Evening star., 1947-08-03
Books on Sports
By Denmon Thompson
Sports Editor of The Star

~ HREE Of the best books
on sports published dur
ing the year concerned
baseball, boxing and
boners.
The first was Frederick G.,
Lieb's history Of the Detroit Tig-
ers. In-between Is James r.
Fairs colorful, hilarious and in
spots downright raw story of
Harry Greb's amazing career.
The last is the result of one of
those inevitable discussions about
sports, in which the authors,
Bob Broeg and Bob Burrill,
counted up mistakes that
changed the course of athletic
history. It is sort of a uaonu-
ment to the unhappy goats"
who undoubtedly would prefer to
let sleeping dogs lie.
While we consider them among
the best books on sports subjects
to come off the presses this year,
the readers judgment will be
guided by his personal prefer
ence in sports. AS usual, books
dealing with technical phases of
golf, tennis, fishing, ETC., top the
list, numerically. This Is under
standable.
Every fisherman, golfer, hunter,
briefly every sportsman, Is haunt
ed by desire to tell the world
of his own experiences, whether
he ever does anything about it
or not. BY the same token every
how-to-play-it text comes in for
his close scrutiny.
Lives there a golfer with form
so poor that he will not spend
hours boring his audience with
a vivid description Of his hole
in-one, or of his expert recovery
from a sandtrap. Can any fly
fisherman resist a detailed anal
ysis Of his latest expedition, plus
thorough recounting of bait,
line and sinkers used?
The Sport Field Is
Broad and Varied
Every sport has different
schools of theory on technique,
however, and every new book,
consequently, has a ready made
body Of critics to agree or dis
agree with it's thesis.
If Mr.. Fairs "Give Him to the
Angels (Smith g. DurreD is
not the first book on Greb's life,
it most assuredly is one of the
finest. Greb has multiple claim
to fame, but his most lasting will
be a reputation as one of the
rings most savage, dirtiest and
most courageous of all time.
Pound for pound he stands be-
side the titans of the sport as one
of the greatest, although Mr.. Fair
would put him on a pedestal of
his own, far above any others.
AS for his foul tactics, the author
dismisses them with one of Greb's
choicer remarks:
.Prize-fighting amt the noblest
of the arts and I amt it's noblest
artist
Fair began covering Greb's
fights for the Associated Press at
the tender and impressionable
age of Is in Pittsburgh, and, ac-
cording to his publisher, was one
of the fighters closest personal
friends. 1t is plain that. he wor-
shipped at Greb's shrine from the
beginning. peering beyond the
frowzy pattern of his idols life
to see and recognize his great
ness in the prize ring.
Greb fought five bouts with
Gene Tunney, who later won the
world heavyweight championship.
In one of the bloodiest fights in
the annals of the ring, "the Pitts
burgh Windmill" blind in one
eye, gave Tunney the only defeat
Of his career.
One of his most memorable
battles was with Mickey Walker,
a wild, free-swinging brawl in
which the referee, Eddie Purdy,
was twice knocked off his feet,
and which Greb eventually won
in Is. rounds. Whether the two
fought on the street later that
night after a chance meeting
at a tavern is a tale now legend,
Mr.. Fair does not say, although
this yarn remains as one of the
classic stories of the ring. The
.1st