The Best American Sports Writing
1991-2004
Guest Editors
David Halberstam 1991
Thomas McGuane 1992
Frank Deford 1993
Thomas Boswell 1994
Dan Jenkins 1995
John Feinstein 1996
George Plimpton 1997
Bill Littlefield 1998
Richard Ford 1999
Dick Schaap 2000
Bud Collins 2001
Rick Reilly 2002
Buzz Bissinger 2003
Richard Ben Cramer 2004
Mike Lupica 2005
Michael Lewis 2006
David Maraniss 2007
Series Editor
Glenn Stout 1991-present
INDEX, 1991 thru 2004
Alan Abel
When Hell Froze Over. Sports Illustrated - 1999
J.A. Adande
A Furor Follows Deion. The Washington Post - 1995
Michael Agovino
My Dad, the Bookie. GQ - 2003
Mitch Albom
A Tragedy Too Easy too Ignore. The Detroit Free Press - 1993
Trying to Find Yourself in the Toughest Times. The Detroit Free Press - 2004
David Aldridge
A Team’s True Colors. The Washington Post - 1996
Martin Amis
At The Wide-Open Open. The New Yorker - 1994
Roger Angell
Called Strike. The New Yorker - 1996
Conic Projection. The New Yorker - 1997
Early Innings. The New Yorker - 1993
The Game’s the Thing. The New Yorker - 1996
Swingtime. The New Yorker - 1994
Tell Me A Story. The New Yorker - 1991
Dave Anderson
Omaha Beach has a Golf Course Now. The New York Times - 1995
Peter Andrews
No Pain, No Game. Golf Digest - 1995
Michael Bamberger
Living With A Lie. Sports Illustrated - 1996
The Year of Living Raucously. Golf Digest - 1993
Dave Barry
The Old Ball Game. Tropic - 1993
Why the NBA Isn’t as Offensive as You Think. Tropic - 1992
Ira Berkow
For Jenkins, Another Tragic Twist in the Road. The New York Times - 1994
An Unconventional Tradition of Success. The New York Times - 2004
Walking Away, While he Still Can. The New York Times - 1994
Mike Bianchi
Nightmare is Real for Mourners. The Orlando Sentinel - 2002
Furman Bisher
This Ex-Voter Has Had Enough Heisman Hype. The Atlanta Journal Constitution - 1995
Buzz Bissinger
For Love of DiMaggio. Vanity Fair - 2001
Roy Blount Jr.
Blunder Road. Men’s Journal - 1993
Will Blythe
The Marvel. Men’s Journal - 2001
Tom Boswell
Controlling Force. Playboy - 1997
For Timeless Player, It Was Time, The Washington Post - 1999
Late Boomer. The Washington Post Magazine - 1998
John Ed Bradley
Get a Load of Me! Sports Illustrated - 1994
Jennifer Briggs
My Life in the Locker Room. The Dallas Observer - 1993
Susy Buchanan
Appetite for Destruction. Phoenix New Times - 2003
Amby Burfoot
White Men Can’t Run. Runner’s World - 1993
Bruce Buschel
Lips Get Smacked. Philadelphia Magazine - 1994
Tom Callahan
How Swede It Is. Golf Digest - 1995
Gary Cartwright
The Old Man and the Tee. Texas Monthly - 1994
Vain Glory. Texas Monthly - 1995
Greg Child
Fear of Falling. Outside - 2001
Rene Chun
Bobby Fischer’s Pathetic Endgame. The Atlantic Monthly - 2003
Richard Cohen
Personal Best. The Washington Post Magazine - 1991
Robert Cole
Cale Registering On a Hook. The College of New Jersey Review - 1998
Gene Collier
The Ex-Sportswriter. The Columbia Journalism Review - 2001
Bud Collins
Boxing Grieves Loss of 5th St. Gym. The Boston Globe - 1994
Kevin Conley
A Stud’s Life. The New Yorker -2001
Frank Conroy
Running the Table. GQ - 1991
Mark Coomes and Pat Forde
Jimmy Thompson’s House of Cards. The Louisville Courier-Journal - 1996
Jeff Coplon
The Right Call. The New Yorker - 1991
The Man Who Loves Basketball Too Much. Men’s Journal - 1997
Greg Couch
A Runaway Win Cubs Fans Won’t Appreciate. The Chicago Sun-Times - 2004
What Might Have Been. The Wichita Eagle - 1996
Lynne Cox
Swimming to Antarctica. The New Yorker - 2004
Tommy Craggs
Fishing the Mainstream. SF Weekly - 2004
Richard Ben Cramer
A Native Son’s Thoughts. Sports Illustrated - 1996
David Davis
The 13th Round. LA Weekly - 1996
Frank DeFord
Almost a Hero. Sports Illustrated - 2002
Running Man. Vanity Fair - 1994
Trouble on the Court. Vanity Fair - 1996
Peter DeJonge
The Leap of His Life. The New York Times Magazine - 2004
A ‘90’s Kind of Rivalry. The New York Times Magazine - 1996
Michael Dileo
Dear Prudence. Texas Monthly - 2001
Michael Disend
“A Painter on a Planet of Blind People” Sports Illustrated - 1992
J. D. Dolan
Pool: A Love Story. Esquire - 1999
Bill Donahue
End of the Run. Outside - 2003
Neil Donnelly
Going the Distance. Buffalo Magazine - 1991
Larry Dorman
The Rivalry. The New York Times - 1996
Geoffrey Douglas
The Double Life of Laura Shaw. Yankee - 2001
Robert Draper
Beauty in the Beast. GQ - 2004
Pumping Irony. GQ - 2001
Stephen J. Dubner
Life Is a Contact Sport. The New York Times Magazine - 2003
David James Duncan
Bird-Watching As A Blood Sport. Harpers - 1998
Timothy Dwyer
Center of Gravity. The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine - 1992
Mat Edelson
Cal on the Verge. Baltimore Magazine - 1996
James Ellroy
Sex, Glitz and Greed: The Seduction of O.J. Simpson. GQ - 1995
Tom Farrey
Hard Core Hoops. Pacific - 1996
Bruce Feldman
Out of Control. ESPN: The Magazine - 2003
Dave Ferrell
Far Beyond A Mere Marathon. The Los Angeles Times - 1998
Bill Fields
Man of the Century. Golf World - 1996
Ron Fimrite
The Amazing Madigan. Sports Illustrated Classic - 1993
David Finkel
Golf’s Saving Grace. The Washington Post Magazine - 1998
Robin Finn
Second Time Around for Jennifer Capriati. The New York Times - 1995
Richard Ford
Hunting With My Wife. Sports Afield - 1997
Pat Forde
Fallen Star Goose Ligon Is Looking for a Miracle. The Louisville Courier Journal - 1998
Ian Frazier
Big Fish, Little Fish. Sports Afield - 1997
Steve Friedman
“It’s Gonna Suck to Be You.” Outside - 2002
Kingpin. GQ - 1999
The Race of Truth. Bicycling - 2004
Tad Friend
Uno, Dos, Tres . . .Urrrrnghghgh! Outside - 1998
Tom Friend
The Natural. ESPN: The Magazine - 2001
Ken Fuson
Guts and Glory. Esquire - 1997
Peter Gammons
The Throes of Tossing a Baseball. The Boston Globe - 1992
Elizabeth Gilbert
Lucky Jim. GQ - 2003
Near Death in the Afternoon. GQ - 2002
William Gildea
For Ali, Greatness Takes another Form. The Washington Post - 1992
A Shot That Resounds in Hoosier Hearts: In Milan, Legends Live On. The Washington Post - 1996
Michael Goodman
An Utter Disaster. The Sporting News - 1996
Adam Gopnik
Endgame. The New Yorker - 1999
David Grann
Baseball Without Metaphor - 2003
Karl Taro Greenfeld
Blind to Failure. Time - 2002
Vahe Gregorian
Olympics Dream Ends in Agony. The St. Louis Post-Dispatch - 2001
David Halberstam
Anatomy of a Champion. Vanity Fair - 1997
A Hero for the Wired World. Sports Illustrated - 1992
Jordan’s Moment. The New Yorker - 1999
Michael Hall
Running for His Life. Texas Monthly - 2004
Jim Harrison
Starting Over. Men’s Journal - 2001
Tony Hendra
Blonde and Sand. GQ - 1998
Man and Bull. Harper’s - 1997
Peter Hessler
Home and Away. The New Yorker - 2004
John Hewitt
On Books and Other Things. Gray’s Sporting Journal - 1994
John Hildebrand
Coming Home. Harpers - 1999
Skip Hollandsworth
The Killing of Alydar. Texas Monthly - 2002
Whatever Happened to Ronnie Littleton? Texas Monthly - 1995
Johnette Howard and Lester Munson
Betrayal of Trust. WomenSport - 1998
Johnette Howard
The Making of a Goon. The National Sports Daily - 1991
Steve Hummer
We All Have Some Inner Daly, but Most of Us Suppress It. The Atlanta Journal-Constitution - 2002
Sally Jenkins
The Sorry State of Tennis. Sports Illustrated - 1995
Cory Johnson
Free Fallin’. The Village Voice - 1993
Robert F. Jones
Wampus Cats and Oyster Toads. Sports Afield - 1995
Ben Joravsky
A Simple Game. The Chicago Reader - 1993
Pat Jordan
Behind the Icy Glare. The Sporting News - 1995
Belittled Big Men. The New York Times Magazine - 1996
The Wit and Wisdom of the White Rat. The Los Angeles Times Magazine - 1993
Ron C. Judd
Race a Memorable First for Seventeenth Man. The Seattle Times - 2003
Tom Junod
Montana Fading Out. GQ - 1995
The Savior. GQ - 1996
Karen Karbo
Polite, Feminine, Can Bench Press Dennis Conner. Outside - 1996
Donald Katz
The Master Grappler. Outside - 1993
Elizabeth Kaye
Servant of the Cause. Los Angeles - 2003
Beth Kephart
Of Sound and Ice. The Washington Post Book World - 2003
Playing for Keeps. Philadelphia Magazine - 2001
James Kilgo
Mountain Spirits. The Sewanee Review - 1992
Dave Kindred
Gate Crasher. Golf Digest - 2001
A Hitter First, A Hitter Always. The Sporting News - 1995
Melissa King
All in the Game. The Chicago Reader - 1999
Stephen King
Head Down. The New Yorker - 1991
Howard Kohn
The Art of the Sprint. The Los Angeles Times Magazine - 1993
Tony Kornheiser
He Told It Like It Was, Like Only He Could. The Washington Post - 1996
National Pastime, Past My Bedtime. The Washington Post - 1995
Thomas Korosec
Goofy Golf. The Dallas Observer - 1998
Pete Kotz
Tough Guy. Cleveland Scene - 2001
Jon Krakauer
In Thin Air. Outside - 1997
Mark Kram
Bully Ball. Esquire - 1995
No Pain, No Game. Esquire - 1993
The Tiger King. Esquire - 1997
Mark Kram Jr.
“I Want to Kill Him.” The Philadelphia Daily News - 2003
Joe’s Gift. The Philadelphia Daily News - 2002
The World is Her Cloister. The Philadelphia Daily News - 1994
Mike Kupper
Indy Visible. The Los Angeles Times - 1992
Jeanne Marie Laskas
The Enlightened Man. Esquire - 2002
Guy Lawson
Hockey Nights. Harpers - 1999
Tim Layden
The Hustle. Sports Illustrated - 1998
Sydney Lea
A Winter Grouse. The Virginia Quarterly Review - 1992
Michael Leahy
All the Kings’ Men: Why the Team That Jordan Built Fell to Pieces. The Washington Post Magazine - 2004
Gambling Man. The Washington Post - 2003
Swing Shift. The Washington Post Magazine - 2001
Transition Game. The Washington Post - 2002
Martha Weinman Lear
She’s No Jockette. The New York Times Magazine - 1994
Dan Le Batard
Detour. ESPN: The Magazine - 2002
Ted Levin
The Birds at Oriole Park. Washingtonian - 2003
Franz Lidz
Wild and Crazy Hombres. Sports Illustrated - 1991
Mike Littwin
A Fan Again, After All These Years. The Baltimore Sun - 1993
Mike Lupica
Donfire of the Vanities. Esquire - 1992
Recalling Brother’s Bravest Hour. The New York Daily News - 2002
Juliet Macur
“Please Let Me Die.” The Dallas Morning News - 2002
Power Pact. The Dallas Morning News - 2003
Thomas Mallon
Rodeo. The Yale Review - 1992
David Mamet
The Deer Hunter. Sports Afield - 1999
Steve Marantz
A Man’s Appreciation for Women Athletes. The Sporting News - 1998
John Marchese
The Man in the Mask. GQ - 1992
Guy Martin
Getting Slammed. Field & Stream - 2004
Bruce McCall
The Case Against Golf. Esquire - 1998
Jack McCallum
Ace Venture. Sports Illustrated - 1997
Thomas McGuane
The Way Home. Sports Afield - 1997
James McKean
Playing for Jud. Witness - 2003
Bucky McMahon
Everest at the Bottom of the Sea. Esquire - 2001
James McManus
Fortune’s Smile. Harper’s - 2001
John McPhee
Arthur Ashe Remembered. The New Yorker - 1994
Catch-and-Dissect. The New Yorker - 1999
Rebecca Mead
A Man-Child in Lotusland. The New Yorker - 2003
Craig Medred
Alone Across the Burn. We Alaskans - 1992
Playing Back a Bear Attack. We Alaskans - 1993
Andy Meisler
The Fright Stuff. The Los Angeles Times Magazine - 2004
Jonathan Miles
Big Ugly Green Fish. Sports Afield - 1999
Davis Miller
The Zen of Muhammad Ali. Men’s Journal - 1994
J.R. Moehringer
Resurrecting the Champ. Los Angeles Times Magazine - 1998
Leigh Montville
Triumph on Sacred Ground. Sports Illustrated - 1994
Cherry Bombs. Sports Illustrated - 1994
Citizen Ryan. Sports Illustrated - 1992
Kenny Moore
The End of the World. Sports Illustrated - 1996
A Scream and a Prayer. Sports Illustrated - 1993
Doug Most
Shot Through the Heart. Sports Illustrated - 2001
Jim Murray
Game Too Young to Die. The Los Angeles Times - 1995
William Nack
Bang for the Bucks. Sports Illustrated - 2001
A Name on the Wall. Sports Illustrated - 2002
“No, Not Again!” ESPN.com - 2004
O Unlucky Man. Sports Illustrated - 1992
Pure Heart. Sports Illustrated - 1991
The Rock. Sports Illustrated - 1994
True to His Words. Sports Illustrated - 1993
Dan Neil
Big Night in Bithlo. Car and Driver - 2002
Glenn Nelson
The Comrades of Summer. The Seattle Times - 1991
John Paul Newport
They Might Be Giants. Men’s Journal - 1994
Duane Noriyuki
Let the Games Begin. The Detroit Free Press Magazine - 1991
Bob Norman
Backyard Bloodbath. New Times Broward-Palm Beach - 2002
Lisa Olson
Making a Play for Players. The New York Daily News - 2004
Susan Orlean
Lifelike. The New Yorker - 2004
Shoot the Moon. The New Yorker - 1994
Scott Ostler
Don’t Go All Rasheed About This. The San Francisco Chronicle - 2002
David Owen
The Chosen One. The New Yorker - 2001
Dave Parmenter
Alaska: The Land Duke Forgot. Surfer - 1994
Randall Patterson
The Trophy Son. Houston Press - 1999
Paul Pekin
A Fling and a Prayer. The Chicago Reader - 1991
Charles P. Pierce
A Big Game. GQ - 1998
Black Sunday. Sports Illustrated - 2004
The Blessed Fisherman of Prosper, Texas. Esquire - 2001
The Magic Act. GQ - 1994
The Man, Amen. GQ - 1998
The Next Superstar. The New York Times Magazine - 1993
Thieves of Time. The National Sports Daily - 1991
Bill Plaschke
At Ease, at Last. The Los Angeles Times - 2004
Fowled Away. The Los Angeles Times - 2003
Her Blue Haven. The Los Angeles Times - 2002
Veteran Finds Greens Peace. The Los Angeles Times - 2003
George Plimpton
Fishing on the FDR. Esquire - 1994
Muhammad Ali, the Mongoose and Me. Esquire - 1992
Terry Pluto
His Role on Team Is Beyond Words. The Akron Beacon Journal - 2003
Joe Posnanski
Dusting Off Home. The Kansas City Star - 2004
Shirley Povich
Recent Baseball Feats Require Footnotes. The Washington Post - 1999
Padgett Powell
Grappling With A Giant. Harper’s - 1997
Robert Andrew Powell
Coming of Age on the 50-yard Line. Miami New Times - 1998
Joshua Harris Prager
Giants’ 1951 Comeback Wasn’t All it Seemed. The Wall Street Journal - 2002
S.L. Price
The Lone Wolf. Sports Illustrated - 2003
Weight Bench Warriors. Tropic - 1994
Scott Raab
Asphalt Junkie. GQ - 1993
The Hit King. GQ - 1998
David Racine
Bo Knows Fiction. The New Yorker - 1991
Joel Reese
Down and Out. Texas Monthly - 1996
Elwood Reid
My Body, My Weapon, My Shame. GQ - 1998
Jan Reid
Armed and Considered Dangerous. Texas Monthly - 1992
Big. Texas Monthly - 1996
Rick Reilly
The Biggest Play of His Life. Sports Illustrated - 2001
Heaven Help Her. Sports Illustrated - 1997
Look Out for the Bull! Sports Illustrated - 1995
Master Strokes. Sports Ilustrated - 1997
The Ultimate Sacrifice. Sports Illustrated - 1996
What Is The Citadel? Sports Illustrated - 1993
David Remnick
American Hunger. The New Yorker - 1999
Back in Play. The New Yorker - 1996
Kid Dynamite Blows Up. The New Yorker - 1998
Raging Bull. The New Yorker - 1997
Peter Richmond
Death of a Cowboy. The National Sports Daily - 1991
Flesh and Blood. GQ - 2002
Rulon Gardner Wants a Third Helping. GQ - 2003
The Sports Fan. The National Sports Daily - 1991
Tangled Up in Blue. GQ - 1993
David Roberts
A Mountian of Trouble. Men’s Journal - 1993
Linda Robertson
On Planet Venus. Tropic - 1998
Platform Pitfalls. The Miami Herald - 1997
Pride and Poison. The Miami Herald - 1991
What Made Bobby Run? Tropic - 1992
Eugene Robinson
The Cuban Ali. The Washington Post Magazine - 2002
Stephen Rodrick
Can Riddick Bowe Answer the Bell? The New York Times Magazine - 2001
A Long Strange Trip. Runner’s World - 2004
Steve Rushin
Cold Comfort. Sports Illustrated - 2002
Dog Days. Sports Illustrated - 1997
How We Got Here. Sports Illustrated - 1995
Bob Ryan
Misery Has More Company. The Boston Globe - 2004
Joan Ryan
The Cold Wars. The San Francisco Examiner Magazine - 1995
Galarraga Steals Base, Stops Time. The San Francisco Chronicle - 2004
Adam Schefter
Seeing the Light. The Denver Post - 2002
John Schulian
Concrete Charlie. Sports Illustrated - 1994
Tom Scocca
Blood Sport. Baltimore City Paper - 2002
John Seabrook
Tackling the Competition. The New Yorker - 1998
Jay Searcy
Worth More Dead Than Alive. The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine - 1995
Josh Sens
Good Karma, Bad Golf. Golf Digest - 2003
Joe Sexton
Stealth Bomber. The New York Times Magazine - 1992
Kevin Sherrington
Ten Days of Torture Junction. The Dallas Morning News - 1991
Blackie Sherrod
Baseball Strike: Who Feels the Most Pain? The Dallas Morning News - 1995
Florence Shinkle
Fly Away Home. The St. Louis Post Dispatch Magazine - 1991
Gary Smith
As Time Runs Out. Sports Illustrated - 1994
The Ball. Sports Illustrated - 2003
The Chosen One. Sports Illustrated - 1997
A Delicate Balance. Sports Illustrated - 1998
An Exclusive Club. Sports Illustrated - 1995
The Fight of His Life. Sports Illustrated - 1991
Higher Education. Sports Illustrated - 2002
The Secret Life of Mia Hamm. Sports Illustrated - 2004
Shadow of a Nation. Sports Illustrated - 1992
Jack Smith
On the Bunny Trail. Philadelphia Magazine - 1991
Paul Solotaroff
Growing Up Mantle. Men’s Journal - 2004
The Power and the Gory. The Village Voice - 1992
Donna St. George
The Hustler. The Philadelphia Inquirer Magazine - 1992
Susan Sterling
The Soccer Parents. The North American Review - 1998
Carlson Stowers
Friday Night Lite. The Dallas Observer - 2004
Shelby Strother
An American Tragedy. The Detroit News - 1991
E.M. Swift
Not Your Average Ice Queen. Sports Illustrated - 1993
Gay Talese
Boxing Fidel. Esquire - 1997
Jerry Tarde
Can Golf Survive John Daly? Golf Digest - 1995
Donna Tartt
Basketball Season. The Oxford American - 1993
Rick Telander
Asphalt Legends. Sports Illustrated - 1998
Making Their Points. The Chicago Sun-Times - 2002
Over the Hill, My Ass! Esquire - 1998
Playing Against the Clock. Sports Illustrated - 2004
Art Thiel
No Angst in All-Star Ichiro. The Seattle Post-Intelligencer - 2002
Ian Thomsen
This Could Be the Start of a Really Big Career. The International Herald Tribune - 1995
Touré
Kurt is My Co-Pilot. Rolling Stone - 2001
Karen Uhlenhuth
Bird-to-Bird Combat. The Kansas City Star Magazine
George Vecsey
The Survivor Won’t Let Time Slip By. The New York Times - 1995
Bob Verdi
Baseball’s Troubles Could Play Out to be No Routine Comedy. The Chicago Tribune - 1995
Tom Verducci
The High Cost of Hard Living. Sports Illustrated - 1996
David Von Drehle
They Shoot Horses, Don’t They? Tropic - 1992
David Foster Wallace
The String Theory. Esquire - 1997
Dan Wetzel
Not Your Ordinary Bear. Basketball Times - 1999
Ian Whitcomb
Beach Boy. American Heritage - 2001
Peter O. Whitmer
The Unnatural. Tropic - 1991
Michael Wilbon
Winning Isn’t Color-Coded. The Washington Post - 1995
Simon Winchester
Sheep of Fools. GQ - 1999
Gene Wojciechowski
Last Call. ESPN.com - 2002
Alexander Wolff with Don Yaeger
When the Terror Began. Sports Illustrated - 2003
Woody Woodburn
Toughest Miler Ever. The Torrance Daily Breeze - 2001
Brian Woolley
Glory Denied. The Dallas Morning News - 1992
The Hands and Eyes of Texas Billy Mays. Dallas Life Magazine - 1991
Charles M. Young
Losing: An American Tradition. Men’s Journal - 2001