On the ship back home from Europe in November of 1918, an outbreak of flu exploded and Rice wrote in his 1954 memoir The Tumult and the Shouting, published posthumously that he was watching those men and boys dying like flies. It was part of a flu pandemic that killed an estimated 50 million people worldwide. "Events.SushiEndpoint": "https://unagi.amazon.com/1/events/com.amazon.csm.csa.prod", The poem lives on. "CacheDetection.RequestID": "PTPHS3MESDKWDQ4ZK9G7", Through Rice's eyes we behold such sports as bicycle racing, boxing, golf, baseball, football, and tennis as they were played before 1950. Who is the author? var googletag = googletag || {}; Thanks Robert. But through the night there shines the light, "you are meant to play the ball as it lies." Grantland Rice 6 likes Like "A wise man makes his own decisions. Share our stories. It just gets more intriguing all the time. Joe Rexrode is a senior staff writer for The Athletic covering all things Nashville and some things outside Nashville. He wonders what kind of records Satchel Paige might have broken, had he been given the opportunity. Thanks again. "https:" : "http:") + For it isnt the score, and it isnt the prize googletag.pubads().setTargeting("signedin", "false"); } Dad regularly uses this quote. if (isRetina) { The difference between the two is that, while Russell also had a national presence, he stayed in Nashville for his entire career, serving as sports editor for The Banner from 1930 until the paper closed in 1998. That counts when the playing is through! Do you, by any chance, have the full poem by Cardinal Newbolt (and year of publication)? What pictures he paints with words and all layered with wisdom too. On June 8, 2011, ESPN's Bill Simmons launched a sports and popular culture website titled Grantland, a name intended to honor Rice's legacy. Easily done, I suppose, but on a wall plaque!? If you are watching the World Cup this verse may be appropriate also as there are so many close games and penalty shoot outs! 1 9 8 6 . This passage, although famous, is far from atypical, as Rice's writing tended to be of an "inspirational" or "heroic" style, raising games to the level of ancient combat and their heroes to the status of demigods. Rugby Union, as introduced by the Irish Christian brothers to Stella Maris was and is an integral part of building character. The job at the Tennessean was given to him by former Sewanee Tigers coach Billy Suter, who coached baseball teams against which Rice played while at Vanderbilt. In fact, we have some other comments They had two extra men to ring the ambulance alarm. Through Rice's eyes we behold such sports as bicycle racing, boxing, golf, baseball, football, and tennis as they were played before 1950. Where only those can make the grade who have the Uphill Heart. Many thanks for your clarification. She is now passing this on to her own grandson. Grantland Rice, Alumunus Football, Only the Brave and Other Poems (1941) seems to be credited a lot however, my old graphic letters version says Newbolt (would this be Cardinal Newbolt)? window.csa("Config", { You can see the full poem below your comment now also. And thank yo again for sending us the poem from your schooldays. Does this raise question as to Grantland Rice being the originator? } //]]> But he took in a good spirit and was always known as Chato. As we understand the term today, he was most assuredly a bigot, Fountain wrote of Rice. Many thanks ~ Paul (author of Great Moments Of Sportsmanship). What an enchanting verse. What of their spirit, individual acts of supreme courage and bravery? I often wondered about the line. window.Mobvious = {}; node.parentNode.insertBefore(gads, node); How bizarre is that??? //]]>. In the book Juiced, Jose says "Steroids used correctly, will not only make you stronger and sexier, they will also make you healthier. In 1936 in Berlin, he saw Owens deliver a quadruple-gold blow to Adolf Hitlers Aryan superiority propaganda. The Rices bought a house overlooking the ocean in East Hampton, N.Y., next door to Ring Lardner and his family. Is the fact that you stood the test. This is intriguing. Grantland Avenue in his hometown of Murfreesboro, Tennessee, was named in his honor. Even as he rests in peace, Brother Eamonn Chato ODonnell is still triggering discussions about the great scorekeeper. He knows history. }("apstag", window, document, "script", "//c.amazon-adsystem.com/aax2/apstag.js"); Ah Nancy this is beautiful. Does anyone know who wrote this? To make your eternal bed, Grantland Rice also wrote poetry, and one of his poems, which is called "Alumnus Football," contains the following lines: For when the One Great Scorer comes To mark against your name, He writes - not that you won or lost - But how you played the Game. This poem hung over the entrance to our elementary schools gym. window.Mobvious.device_type = 'mobile'; Try a week on us. Russell is a huge part of Nashville sports history, and hes on the right side of history. Poems by Thayer, Rice and Walt Mason. Jim McCarthy, captained Munster and Ireland and played with the Lions. Thanks again Peggy Reynolds Dudley some fine Irish heritage there, methinks! //]]> googletag.enableServices(); Thank you. }, I found these beautiful words in my parents house in Dublin, Ireland. Coincidentally, I spoke in Notre Dame and we now have a great alliance. [12] Rice then made monthly contributions to the man's widow throughout his life.[13]. It has actually generated several streams of thought as I opened it up in a few different blog posts. (function() { On the baseball team, he was captain in 1901.[4][5]. If you leave me an email I will send you a screen shot of the piece, but it reads as follows: We cant all play a winning game, someone is sure to lose, Yet we can play so that our name, no one may dare accuse. This was mainstream American sports journalism in early 20th century terms. Invite us to tell stories in your school or club. The award, presented the following year at the annual induction ceremony at the Baseball Hall of Fame, is given for "meritorious contributions to baseball writing".[17]. Im sure I read it first at Harpeth Hall in high school. Kevin Blackistone, Washington Post columnist and University of Maryland journalism professor, wrote in an email that Rice and his peers of that time promoted outwardly, or tacitly, the racist segregation of sport., It wasnt until Lester Rodney in the mid-(19)30s for the socialist paper The Daily Worker started challenging sport to tear down the color barriers theyd erected in step with Jim Crow laws, Blackistone said of the catalyst for change. He was my daddys hero, basically.. Bill put on steam and dashed into the thickest of the pile; setDisplayBids: function() {}, JB Downie is possibly the author. Grantland Rice Let's play it outthis little game called Life, Where we are listed for so brief a spell; Not just to win, amid the tumult rife, These are only aliases. [CDATA[ I am delighted with your information. Bill was no quitter, so he tried a buck in higher gear, Will be scored to your credit, my son. It was Br Thomas OConnell (not ODonnell) who mentioned the prayer in his memories. They specially promoted the practice of sports. Ive just sat and indulged every word and line. Centering around the life and times of the revered American sportswriter Grantland Rice (1880-1954), How You Played the Game takes us back to those magical days of sporting tales and mythic heroes. Please do keep sending us comments on any of our stories. gads.src = (useSSL ? And then to find this site and to read about the origin of the linesimply remarkable. Wonderful stuff. And when some rival tackler tried to block his dashing pace, The debate also continues elsewhere on this site as we occassionally post this verse to see if we get any different comments see July 2009 and also in Jan 2010 . Rice's all-time All-America backfield was Jim Thorpe, Red Grange, Ken Strong, and Ernie Nevers. The Fullback Disappointment steered his features in sod. the bugle rolled the reveille. For when that one great scorer comes to mark against your name ODonnell perhaps his people were from Donegal in Ireland? Sweet are the dreams of college life, before our faith is nicked- He preached this the whole time we were at campToo bad most professional athletes dont have a clue what it means,,, stylesheet.type = "text/css"; var cookiePair = cookie.split('='); Thank you again Peggy warm wishes to you and yours from London and Dublin. Whereat he aimed a forward pass, but in two vicious bounds Stella Maris is where the boys in the 1972 Andes accident went to school, and it is that spirit that helped them survive the 72 days on the mountain. This quote was on a huge poster on the wall of the mess building. The original version, which appears above on the right side of the screen, of the poem was reprinted in "The Fireside Book of Baseball" in 1956. That you played a clean game, and you fought a good fight, googletag.pubads().setTargeting("sid", "osid.66a657b45f57e162fd8222433e96937e"); Thanks once again. . googletag.pubads().setTargeting("grsession", "osid.66a657b45f57e162fd8222433e96937e"); var ue_t0=window.ue_t0||+new Date(); As such, it can be served by no apologies or defenses, Fountain wrote, and deserves damnation less than it deserves understanding.. Here is a poem given to Dutch Tennis Star Tom Okker by his mother on his first trip to Australia in 1964. whatever the game and whatever the odds The founder of the congregation of the Christian Brothers was not Cardinal Newman. And when he tackled at Success in one long, vicious prod And you always were doing your best! Perhaps you might post the full poem in an other comment as it sounds different to my poem. [4] On the football team, he lettered in the year of 1899 as an end and averaged two injuries a year. Your poem is beautiful and still inspires you, I suspect. _Q: [] Am sure you know this, but if not, you might enjoy it. Thx again for your powerful words: The poem lives on. On the rare occasion a white man wasnt the subject, the subject was liable to inspire ghastly doses of bigotry. They wept to think bull-throated Bill would sock the line no more. Rice married Fannie Katherine Hollis on April 11, 1906; they had one child, the actress Florence Rice. Not to add to the mystery but I was sorting our bookcase and found a rendering of. Enter your email address below and we will email you new posts: Portuguese Players Shake Englishmans Hand After He Scores, Silence was broken by a dog barking outside the packed stadium, Paris the perfect setting for reunion of Invincible Lions, Not That You Won or Lost but at Great Moments of Sportsmanship, http://www.library.vanderbilt.edu/speccol/research/guides/bios.shtml, Not That You Won or Lost but Great Moments Of Sportsmanship, http://www.greatmomentsofsportsmanship.com/spread-the-moments/, Not That You Won or Lost but | Great Moments Of Sportsmanship, New Year Old Poem Great Sport | Great Moments Of Sportsmanship, Bush League or Little League? } In todays dollars, thats about $1.5 million. It is gold leaf with a picture of two dueling horses with men in coats of armor. Thanks, Many thanks Wendy. var source = getCookieWithoutJQuery("source"); [10], The passage added great import to the event described and elevated it to a level far beyond that of a mere football game. if(cookiePair[0] === name) { Sorry for slow reply. var sourcesToHideBuyFeatures = ["ebfg_gr", "ebfg_fb", "ebfg_fbm", "ebfg_tw", Your grandfather sounded like a lovely man. Your grandfather Mr. Brugh, roomed with Grantland Rice. Centering around the life and times of the revered American sportswriter Grantland Rice (1880-1954), How You Played the Game takes us back to those magical days of sporting tales and mythic heroes. Watch this colourful video. } Here is a different, yet beautiful, overlapping intriguing version of the poem written in 1925 by JB Downie in Minneapolis, USA, kindly sent into us by Peggy Legrande. You remember the poem from your childhood education with the Christian Brothers. But in the 1930s so were the rest of the sportswriters. Ive had the Great scorer quoted at my for more years than I care to remember,I knew it was by Grantland Rice but never until today seeing the full poem I thought it was like,Vitai Lamparda Play up and play the gameby Sir Henry Newbolt about cricket,guess your never too old to learn something new, Indeed Pam. I wish you well and thank you for your comment. When Bill woke up his scalp hung loose and knots adorned his head. Russell, 73, of Nashville, is one of four living daughters of the late Fred Russell, the second-most-famous sportswriter in Nashville history. I hope the school enjoy the verse and are also inspired by the many sportsmanship stories. How far away the goal posts are that called us to the play. This is Rices account from The Tumult and the Shouting: When I encountered Owens after that jump, back at his quarters, he was the same modest person he had always been. It believe in this instance it means flat referring to his flat face. I purchased it from an estate sale. In the 1920s at the height of their business, The Buzza Co. produced their finest work. 25 comments Since the original 2008 post/article http://tinyurl.com/6zo7fvac I dont remember what she said about how she knew this poem by memory. I wonder if there is some connection there. Rice was spared and returned to the end of a college football season that had been pieced together through the pandemic a century-old preview of what the 2020 season might look like and to a view like no one else had of historic moments in sports and society. try { Our family has a metal plaque from the Shapleigh Hardware Co. with this quote, no author referenced. Rices career was interrupted to serve in World War I at 37 years old. He became interested in the sport in 1909 while covering the Southern Amateur at the Nashville Golf Club. My parents too had a small metal plaque on the wall with those famous words thereon circa 1925, Well George. http://www.greatmomentsofsportsmanship.com/spread-the-moments/ //= 2; // retina display var gads = document.createElement("script"); At least he didnt go word for word. Would you know of the full source where and when it was first published etc.? [14] In 1954, the Football Writers Association of America established the Grantland Rice Trophy, an annual award presented (from 1954 to 2013) to the college football team recognized by the FWAA as the National Champions. for(var i=0; i