The best American sports writing of the century / David Halberstam, editor.

The silent season of a hero / Gay Talese -- The last American hero / Tom Wolfe -- What do you think of Ted Williams now? / Richard Ben Cramer -- The day Bobby blew it / Brad Darrach -- Sport for art's sake / Heywood Broun -- The Olympic army / Westbrook Pegler -- Louis knocks out Schmeling / Bob Considine -- Game called / Grandland Rice -- All the way to the grave / Frank Graham -- Next to godliness ; Miracle of Coogan's Bluff ; Jim and his baubles ; The Baby was always a boy-- one of a kind ; And all Dizzy's yesterdays / Red Smith -- One strike is out / Stanley Woodward -- Sal Maglie--a gracious man / Murray Kempton -- Obit on the Dodgers / Dick Young -- If you're expecting one-liners / Jim Murray -- Oh, no! Not another boring interview with Steve Carlton / Diane K. Shah -- The LaMotta nuptials / Ira Berkow -- "A very solid book" / Mike Royko -- Eckie / Ring Lardner -- Lethal lightning / Jimmy Cannon -- Brownsville bum / W.C. Heinz -- Mr. Rickey and the game / Gerald Holland -- The rocky road of Pistol Pete ; The ghost of the gridiron / W.C. Heinz -- Lone wolf of tennis / Dick Schaap -- "The Haig": rowdy rebel of the fairways / John Lardner -- Racing's angriest young man / Jimmy Breslin -- Hub fans bid kid adieu / John Updike -- The fight to live / Al Stump -- A rough time on the road / Stan Fischler -- The longest silence / Thomas McGuane -- The Kentucky Derby is decadent and depraved / Hunter S. Thompson -- Centre court / John McPhee -- Butkus / Arthur Kretchmer -- Gone for good / Roger Angell -- There was only one Casey / Wells Twombley -- Pain ; No más / Tom Boswell -- Medora goes to the game / George Plimpton -- The rabbit hunter ; The boxer and the blonde / Frank Deford -- The September song of Mr. October / David Remnick -- A brother's keeper / Mike Lupica -- Pure heart / William Nack -- The making of a goon / Johnette Howard -- The power and the glory / Paul Solotaroff -- Tangled up in blue / Peter Richmond -- The chosen one / Gary Smith -- Into thin air / Jon Krakauer -- Resurrecting the champ / J.R. Moehringer -- The champ and the chump / Murray Kempton -- Muhammad Ali then and now / Dick Schaap -- Ego / Norman Mailer -- Weird site for a fight / Jim Murray -- "Lawdy, lawdy, he's great" / Mark Kram -- My dinner with Ali / Davis Miller.