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All those mornings . . . at the Post: The 20th Century in Sports from Famed Washington Post Columnist Shirley Povich | 
 enlarge | Author: Shirley Povich
Publisher: PublicAffairs
Category: Book
List Price: $27.50
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Avg. Customer Rating:  6 reviews
Sales Rank: 651581
Media: Hardcover
Number Of Items: 1
Pages: 448
Shipping Weight (lbs): 1.6
Dimensions (in): 9.5 x 6.2 x 1.6
ISBN: 1586483153
Dewey Decimal Number: 796.090904
EAN: 9781586483159
ASIN: 1586483153
Publication Date: April 5, 2005
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Product Description
Shirley Povich was the Dean of American sportswriters. As a columnist for The Washington Post for more than seventyfive years, he was an eyewitness to the most thrilling moments in American sports, including: the legendary 1927 Dempsy-Tunney "long count"; the celebrated 1938 race between Seabiscuit and War Admiral; the 1946 signing of Jackie Robinson by the Brooklyn Dodgers; Don Larsen's perfect game in the 1956 World Series; the Ali-Frazier fight of 1971; and the murder of eleven Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics.
But Povich's columns were about more than sports; they reflected the dramatic changes in American society over the course of the 20th Century. Driven by a strong sense of social justice, Povich called for the integration of major league baseball in 1939, and twenty years later he was still at it, attacking Washington Redskins owner George Preston Marshall for having an all-white team.
For the 100th anniversary of his birth, Povich's children— David, Maury, and Lynn — and his colleague at the Post, former sports editor George Solomon, have pulled together this panoramic collection of Povich's most beloved columns. The result is a front-row seat to the most awe-inspiring sports moments of our American Century.
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| Customer Reviews: Read 1 more reviews...
A Review From the Twenties into the Nineties November 12, 2005
1 out of 2 found this review helpful
Shirley Povich, the late sportswriter of The Washington Post, has provided us with a review of eight decades of some of his best articles. If you enjoy sports history, you will enjoy the anecdotes he has to tell you regarding the heavyweights of the sports world over eight decades of writing. Other writers are equally authoratative, but Povich was on the scene for a much longer period of time. He would often agonize over how to open with a column, but on October 8, 1956, he came up with a gem that read "The million-to-one shot came in. Hell froze over. A month of Sundays hit the calendar. Don Larsen today pitched a no-hit, no-run, no-man-reach-first game in a World Series." Mr. Povich was at Yankee Stadium during Gehrig's Farewell Address on July 4, 1939, and was in Baltimore when Cal Ripken broke Gehrig's record. I did find some annoying errors by the editors of the book. Page 131 lists the date of Larsen's perfecto as October 9, 1956. Page 220 has a bold-faced headline entitled "Facing Kofax" which has Sandy's name misspelled. Page 350 has Gehrig's consecutive game streak listed at 2,132. Also, Mr. Povich has an error on Page 366 when he lists Bobo Hollomon as a member of the Cardinals rather than the Browns when he tossed is no-hitter in his first major league start. I don't mean to pick on the errors, they are there, but the book rates five stars and is authored by a man who is honored in the writers' wing in the Baseball Hall of Fame. If you enjoy baseball history this book belongs on your shelf.
A Great Look Back at 7 Decades of Sports August 3, 2005
3 out of 3 found this review helpful
I grew up in Washington reading Shirley Povich regularly. I read him for about 20 years in the Post. The interesting footnote to that is that he had "retired" before I ever started reading his columns!
The scope of this work is breathtaking. How many journalists coverd the 1924 Senators World Series as well as their last game in 1971. Oh and for good measure he covered the start of the Tiger Woods era as well. Did I mention he caddied for President Harding?
In an age when sports writers spend more time getting ready to be witty for ESPN shows, this book offers a wonderful insight into an era when sports writers worked a beat and REPORTED as well as offered commentary (and were actually writers). And Povich did both in a simple, straightforward style that was easy to digest with the morning coffee.
His opinions were straighforward too and he tackled tough issues like racisim in sports, long before other sribes in the press box dared take a side on a controversial subject.
The book is well edited with some nice historical context given to many of the works. Can't wait for Vol. 2, after all he wrote about 20,000 columns during his 74 year career at the post
The Soul of Sports Journalism May 15, 2005
9 out of 9 found this review helpful
Rarely does a book take me very long to read, especially when its composed of a series of short pieces such as newspaper columns. Journalism isn't supposed to be literature, and sports writing particularly is mainly to give the doggone scores.
Then again, calling Mr. Povich a sportswriter is about as accurate as calling the Pope a good man.
Mr. Povich was the genuine soul of the almighty Washington Post, perhaps the most principled writer ever to grace the pages of any newspaper's sports section. He belongs in the very rare and esteemed company of great journalists such as Cronkite, Mencken, Twain and pehaps a few others.
Yeah, these pieces give you the story. What's more, you get the story behind the story. And it's done in language a 13-year-old can read and understand.
Knowing perfectly well how special this collection is, I read it as slowly as possible. Why rush a good thing? I'm sure Mr. Povich had to fight the daily deadline pressures to produce the work. The least we can do is savor his command of language and keen insight into human character.
Like a visit with an old friend May 13, 2005
6 out of 6 found this review helpful
For almost 75 years Shirley Povich was a fixture on the sports desk of the Washington Post. He didn't exactly invent sports reporting, but he certainly help define it in a unique way. His style of reporting, his style of writing created a respect that went beyond sports. He used the sports world as a window on the broader world of America. Sports reflected the dramatic changes in American society over the course of the twentieth century from the depression, to war, to race, to everything else.
The problem with newspaper columns is that they get recycled with the rest of the paper. Only once in a while are a lifetime of columns lovingly collected by people who care (his children and a sports editor) and are published as a book.
If you are familar with the original columns, here is a visit with old friends. If you have not read the originals, here is the way that sports (and maybe everything else) should be reported.
This book is an absolute delight.
A Washington Institution for 75 years April 10, 2005
10 out of 10 found this review helpful
An interesting conversation took place the other day. I mentioned to my grandfather, now in his early 80s, that I had just bought the new book entitled "All those Mornings...at the Post." And he responded with, "I grew up reading Shirley Povich."
My response: "So did I, and I am 25." And so did my father. That's the amazing thing about Povich - he linked generations. He wrote about stars from Walter Johnson to Michael Jordan and everyone in between.
As a freelance sports writer, and former sports editor of my college newspaper, the Towerlight in Towson, Md., Povich was my biggest inspiration growing up and I would be willing to bet that most other sportswriters or aspiring sportswriters feel the same way.
I tried to put in perspective to my wife how influential he was. I said he is the Humphrey Bogart of sports writing. He is the epitome of what newspapermen should be and he was just as good in 1994 as he was in 1924.
The amazing thing is he never retired and wrote his final column the day before he died in 1998. This book brings his most important columns to life and for people of my generation we get to live events such as the Senators' only World Series title in 1924 for the first time.
This book is a treasure and is highly recommended to anyone who has ever read a sports column. Chances are the person who wrote the column did so because Shirley L. Povich inspired him.
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