While the mythologizing of sportswriters is uncommon, it does happen with athletes all the time; Michael Jordan is an excellent modern example. He became a superhero; a mythical, flying being that could dominate mortal men with ease.

Though he had nothing to do with Jordan’s rise as a mythical figure directly, it can be said that Grantland Rice, another prominent sportswriter, paved the way for sensationalism. Rice wasn’t the first to raise athletes to an elevated status, but he was a master at inspiring awe in his readers through his descriptions of athletic performances. His most renowned piece of writing is easily the article that he wrote about an Army-Notre Dame game in 1924. In the lead paragraph he wrote:

“Outlined against the blue-gray October sky, the Four Horsemen rode again. In dramatic lore they are know as Famine, Pestilence, Destruction and Death. These are only aliases. Their real names are Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley and Layden. They formed the crest of the South Bend Cyclone before which another fighting Army football team was swept over the precipice at the Polo Grounds yesterday as 55,000 spectators peered down on the bewildering panorama spread on the green plain below…”

Rice was also a good friend and admirer of the great Bobby Jones – together they cajoled, wrote and enjoyed the wonderful game of golf. This vintage autograph of the legendary scribe is a perfect example for framing or display.