"Ninety feet between home plate and first base may be the closest man has ever come to perfection."
About Red Smith
Red Smith — Life and Legacy
Red Smith was a pivotal figure in sports journalism, known for his ability to weave compelling narratives that transcended the mere reporting of events. His distinctive style emphasized the emotional and human aspects of sports, making his columns resonate with readers on a deeper level. Smith famously stated, 'Writing is a form of therapy,' illustrating his belief that writing not only serves to inform but also to heal and connect. This perspective reflects his understanding of the power of words to evoke feelings and provoke thought. In his work, Smith often explored the tension between competition and creativity, challenging the notion that sportswriting should be purely factual. He argued that the essence of sports lies in its stories—the triumphs, failures, and the human spirit behind the athletes. His quote, 'The only way to prove you are a good writer is to write,' underscores his conviction that practice and dedication are vital to mastering the craft of writing. Today, Red Smith's quotes and insights continue to influence aspiring writers and sports enthusiasts alike, reminding us that the heart of sports lies not just in the scores, but in the stories that unfold on and off the field.
Quote collection
Red Smith quotes (page 1 of 2)
24 quotes — follow a thought to its full quote page.
"Writing is easy. Just sit in front of a typewriter, open up a vein and bleed it out drop by drop."
"It is well known that the older a man grows, the faster he could run as a boy."
"As a ballplayer, (Dizzy) Dean was a natural phenomenon, like the Grand Canyon or the Great Barrier Reef. Nobody ever taught him baseball and he never had to learn. He was just doing what came naturally when a scout named Don Curtis discovered him on a Texas sandlot and gave him his first contract."
"I have known writers who paid no damned attention whatever to the rules of grammar and rhetoric and somehow made the language behave for them."
"Now it is done. Now the story ends. And there is no way to tell it. The art of fiction is dead. Reality has strangled invention."
"It was an ideal day for football - too cold for the spectators and too cold for the players."
"I think it's the real world. The people we're writing about in professional sports, they're suffering and living and dying and loving and trying to make their way through life just as the brick layers and politicians are."
"Today's game is always different from yesterday's game."
"Unlike the normal pattern, I know I have grown more liberal as I've grown older. I have become more convinced that there is room for improvement in the world."
"Dying is no big deal. Living is the trick."
"Baseball is a dull game only for those with dull minds."
"Writing is very much like bricklaying. You learn to put one brick on top of another and spread the mortar so thick."
"I like to get where the cabbage is cooking and catch the scents."
"In my later years I have sought to become simpler, straighter and purer in my handling of the language. I've had many writing heroes, writers who have influenced me. Of the ones still alive, I can think of E.B. White. I certainly admire the pure, crystal stream of his prose. When I was very young as a sportswriter I knowingly and unashamedly imitated others. I had a series of heroes who would delight me for a while and I'd imitate them--Damon Runyon, Westbrook Pegler, Joe Williams."
"For 350 years we have been taught that reading maketh a full man, conference a ready man and writing an exact man. Football's place is to add a patina of character, a deference to the rules and a respect for authority."
"The natural habitat of the tongue is the left cheek."
"In entertainment value, the Democratic clambake usually lays it over the Republican conclave like ice cream over parsnips."
"My best girl is dead."
"Young men have visions, old men have dreams."