No Cheering in the Press Box (Hardcover)

~ Jerome Holtzman (Editor)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

Paul Gallico, Shirley Povich, Ford Frick, Red Smith, Jimmy Cannon and 20 other sportwriters who were active in what the author refers to as the Golden Age of Sports--the time between the two world wars--give readers their reminiscences and opinions in this "earthy, gossipy, often hilarious" (New York Times) collection. --This text refers to an out of print or unavailable edition of this title.

Product Details

• Hardcover: 363 pages
• Publisher: Henry Holt & Co; Rev Sub edition (March 1995)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805038248
• ISBN-13: 978-0805038248
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.2 x 1.2 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.4 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (3 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #817,966 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Tales of Dempsey, Jones, Rockne, Ruth, March 13, 2007

By	R. Rowan (Scranton, PA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

This review is from: No Cheering in the Press Box (Paperback)

In the early 1970s, Jerome Holtzman interviewed 44 fellow sportswriters from the previous generation. He asked each to talk about his experiences covering sports. 18 of those reminiscences were published as NCITPB in 1973. Holtzman published a new edition, with 6 additional interviews, in 1995. The interviews were oral (ala Lawrence Ritter's The Glory of Their Times); reading them is akin to sitting in on the conversations. Like Ritter's book, we hope the original tapes become an audio version.

Dan Daniel remembers covering the Dodgers in 1909. Marshall Hunt shares some Babe Ruth anecdotes. Al Laney speaks about Bernard Darwin, his primary influence as a writer. Shirley Povich relates how he was named sports editor of The Washington Post at 21; he still worked there at age 90.

Some of these writers concentrated on sports for their entire careers (Fred Lieb, Red Smith); others branched out. John Kieran studied and wrote about the natural world. Paul Gallico left sports to write fiction, and made Hemingway jealous. Povich and Jimmy Cannon served as war correspondents during WWII.

Holtzman does not intrude. He elicits observations and stories that are informative, humorous, and fascinating. In our instant access Internet age, Holtzman reminds us of the not-so-distant past when most news was delivered via newspapers or radio. His book is a wonderful look back at a bygone era with some of its primary recorders. This title is out of print but well worth finding, especially for fans of sports journalism.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Vivid Oral History of Sports, May 7, 2008

By	K.A.Goldberg (Chicago) - See all my reviews

This review is from: No Cheering in the Press Box (Paperback)

This is an excellent oral history of sports and sports writing. In the 1970's Chicago sportswriter Jerome Holtzman placed his tape recorder in front of 18 old-time writers from the ¨Golden Age of Sports.¨ Nearly all were elderly, yet they spoke with passion and eloquence, providing vivid memories of baseball, boxing, football, newspapers, etc. Readers hear from Shriley Povich (75 years at the Washington Post, 1923-1998), Al Horwits, Paul Gallico (later a novelist), Ford Frick (later baseball commissioner), and a surprisingly apologetic Red Smith. Dan Drebinger, Fred Leib, and Marshall Hunt describe the Murderer's Row Yankees, and stars like Babe Ruth and Lou Gherig. Dan Daniels describes covering the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1909. We learn of the machinations of the Philadelphia Athletics, Connie Mack, train travel, etc. Even long-gone writers like Grantland Rice and Damon Runyon are reincarnated by the fond memories of their peers. The book should be of special interest to baseball fans (then the pre-eminent sport) and aspiring jounrnalists. It's a vivid, moving look at sports and sportswriting from a bygone era.

1 of 27 people found the following review helpful:

2.0 out of 5 stars Not about what I expect it to be., November 13, 2001

By A Customer

This review is from: No Cheering in the Press Box (Paperback)

I did not think that the book would have famed writers talking about their experiences in the world of sports.