All Those Mornings . . . At the Post: The 20th Century in Sports from Famed Washington Post: Columnist Shirley Povich

by Shirley Povich

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, 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.

Genres: Sports, Nonfiction, Journalism

405 pages, Hardcover

First published March 16, 2005

Reviews

[Brian · Rating 3 out of 5]

Shirley Povich practically invented the sports column. He wrote his first article in 1924, at the age of 19. He had sort of lucked into the job, being the summer golf caddy for the owner of the Washington Post. The owner offered him a job in DC, and off he went. Sports would never be the same.
For the next 74 years, Povich (yes, father of Maury) was a mainstay of the Washington sports scene. He inspired many after him to become sports columnists, but they would never live up to Shirley. His longevity allowed him to make valid comparisons, rather than idle speculation, between the greats throughout the years, Gehrig and Ripken, Man O' War and Secretariat, Ruth and McGwire (his final column, written the day before he died).
All Those Mornings... At The Post collects his greatest columns in honor of what would have been his 100th birthday. Almost a full century of sports history is contained within the pages. His focus was usually baseball, as that was the biggest sport when he was breaking in, and his favorite. But he also wrote about boxing, horse racing, football, etc. He never went along with the crowd, being one of the first writers to decry racism in sports, and one might say that Shirley helped usher in the black athlete.
The thing that struck me most when reading his columns was how well thought out and structured they were. Reading sports columnists today is nowhere near as pleasing. Povich never seemed to have the knee-jerk reactionary column that many writers today resort to, in our 24/7 news cycle age. He wrote columns every day, and every day they were worth reading. "All Those Mornings... At The Post" is worth reading too.

[Kathleen Cochran · Rating 2 out of 5]

Homerun

Must read for serious students of sports history. Twelve more words are required. By Good Reads whether they are necessary or not.

[Len Knighton · Rating 4 out of 5]

My dad followed national politics very closely and while his political opinions, for most of his life, leaned to the right, his newspaper of choice was The Washington Post. Living in central Pennsylvania, we did not have easy access to The Post, but Dad made arrangements with a local retailer to get the Sunday Post. Eventually due to a career change, Dad was able to buy The Post every day, albeit at a much higher price.
How fondly I remember Dad bringing The Post home, settling into his favorite chair, and immediately turning to the front page of the sports section to read Shirley Povich's column "This Morning." It was often the catalyst for lively discussions on the big sports events of the day or weekend.
What a treasure this book is and will be in the years to come. To read the words of one who covered sports during its "golden age" and witnessed its influence on the national psyche change as it changed is a lesson in American history. Fortunately, during this reverse evolution, Povich did not change, remaining a faithful witness to the present while keeping an eye looking back at what seemed to many to be a better time.
It should be noted here that, at least in my mind, Povich did change in one important way: his writing improved. Not that it was bad in the beginning of his career, but the early columns shared in this book would not have moved me to come back for more. However, I was blessed to start reading Povich after he had forty years of seasoning, which made for a more palatable appetizer.
There is so much one can say about them content of the columns shared in ALL THOSE MORNINGS but I have picked out just a few that hit home.
In his column chronicling the final game of the Washington Senators before their exodus to Arlington, Texas, Povich remarks that THE STAR SPANGLED BANNER NEVER BEFORE SOUNDED SO MUCH LIKE A DIRGE. The recording played that night was the rendition by the great Metropolitan Opera star Robert Merrill, who often sang The Anthem at Yankee Stadium. Merrill never sang it as we hear it sung so often fifty years later, like a funeral dirge. It was majestic, powerful, symbolizing the power of the country.
I was pleased to read Povich's column on Baseball Commissioner Bart Giamatti's banishment of Pete Rose. HE DUCKED NO QUESTIONS EXCEPT THE ONE ABOUT ROSE'S CHANCES FOR THE HALL OF FAME. HE GAVE A DEFINITIVE, SHORT-TERM EXPLANATION OF HIS ACTION: "I SAY HE IS BANISHED FOR LIFE...HE'S DISMISSED...HE'S UNEMPLOYABLE BY THE REDS OR BY BASEBALL...THERE IS ABSOLUTELY NO DEAL FOR REINSTATEMENT...IF HE WOULD NOT REPORT FOTHE A HEARING, HIS DENIALS WERE UNACCEPTABLE TO ME." SO THERE AND BRAVO!
In another column, Povich wrote of the Cy Young Award and its diminished stature that continues to this day:
HIS NAME WAS CY YOUNG, DECEASED SINCE 1955, AND HE COMES TO MIND BECAUSE OF THE CONTINUING TRAVESTIES IN HIS MEMORY. THE CY YOUNG AWARD DESIGNED TO HONOR PITCHING EXCELLENCE IN HIS IMAGE IS BEING PROFANED EVERY YEAR BY GUYS WITH SEEMINGLY LITTLE UNDERSTANDING THAT BASEBALL IS A NINE-INNING GAME.
And finally, one quick note on a comment not written by Povich but by one of the editors of e book. Sports fans demand accuracy in their reporters, be they newspaper, radio or television. One paragraph almost ruined this book for me. In comparing Cal Ripken to Lou Gehrig, a popular pastime in 1995 as Ripken approached The Iron Horse's record for consecutive games played, it was written that Gehrig hit 170 more home runs than Ripken. This is not even close to accurate. Gehrig finished with 493 home runs; Ripken hit 431.

Four stars waxing

[Michael · Rating 4 out of 5]

The genuine quality of the book is from the ability to read the high quality of writing that is vanishing from newspapers and news sources. The blend of history , wit and language that creates such clear imagery is in abundance here and every column is a treasure.

The book is also a reminder that debates of sports today are just the same as they were 100 years ago. But it’s fun to read about Babe Ruth and other sports
Legends in a way that feels like it happened yesterday.

[Tom Gase · Rating 3 out of 5]

A book on one of the best sportswriters of all time, Shirley Povich, who wrote for the Washington Post from the 1920's until he died in 1998. He saw a lot of athletes and sporting events and all the big ones are described in his columns here. Kind of a best-of column book that takes you on a historical sports journey from around 1924 to 1998. His writing is great and his lead in his Don Larsen perfect game story is one of the best. This is a must read for anyone looking to go into sports journalism. His stories include those on Walter Johnson, Babe Ruth, Jack Dempsey, Joe DiMaggio, Mickey Mantle, Joe Louis, Sammy Baugh, the Washington Redskins and its racial history, Hank Greenberg, Jesse Owens, Don Larsen, Willie Mays, Muhammad Ali, Secretariat, Jackie Robinson, Bill Veeck and the Washington Senators. The only downside to this book might be the editing of how the columns came out. I think they were choosen to show and prove that Povich has been arond a long time and I started to get sick of the whole "Well I HAVE seen this player play, and this new player is not as good as him." Kind of a whole back-in-the-day this player was better type thing. And that started to wear on me a little after a while. A column or two or three like that would have been fine but it seemed as if there were more. And his homerism for the Washington Senators and Walter Johnson started to show a little. That being said he is one of the best writers of all time and the majority of his columns here are great.

[Ron Kaplan · Rating 4 out of 5]

columns,Povich