RIP Jerome Holtzman

Some called him Mr. Holtzman, some called him Jerry. I called him Jerome. An odd name, not heard much these days, but Jerome worked with such integrity that I heard in the name's second syllable a certain rolling thunder. Anytime I imagined the best of baseball writers, I saw Jerome in a clubhouse, a dugout, a press box.

We often talked about "No Cheering." It's a mistake to think of that classic as simple oral history, as if he turned on a tape recorder and dozed while old farts chattered on. He told me the book's 100,000 words came from a million words of transcript. He knew the men's stories better than they did. He shaped their lives into vivid dramas of a time, a place, a man.

I worked alongside Lewis Grizzard for a few years. We talked about his brief, sad sojourn as sports editor of the Chi Sun-Times and nominally Jerome's boss. "I called him back from Arizona spring training to read him the riot act about cliches in his copy," Lewis said. "He asked me to name the cliches, and I did. Then he rose, lifted his chest, and said, 'Those are MY cliches. I invented them.'" After which Lewis did the right thing. He sent Jerome back to Arizona.

 

That made my day. Thank you.

 

He was one of the reasons I would buy the Trib.

Sad, sad news.

 

http://findarticles.com/p/articles/mi_m0FCI/is_5_61/ai_84542687

RIP

 

That's a great story and a terrific idea that should have happened, Smasher.

I love this story.

RIP to someone who should have been immortalized in his own book.

 

One of my great nights in this business, and a sentiment I suspect is shared by anyone else who was there, took place on an off-night during the '95 playoffs in Seattle, when Jerome joined a group of much younger writers for dinner and regaled us all with wonderful tales. He was in his element, and while he clearly reveled in the attention, I was struck by the respect he showed all of us in return. I was a copyboy in Chicago in the '70s when I first began reading Jerome; I hope we can find a suitable way to honor his memory.
--Gordon Edes

 

Somehow, I knew Kindred would have a great story on this thread.

Also--and I mean this as a compliment--you could plant an entire vegetable garden in those world-class eyebrows.

Maybe this would be a good time to resurrect the SJ book club, with a reading of No Cheering. Going to find my copy tonight.

 

Damn, another legend is gone.

RIP

 

Holtzman was another of those Sporting News must-reads from the 60s and 70s, just like Dick Young, Leonard Koppett, etc. I grew up in a rural New England town in a state that had no major league sports, and guys like Holtzman took me down onto the field as I soaked up their wonderful copy by flashlight in the tent in the backyard. Loved their stuff.

My one bone to pick with him, hopefully to bring a chuckle to others. My senior year in h.s., I read a Holtzman notes column in which he mentioned the son of a major league pitcher who had applied for the Grantland Rice scholarship, closing out the note saying, "And (so-and-so) will probably win it." Well, guess who was ticked, thinking how presumptuous it was, and I feared it might tip things in this other guy's favor for the scholarship. I ended up one of the Rice finalists, but didn't win it. Neither did the pitcher's kid, although about a year later I met Holtzman in the Notre Dame press box and mentioned my story to him and he got a big kick out of it. Very gracious and he tolerated my respectful complaint.

Good guy, great journalist.

 

Heard the news on my drive to St. Louis to watch the Cardinals-Brewers game. I missed the beginning of the game (which was on ESPN), I hope they had a moment of silence. He was a great representative, writer and ambassador of the game, he deserved it, especially in St. Louis, the one-time home of The Sporting News.

RIP.

 

Here's the starting point for some excellent Tribune coverage:

http://www.chicagotribune.com/sports/cs-080721-jerome-holtzman-death,0,3762261.story

The individual pieces from his colleagues are especially good.

 

Any idea who was putting Holtzman's death onto Wikipedia late Saturday night?

Seems strange.