe. Without a Doubt.—The New York Times | Order “Seeing Serena”
Serena Williams' case as the women's tennis GOAT isn't as airtight as you think—USA Today
Why Serena Williams has never been defined by chase for Margaret Court's Grand Slam record—BBC
"It’s really hard for me to say because, obviously, I’m not impartial" - Navratilova on Serena Williams as GOAT—Tennis Up To Date
Serena Williams's career in stats: Is she the tennis GOAT?—ABC
Serena Williams provides impressive reminder of why she's the GOAT—New York Post
Serena Williams: Numbers do not matter - she is the GOAT, perhaps of all sports—Scotsman
Moderna's US Open sponsorship extends beyond COVID vaccine—Ad Age
I Have Seen the Future of Baseball—Joe Posnanski
America’s Bad Bet on Sports Gambling—Compact
College Football’s Twilight—City Journal
Does Watching College Football on TV Have to Be So Miserable?—The New York Times
A Few Good Reads
How Justin Tucker Became the Greatest Kicker in N.F.L. History—The New York Times
Chess grandmaster Bobby Fischer’s fall from grace—The Spectator World
Twenty years after his World Series moment, Scott Spiezio puts his life back together—The Athletic
Oldest living tennis champ, 99, played for the love of the game, not money—San Francisco Chronicle
Books & Reviews
Review—Bronko: The Legendary Story of the NFL's Greatest Two-Way Fullback—Pro Football Journal | Order “Bronko”
A memoir of Marian Hossa's career set to release in November—NBC Sports
Sports History Files
Arthur Pember: The Mermaid Hunter Who Invented Football—Soccer Stories
The Professor and the Madman (1869-2022)—Throwbacks
The 1972 Summit Series, 50 years later: Inside the new documentary on Canada’s great hockey triumph—The Athletic
Dryden looks back on 1972 Summit Series—NHL.com
Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame: Theresa Grentz earned enshrinement—Asbury Park Press
The road to Montreal: how a trailblazing US crew helped women’s rowing get into the Olympics—Inside the Games
Baseball Traveled to Japan 150 Years Ago. By Way of Maine.—The New York Times
Arts
‘Welcome to Wrexham’ Review: Two Actors and Soccer Lovers, One Goal—The Wall Street Journal
Netflix Releases America’s Cup Documentary—Sail Magazine
Collectibles
Artwork Used To Produce 1953 Topps Willie Mays Card Part Of Lelands Sale—Sports Collectors Daily
Media
What if the Old Guys Were Right?—House of Strauss
Al Saracevic, longtime Examiner and Chronicle columnist and editor, dies at 52—San Francisco Examiner
Passings
Major champion and course architect Tom Weiskopf, dead at 79—Golfweek
RIP Pete Carril, last of the genius basketball curmudgeons—The Philadelphia Inquirer | Order “The Smart Take from the Strong”
The Sports Biblio Reader e-mail newsletter is delivered on Sunday. You can subscribe here and search recent archives. The full archives for Sports Biblio Digest can be found here. This is issue No. 250, published Sept. 11, 2022.
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