42 Frank Deford Quotes for You to Enjoy

Frank Deford

American Writer

Born: Dec 16, 1938

Died: May 28, 2017

About Game Me People Sports You

Related authors: Dale Carnegie Denis Waitley Dr. Seuss H. L. Mencken Napoleon Hill Ray Bradbury W. E. B. Du Bois William Arthur Ward

Because I lost a daughter, eight years old, to cystic fibrosis, I think that anytime that I'm dealing with people who, like Andrea Yeager, are trying to help those sick children, I identify very much with them. Frank Deford

You can stand at a bar and scream all you want about who was the greatest athlete and which was the greatest sports dynasty, and you can shout out your precious statistics, and maybe you're right, and maybe the red-faced guy down the bar - the one with the foam on his beer and the fancy computer rankings - is right, but nobody really knows. Frank Deford

Beer You Sports Down Foam Out Statistics Athlete About Guy Computer Nobody Knows Greatest His Precious Maybe Scream Want Which Bar Dynasty Fancy Really Shout Stand Your Who Right

First and foremost, Howard Cosell is sports. There are all these people, these fans, who claim that when Cosell does a game on television, they turn off the sound on the TV and listen to the radio broadcast. Oh, sure. You probably know critics in your neighborhood who vow the same thing. Well, too bad for them. Frank Deford

You Game Sports People Fans First Same Thing Too Broadcast Claim Neighborhood Television TV Bad Critics Know Vow Well Sure Does Sound Foremost Off Same Listen Oh Them Turn Turn-Off Your Who Radio Thing

Quickness and momentum. You take the whole last generation of sports, listening to them, even reading about them, watching the games, analyzing them, arguing about them, instant-replaying them, second-guessing them, and all you'll distill from them is quickness and momentum. Frank Deford

You Sports Generation Listening Reading Analyzing About Arguing Take Quickness Them Games Momentum Whole Even Last Watching

I'm a writer. I'm moonlighting on television. I never made any pretensions to that. As much as I like being on 'Real Sports,' I have been a writer since I was a little boy, and that's still my first love. Frank Deford

Love Sports Made First Television Writer Never Since Like First Love Boy Real Still Been Any Being Little Much

People often lump radio and television together because they are both broadcast mediums. But radio, anyway, and the radio I do for NPR, is much closer to writing than it is to television. Frank Deford

Together People Writing Mediums Broadcast Television Both Because Than Closer Often Anyway Much Radio Lump

It costs a lot of money to deliver newsprint. It's so much easier to do it through the air, Internet, radio, television. The second easiest thing is to do it through the mail. But when you have to take something heavy and put it on someone's doorstep, that costs a lot of money. Frank Deford

You Money Internet Air Easier Easiest Television Easiest Thing Someone Something Costs Through Mail Take Deliver Put Lot Heavy Doorstep Much Radio Thing Second

It's almost impossible to explain how little the NBA amounted to when I started covering it in 1963. It wasn't fair to call it bush, although everybody did. It was simply small - only nine teams - and insignificant. Frank Deford

In the summer of 1963, my second with 'Sports Illustrated,' Jerry Tax, the basketball editor, got the Celtics' Frank Ramsey, the NBA's first famous sixth man, to do a piece for the magazine revealing some of the devious little tricks of his trade. Things like surreptitiously holding an opponent's shorts - nickel-and-dime stuff. Frank Deford

Man Sports First Holding Summer Frank Tricks Magazine Some Stuff Like Devious Piece Sports Illustrated Trade Revealing Got Editor Opponent His Sixth Famous Tax Little Shorts NBA Jerry Illustrated Things Second Basketball

Hard as it is to believe, there were three magazines fighting over me. 'Newsweek' wanted to keep me, 'ESPN The Magazine' was coming into existence and wanted me, and 'SI' wanted to bring me back. Isn't that amazing? I had a choice, like a free agent. Frank Deford

I think there are more good sportswriters doing more good sportswriting than ever before. But I also believe that the one thing that's largely gone out is what made sport such fertile literary territory - the characters, the tales, the humor, the pain, what Hollywood calls 'the arc.' Frank Deford

Good Humor Made Before Gone Pain Believe Think Out Characters One Thing Arc More Tales Also Sport Calls Sportswriter Territory Doing Fertile Than The One Thing Literary Hollywood Largely Ever Thing

We start 2016 with a command: that the subject of Pete Rose and the Hall of Fame is over, finis, kaput forever and ever. As sure as we will no longer discuss whether Lindsey Graham or George Pataki can be president. Frank Deford

Will Rose President Longer Over Hall Sure George Command Subject Fame Forever Discuss Graham Whether Pete Rose Ever Start

When I was covering games, and this is back in the '60s, you'd go into the manager's office. I can still visualize Earl Weaver from the Baltimore Orioles. I can just see Earl now in his underwear... with a beer in one hand and a cigarette in the other, holding court. And that was the way it was done then. Frank Deford

Beer You Holding Other Cigarette Back Way Visualize See Court Still Go Underwear His Covering Hand Baltimore Office Manager Done Just Then Games Now Earl

Football teams represent cities and colleges and schools. The people have built great stadiums, and the game is culturally intertwined with our calendar. We don't go back to college for the college. We go back for a football game, and, yes, we even call that 'homecoming.' Frank Deford

Remember when John Roberts was seeking confirmation of the Supreme Court, and he said judges should be just like umpires, just calling balls and strikes? Well, turnabout is fair play. What baseball needs behind the plate are umpires like those judges who are called strict constructionists, which means you follow subtle law to the letter. Frank Deford

Needs You Law Remember Strict Strikes Those John Follow Seeking John Roberts He Remember When Fair Like Fair Play Supreme Well Roberts Supreme Court Calling Court Judges Said Balls Umpires Behind Just Confirmation Subtle Which Should Means Who Plate Baseball Letter Play

Johnny U was an American original, a piece of work like none other, excepting maybe Paul Bunyan and Horatio Alger. Frank Deford

Work Other Johnny Like Piece None American Maybe Paul Original

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