Sports World Remembers David Halberstam

In noting the death of David Halberstam yesterday, I said that while they weren't his most important works, his contributions to sports writing shouldn't be overlooked. Today, I've been struck by how many sports writers have mentioned Halberstam's influence.

Halberstam loved sports. Sometimes you see a "serious" journalist take on a story about sports, and you can't help but feel that he's out of place. Not Halberstam. He was a a true fan who just happened to be a brilliant writer.

After the jump are just a few of the examples of sports writers remembering Halberstam today. Read them all, but more importantly, read some of Halberstam's work. You'll be glad you did.

Mitch Albom:

Halberstam's sports books were never just about sports. They were about time, friendship, culture, history. Some of us in this business, and I suppose I count myself in this grouping, have tried now and then to capture such variety in our little corners. We do so far less eloquently than David.

That's OK. By broadening the spotlight, he defied cynics who refer to sports as the "toy department" of journalism. He gave us new heights to shoot for.

Deadspin:

Halberstam was so good that the sports books he wrote -- ones his wife called "entertainment" and "his way to take a break" -- are legendary even though they weren't his singular focus. Halberstam wrote sports books as a whim, and they were instantly better than everything else out there.

Bleacher Report:

Many people considered Halberstam the best journalist of his generation. I'm certain he was the best sports journalist I have ever read.

Anthony Lewis:

"It's obvious that he was probably the greatest journalist of his generation. He had a core integrity that gave him credibility and power, whether he was writing about basketball or Vietnam it carried an enormous amount of weight,"

Childs Walker:

Halberstam turned back to sportswriting throughout his career, and his books on basketball, baseball and sculling remain my favorites. So those are the ones I want to shout about.

Please, if you love sports books and haven't read The Breaks of the Game, run out and get it. I don't think Halberstam meant to write an "important" story when he began following the Portland Trailblazers of the late 1970s. But he ended up with an amazing book about teaching, workplace culture, racial tensions in the first generation after the civil rights movement, the fate of 1960s counterculture, the nature of modern stardom and dozens of other subjects.

Jim Caple:

He wrote many books on sports, including very popular volumes on the Red Sox and Yankees of the late '40s and early '50s, but "The Breaks of the Game" is his true masterpiece. This profile on the 1979-80 Trail Blazers is essential reading for any fan of sports, culture, race relations and good reporting. The book is so good that even the dedication page is stirring.