Sometimes They Even Shook Your Hand: Portraits of Champions Who Walked Among Us

by John Schulian, William Nack (Foreword)

John Schulian, a much-honored sportswriter for nearly forty years, takes us back to a time when our greatest athletes stood before us as human beings, not remote gods. In this compelling collection, Schulian paints prose portraits to remind fans of what today’s cloistered stars won’t share with them.
 
Here, Willie Mays remembers how to smile in dreaded retirement; Muhammad Ali muses about a world that was once his. For every moment of triumph—Joe Montana in the Super Bowl, Marvelous Marvin Hagler over Thomas Hearns—there is another filled with the heartache that Pete Maravich felt when he hung up his basketball shoes.
 
The result is a book guaranteed to stir memories for the generation that was—and to leave subsequent generations wishing they had it so good.

336 pages, Paperback

First published October 1, 2011

Reviews

[Becky · Rating 3 out of 5]

I enjoyed this book for the overview of famous and unique sports personalities. It's an interesting peek into earlier decades. Some of the athletes, coaches and managers were names of which I’ve heard – many I had not. The articles often comment on the personality and biography of the person more than their athletic, or management, accomplishments.

This compilation of articles felt like taking a step into the past when the daily newspaper was a highlight of the day. I wonder if fans enjoyed reading about their sports heroes as much or more than we do today with non-stop cable TV and internet coverage…….

A good read.

[Mario · Rating 3 out of 5]

Collections of a sportswriter who worked in a in a time where boxing, baseball and horseracing (in that order) were kings.

[Ellison · Rating 4 out of 5]

features a collection of mostly well-known athlete profiles examined briefly at a single moment. even the author mentions that some he has miss judged. begins with football, then baseball, basketball, then various sports, boxing at end. occasional insights.

[Jim Blessing · Rating 2 out of 5]

This book was mildly amusing, but was outdated, since most of the stories were written in the last 1970's and early 1980's. My favorite was about Oscar Charleston, the Negro League Hall-of-Famer baseball player, who is buried in Indianapolis.