Gods at play : an eyewitness account of great moments in American sports

Select an Action

Title:

Gods at play : an eyewitness account of great moments in American sports

Author:

Callahan, Tom, author.

ISBN:

9781324004271

Edition:

1st ed.

Physical Description:

290 pages ; 24 cm.

Contents:

Prologue : In the confusion -- The Empire State Building, the redwood trees -- Whatever Clemente had to do, wherever he had to do it -- Black men scare white men more than Black men scare Black men -- I can define a gerund. Can you? -- Blind mother, dead father; or, blind father, dead mother? -- Down like Arthur and 4 across like Ashe -- Hard, sad, used : it was a convention of hitchhikers -- How did Secretariat work this morning? : the trees swayed -- Joe Montana. Joe Montana. Joe Montana. Who is he? -- Thomas! : a voice from the past! Bob Cousy! -- Epilogue : Regular monkeys.

Subject Term:

Sports -- United States -- History.

Athletes -- United States -- Biography.

Genre:

Biographies.

Summary:

A beautifully observed narrative of American sport: character, grit, tragedy, unremarked heroism, and, always, the illuminating story behind the story. As a columnist for the Cincinnati Enquirer, Washington Post, and Time magazine, Tom Callahan witnessed an extraordinary number of defining moments in American sport over four decades. He takes us from Roberto Clemente clinching his 3,000th, and final, regular season hit in Pittsburgh, to ringside for the Muhammad Ali vs. George Foreman fight in Zaire, and to Arthur Ashe announcing, at a news conference, that he'd tested positive for HIV. There are also little known private moments: a despairing Roberto Clemente at his last locker after the historic hit, not knowing it; Joe Morgan whispering thank you to a virtually blind Jackie Robinson on the field at the 1972 World Series. Brimming with colorful vignettes and enlivened by Callahan's eye for detail, Gods at Play offers surprising portraits of the most celebrated names in sports in this panoramic account of our favorite pastimes. --

Holds:

Available:*

Library	Call Number	Status
Searching... Oakdale Library	796.0973 CAL	Searching... Unknown
Searching... R.H. Stafford Library (Woodbury)	796.0973 CAL	Searching... Unknown

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

As a columnist for Time magazine, among many other publications, Tom Callahan witnessed an extraordinary number of defining moments in American sport across four decades. He takes us from Roberto Clemente clinching his 3,000th, and final, regular-season hit in Pittsburgh; to ringside for the Muhammad Ali-George Foreman fight in Zaire; and to Arthur Ashe announcing, at a news conference, that he'd tested positive for HIV. There are also little-known private moments: Joe Morgan whispering thank you to a virtually blind Jackie Robinson on the field at the 1972 World Series, or Kareem Abdul-Jabbar saying he was more interested in being a good man than in being the greatest basketball player.

Brimming with colorful vignettes and enlivened by Callahan's eye for detail, Gods at Play offers surprising portraits of the most celebrated names in sports. Roger Rosenblatt calls Callahan "the most complete sportswriter in America. He knows the most and writes the best."

Author Notes

Tom Callahan , a former senior writer at Time and sports columnist at the Washington Post, is the author of nine books, including The GM and the New York Times bestseller Johnny U. He lives in Reston, Virginia.

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Sportswriter Callahan recalls the most memorable moments from his career with grace and humanity in this resonant memoir. Callahan's career began in 1966 in the Baltimore Evening Sun's newsroom, followed by stints at papers in San Diego, Calif.; Cincinnati, Ohio; and Washington, D.C., before a tenure at Time magazine. Rather than focus on individual games, Callahan homes in on anecdotes that reveal the inner lives of the men and women who played them. For example, Kareem Abdul-Jabbar explains how, ashamed of his height in his youth, he looked to the Empire State Building as a positive role model; Muhammad Ali told Callahan, "My destiny is at stake," in an intimate moonlit conversation about an upcoming fight with George Foreman; and baseball great Pete Rose shared that his white teammates disdained him, ("they called him a hotdog for trying to do things he couldn't") while his Black teammates "treated me like a human being." Callahan's seamless mixture of tales from his own career and wisdom gleaned from the athletes he covered makes for a strong offering all-around. The book works as both a paean to sportswriting's glory days and a lyrical reminder that athletes have rich lives away from the stadium lights. (Sept.)

Kirkus Review

A heavily credentialed and well-traveled sportswriter spins yarns about the old ballgames. Golf. Tennis. Boxing. Baseball. Basketball. Kareem Abdul-Jabbar. Larry Bird. Bill Walton. Arthur Ashe. Jackie Robinson. Roberto Clemente. Pete Rose and the rest of the Big Red Machine. Newspaperman and magazine profiler Callahan rounds the bases as he chronicles his close encounters with many of the most prominent athletes of the last half-century. Fans of the author will recognize the meandering yet readable storytelling style and some of the same characters from The Bases Were Loaded (And So Was I). A young Callahan commiserated with an elder Red Smith; at their best, these pieces recall that legend of the press box's outside-the-lines approach, if not exactly his unassuming mien on the page. Certainly, this part-memoir, part-profile compilation reflects a time before social media, when athletes needed sportswriters. The underside of close, personal access is that writers who ingratiate themselves with sources sometimes cut deals about what makes it into print, which could raise questions about motive and veracity. The narrative spell is also periodically broken when Callahan includes long, sometimes-tinny quotes from athletes. Still, just as the best sportswriters put a topcoat on memory, allowing us to appreciate the plays and players more than when we first saw them, the author's skill at showing public figures in private moments is evident, and he spares readers the usual arguments about who was the greatest to lace up a pair of sneakers. Particularly intriguing are Callahan's portraits of Bill Walsh and Tiger Woods. In 2018, writes the author, "the new Tiger was a better guy. Standing on the practice green or striding down the fairway, he actually chatted with golf's brigade of good young players who, almost to a man, had been drawn to the game by him." Sports fans will find a smooth and pleasant ride on this trip back in time. Copyright (c) Kirkus Reviews, used with permission.

Prologue In the Confusion	p. 1
Chapter 1 The Empire State Building, the Redwood Trees	p. 5
Chapter 2 Whatever Clemente Had to Do, Wherever He Had to Do It	p. 39
Chapter 3 Black Men Scare White Men More Than Black Men Scare Black Men	p. 83
Chapter 4 I Can Define a Gerund. Can You?	p. 107
Chapter 5 Blind Mother, Dead Father, or Blind Father, Dead Mother?	p. 123
Chapter 6 6 Down like Arthur, and 4 Across like Ashe	p. 133
Chapter 7 Hard, Sad, Used. It Was a Convention of Hitchhikers	p. 155
Chapter 8 How Did Secretariat Work This Morning? The Trees Swayed	p. 175
Chapter 9 Joe Montana. Joe Montana. Joe Montana. Who Is He?	p. 191
Chapter 10 Thomas! A Voice from the Past! Bob Cousy!	p. 237
Epilogue Regular Monkeys	p. 253
Acknowledgments	p. 263
Index	p. 267

Available:*

Bound With These Titles

On Order

Summary

Summary

Author Notes

Reviews (2)

Publisher's Weekly Review

Kirkus Review

Table of Contents

Helpful Links

Research Links

Contact

Events and Rooms

Follow Us

Today's Hours