The Best American Sports Writing
Encyclopedia
The Best Sports Writing is a yearly anthology of magazine articles on the subject of sports published in the United States. It was started in 1991 as part of The Best American Series published by Houghton Mifflin
. Articles are chosen using the same procedure with other titles in the Best American series; the series editor chooses about 70-100 article candidates, from which the guest editor picks 25 or so for publication; the remaining runner-up articles listed in the appendix. The series has been edited since its inception by Glenn Stout.
Traditionally loaded with long-form feature writing and occasionally columns, the annual book is considered a must-read by many sports writers, though the reach of its influence is debatable. Authors who have appeared in the series five or more times in its 20-year history are: Gary Smith
(12 times), Charles P. Pierce (eight times), Steve Friedman (eight times), William Nack
(seven times), Rick Reilly
(seven times), Roger Angel (six times), Pat Jordan
(six times), Linda Robertson (six times), Rick Telander
(six times), Mark Kram Jr. (five times), Bill Plaschke
(five times), Peter Richmond (five times), Paul Solotaroff (five times). It also includes award-winning writers whose genre is not exclusively sports-writing, such as Jeanne Marie Laskas
whose 2008 piece "G-L-O-R-Y!" offered a rare look at professional cheerleaders.
The series culminated in 2000's Best American Sports Writing of the Century, which featured few works from the 1990s. The guest editor for that book was David Halberstam
, who also was the guest editor for the first edition of the series, in 1991.
, Bill Littlefield
, Dick Schaap
(whose work appeared twice in the Best American Sports Writing of the Century anthology) and David Maraniss
.
Houghton Mifflin
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt is an educational and trade publisher in the United States. Headquartered in Boston's Back Bay, it publishes textbooks, instructional technology materials, assessments, reference works, and fiction and non-fiction for both young readers and adults.-History:The company was...
. Articles are chosen using the same procedure with other titles in the Best American series; the series editor chooses about 70-100 article candidates, from which the guest editor picks 25 or so for publication; the remaining runner-up articles listed in the appendix. The series has been edited since its inception by Glenn Stout.
Traditionally loaded with long-form feature writing and occasionally columns, the annual book is considered a must-read by many sports writers, though the reach of its influence is debatable. Authors who have appeared in the series five or more times in its 20-year history are: Gary Smith
Gary Smith (sportswriter)
Gary Smith is an American sportswriter. He is best known for his lengthy human interest stories in Sports Illustrated, where he has worked since 1983.-Career: :)...
(12 times), Charles P. Pierce (eight times), Steve Friedman (eight times), William Nack
William Nack
William Nack is an American journalist and author. He wrote about sports, politics and the environment at Newsday for 11 years before joining the staff of Sports Illustrated in 1978 as an investigative reporter and general feature writer. Since leaving S.I. in 2001, Nack has freelanced for numerous...
(seven times), Rick Reilly
Rick Reilly
Richard "Rick" Paul Reilly is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for Sports Illustrated, Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008 where he is a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote the back page column for ESPN the Magazine...
(seven times), Roger Angel (six times), Pat Jordan
Pat Jordan (author)
Pat Jordan is a leading sports writer with his work included in the Best American Sports Writing anthology series seven times. He is also the acclaimed author of A False Spring, a bittersweet memoir about his minor league baseball career, which is ranked #37 on Sports Illustrated's Top 100 Sports...
(six times), Linda Robertson (six times), Rick Telander
Rick Telander
Rick Telander is the senior sports columnist for the Chicago Sun-Times. Hired in 1995 from Sports Illustrated where he was a Senior Writer, Telander's presence at the newspaper was expected to counter the stable of sports columnists the rival Chicago Tribune had.Telander is a native of Peoria,...
(six times), Mark Kram Jr. (five times), Bill Plaschke
Bill Plaschke
William Paul "Bill" Plaschke is an American sports journalist who has written for the Los Angeles Times since 1987. As a child he attended St. Albert the Great Elementary School in Louisville. He then went on to attend Ballard High School. He spent his freshman year at Baylor University in Waco,...
(five times), Peter Richmond (five times), Paul Solotaroff (five times). It also includes award-winning writers whose genre is not exclusively sports-writing, such as Jeanne Marie Laskas
Jeanne Marie Laskas
Jeanne Marie Laskas is an American writer and professor.From 1994 until 2008 she was a regular, syndicated columnist for The Washington Post Magazine, where her "Significant Others" essays appeared weekly. She has written feature stories for GQ, where she is a correspondent...
whose 2008 piece "G-L-O-R-Y!" offered a rare look at professional cheerleaders.
The series culminated in 2000's Best American Sports Writing of the Century, which featured few works from the 1990s. The guest editor for that book was David Halberstam
David Halberstam
David Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
, who also was the guest editor for the first edition of the series, in 1991.
Guest editors
Selected from the cream of the sports journalism crop, nearly every guest editor has had at least one story published in a previous or later edition of the book. The only exceptions are John FeinsteinJohn Feinstein
John Feinstein is an American sportswriter, author and sports commentator who wrote the top two best-selling non-fiction sports books in history, A Good Walk Spoiled and A Season on the Brink.-Early life:...
, Bill Littlefield
Bill Littlefield
William "Bill" Littlefield is the host of National Public Radio's Only A Game program, covering mainstream and offbeat United States and international sports...
, Dick Schaap
Dick Schaap
Richard Jay Schaap was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.-Early life and education:...
(whose work appeared twice in the Best American Sports Writing of the Century anthology) and David Maraniss
David Maraniss
David Maraniss is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author. As a reporter for The Washington Post he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his stories about the life and career of candidate Bill Clinton in the 1992 campaign for the U.S...
.
- 1991: David HalberstamDavid HalberstamDavid Halberstam was an American Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist, author and historian, known for his early work on the Vietnam War, his work on politics, history, the Civil Rights Movement, business, media, American culture, and his later sports journalism.-Early life and education:Halberstam...
- 1992: Thomas McGuaneThomas McGuaneThomas Francis McGuane III is an American author. His work includes ten novels, short fiction and screenplays, as well as three collections of essays devoted to his life in the outdoors.-Early life:...
- 1993: Frank DefordFrank DefordBenjamin "Frank" Deford, III is a senior contributing writer for Sports Illustrated, author, and commentator for National Public Radio and correspondent for Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel on HBO....
- 1994: Thomas BoswellThomas BoswellThomas M. Boswell is an American sports columnist.Boswell has spent his entire career at the Washington Post, joining it shortly after graduating from Amherst College in 1969. He became a Post columnist in 1984. Writing primarily about baseball, he is credited with inventing the total average...
- 1995: Dan JenkinsDan JenkinsDan Jenkins is an American author and sportswriter, most notably for Sports Illustrated.Jenkins was born and raised in Fort Worth, Texas, where he attended R .L. Paschal High School and Texas Christian University , where he played on the varsity golf team...
- 1996: John FeinsteinJohn FeinsteinJohn Feinstein is an American sportswriter, author and sports commentator who wrote the top two best-selling non-fiction sports books in history, A Good Walk Spoiled and A Season on the Brink.-Early life:...
- 1997: George PlimptonGeorge PlimptonGeorge Ames Plimpton was an American journalist, writer, editor, and actor. He is widely known for his sports writing and for helping to found The Paris Review.-Early life:...
- 1998: Bill LittlefieldBill LittlefieldWilliam "Bill" Littlefield is the host of National Public Radio's Only A Game program, covering mainstream and offbeat United States and international sports...
- 1999: Richard FordRichard FordRichard Ford is a Pulitzer Prize-winning American novelist and short story writer. His best-known works are the novel The Sportswriter and its sequels, Independence Day and The Lay of the Land, and the short story collection Rock Springs, which contains several widely anthologized stories.-Early...
- 2000: Dick SchaapDick SchaapRichard Jay Schaap was an American sportswriter, broadcaster, and author.-Early life and education:...
- 2001: Bud CollinsBud Collins-External links:*** 2001 interview with Collins*...
- 2002: Rick ReillyRick ReillyRichard "Rick" Paul Reilly is an American sportswriter. Long known for being the "back page" columnist for Sports Illustrated, Reilly moved to ESPN on June 1, 2008 where he is a featured columnist for ESPN.com and wrote the back page column for ESPN the Magazine...
- 2003: Buzz Bissinger
- 2004: Richard Ben CramerRichard Ben CramerRichard Ben Cramer is an American journalist and writer.-Biography:Cramer was raised in Rochester, New York and attended Johns Hopkins University earning a bachelor's degree in the Liberal Arts. He later went on to earn a masters degree in journalism at Columbia University...
- 2005: Mike LupicaMike LupicaMichael Lupica is an American newspaper columnist, best known for his provocative commentary on sports in the New York Daily News and his appearances on ESPN.-Biography:...
- 2006: Michael LewisMichael Lewis (author)Michael Lewis is an American non-fiction author and financial journalist. His bestselling books include The Big Short: Inside the Doomsday Machine, Liar's Poker, The New New Thing, Moneyball: The Art of Winning an Unfair Game, The Blind Side: Evolution of a Game, Panic and Home Game: An...
- 2007: David MaranissDavid MaranissDavid Maraniss is a Pulitzer Prize-winning journalist and author. As a reporter for The Washington Post he was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for National Reporting for his stories about the life and career of candidate Bill Clinton in the 1992 campaign for the U.S...
- 2008: William NackWilliam NackWilliam Nack is an American journalist and author. He wrote about sports, politics and the environment at Newsday for 11 years before joining the staff of Sports Illustrated in 1978 as an investigative reporter and general feature writer. Since leaving S.I. in 2001, Nack has freelanced for numerous...
- 2009: Leigh MontvilleLeigh MontvilleLeigh Montville is a sportswriter, columnist and author. He is a graduate of the University of Connecticut.Montville is married to Diane Foster and has two children...
- 2010: Peter GammonsPeter GammonsPeter Gammons is an American sportswriter, media personality, and a recipient of the J. G. Taylor Spink Award for outstanding baseball writing, given by the BBWAA.-Education:...
- 2011: Jane LeavyJane LeavyJane Leavy is an award-winning American former sportswriter and feature writer for the Washington Post. She is the author of the critically acclaimed 1990 comic novel Squeeze Play, which was called "the best novel ever written about baseball" by Entertainment Weekly. She also wrote a best-selling...