Quarterback/Signal-caller

Look at that headline? I think he's written one like that!

In all reality, he does a pretty good job with other things. We have a good section and he gives the writers a lot of freedom, so I can't complain too much. His copy editing ... well, obviously you all see that's a different matter.

 

I've read through tens of thousands of sports stories in newspapers from the so-called Golden Era of the 1910s and 1920s. I've seen plenty of sports phrases that have faded so far from memory that they can't even be remembered anymore.

But I had NEVER heard the word "harriers" used to describe runners until earlier this year. I changed it back because I didn't think it was the right word.

Then I looked it up -- and technically, I was wrong. It does mean runners.

But it should NEVER be used in the paper. Not in this century.

 

Call me crazy, but I like tally. It just makes me happy. Since I can't use 'fuck' in most stories, I've gotta find words that make me happy wherever I can.

 

People have said the same about using "thinclads" for "runners." But it used to be a noun of choice for an earlier generation.

Of course, editors who used "thinclad" back in those days also had no problem with headlines like, "Jap wins marathon."

 

When I first started out I was in on researching the seasons of the hometown football team going back to the 1920s.

Thus did I discover the term "marker" for touchdown, "aerial" for pass and my favorite phrase to this day, "tally at will."