Other day I was doing my radio show and the topic of great San Francisco Bay sportswriters came up. The topic intrigued me, got me thinking.
I’ve been in the SF Bay Area for almost 40 years so I’ve seen a lot of terrific writers, columnists, media people, content creators, etc., come down the line, as Mark Knofpler would say. But when you narrow it down to the greatest Bay Area sportswriters, the Mount Rushmore, if you will, this is what I’ve got …
I do make a distinction, though … among columnists, take-out writers, beat writers, general assignment reporters, for example. I get that. Certain writers get to hone their craft on their own, others inside an editor-created box.
Nevertheless, the cream always rises to the top and here’s one guy’s take on the greatest sportswriters he’s read since 1990 in the San Francisco Bay Area:
Tim Keown: I don’t consider Tim Keown a writer; I think of him as more than that. Oh, he can write, better than just about anyone I’ve ever read. Big-picture understanding, turn of a phrase, those are apparent. What makes Keown the best is he’s every bit an observer as he is a writer.
Scott Ostler: This guy was/is a funny MF. Scott Ostler always “got it.” Never took anything too seriously, and yet was so tapped in he never had to tell you how tapped in he was. Ostler could poke fun at any big boy out there because he had already poked fun at the big boy face-to-face.
Bruce Jenkins: There are few people I enjoy talking sports with more than Bruce Jenkins. His perspective is incomparable and his personal, historical archive is unrivaled. He, like Ostler, spoke sports truth to to executives and Joe Fans, alike. Ostler made us laugh; Jenkins got us annoyed.
Ray Ratto: I’ve never seen a writer in my entire life prepare like Ratto. Relentless in his approach. As a writer, there was virtually nobody who could combine humor, insightfulness, saracasm and truth. Speaking of the truth; Ratto was always it.
More than happy to keep dialogue alive about other greats: Art Spander, Ron Bergman, Dave Newhouse, Andrew Baggarly, Ann Killion, Henry Schulman, Tim Kawakami, Ira Miller, Glenn Dickey, Lowell Cohn, Bud Geracie, Monte Poole, Carl Steward, Gary Peterson, Mike Silver etc., etc., etc.
Matt Steinmetz 