One Last Read

by Didinger, Ray

• ISBN13: 9781592136001
• ISBN10: 1592136001
• Format: Hardcover
• Copyright: 2007-09-28
• Publisher: Temple Univ Pr

Summary

In a career that has spanned over thirty five years, Ray Didinger has seen and written about every sport, team, and athlete that has made a mark in American and the world. In this collection of profiles, articles, and columns from his days in the Bulletin, the Daily News and through his current life on television and film, Ray Didinger takes his readers to the major moments and events that have measure the life of sports in Philadelphia, this country, and the world.From Didinger's earliest days covering the Eagles, to the highs when Philadelphia was a city of champions (and the lows in between),One Last Readis an absorbing journey through the education of a writer and the love this city has always had with sports. Included in this collection or profiles of athletes, essays on professional wrestling, opinion pieces on the Phillies, the Sixers, the Flyers, and of course the Eagles. Didinger's introduction gives the reader the story of his professional life, how he became a beat writer, a columnist, and eventually a producer for NFL Films.One Last Readis a treasure trove of stories for every fan of Philadelphia sports, and a snapshot of a city that lives and dies by its teams. More than anything, it is also a representation of some of the most brilliant writing from one of the finest sportswriters Philadelphia has every produced. If you lived through the moments Didinger describes in his essays, you will relive them with intensity; if you are too young to remember, Didinger will take you through the triumphs, follies, and tragedies of Philadelphia and American sports with the mastery of a great storyteller.

Author Biography

Ray Didinger has won four Emmy Awards as a writer and producer at NFL Films. Before that, he was a reporter covering the National Football League for The Philadelphia Bulletin, and later The Philadelphia Daily News. In 1995 he was enshrined in the Pro Football Hall of Fame as the recipient of the Dick McCann Memorial Award for long and distinguished reporting of pro football. He is the author (with Robert S. Lyons) of The Eagles Encyclopedia, and a weekly commentator and panelist on Comcast SportsNet's Post Game Live show during the football season.

Table of Contents

Table of Contents

Introduction

The Home Town Teams The Eagles

Bednarik's Legend Etched in Concrete

Vince Papale Ain't Just Another Bum from the Neighborhood Anymore

Wilbert has a Mom that Frets

A Real Philadelphia Kind of Win

Introducing Tommy McDonald at the Pro Football Hall of Fame

The New Dick Vermeil - Who is He?

Reggie White The Phillies

Phillies are Rosel-less and Red-Faced

Maddox Takes Ride of His Life

Walk-ing into the Series Spotlight

McGraw's Retirement Tugs at Heartstrings

The End is Here

Lieberthal Receiving Good Reviews The Flyers

For Hard Luck Parent, Another Damaging Blow

Stickle: It Could have been Worse

In Flin Flon, They Knew He'd be Great

Hextall's Goal Always was to be in Goal

Flyer's Shining Moment Tarnished Before Game The Sixers

Moses Makes His Private Life Most Valuable

This One's for You, Jack McMahon

Erving Can't Make Sense of It All

Barkley Uncomfortable with Life in the Glare of the Spotlight

American Sports at Home and in the World Football

The Black Athlete: Jackie Robinson? He Wasn't the First

America's Team: Cowboys Corral a Nation

Montana Magic

The Shulas Always have Felt at Home Near the Gridiron

Elevating Frankford

Just a Truck Drivin' Man

Passing of the Chief Marks the End of an Era

Larry Brown: King of the Hill Baseball

Aaron's Numbers Speak for Him

Munson: A Man of No Frills

The 500 Club

Fernando has been Touched by God Olympics

Thorpe Nets Golden Debt

Decker Runs Armed with a Killer Instinct

Huber Junks Diet for Taste of Gold

Teti Always Seems to Stand Out on Rowing Team 1980 - The Year That Was

A Cure for America's BluesIs Rosie a Real Winner?

Flyers Lose to Islanders in the Stanley Cup Finals

"The Officials Killed Us," Snider Sizzles

Fans Roar Tells Jack He's Back

Winning Makes It All Worthwhile

Duran Calls It Quits

A Real Philadelphia Kind of Win

Jim Plunkett's Journey Ends in Triumph

Facts and Opinion Profiles

Alcorn's Battle Over

Jim Tyrer Story Ultimate Tragedy

Their Hearts Belong to Daddy Mass

Hard Man to Please, Tough Man to Beat

Sugar Ray Pulls People Together

Waterboy Reaches Hall of Fame

Best of All Time?: Bird's Genius Puts Him in Rarified Aire

Climbing Capitol Hill

Abolition of Boxing Wouldn't be Jake

I'm not a Whiner Opinion

Phillies Left Red-faced and Rose-less

NFL Should Sack Tose

The Real World of Professional Football

Working Up a Strong Hate

Woody Hayes Doesn't Merit an Appreciative Audience

A Sense of Perspective

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