Thomas Boswell | |
---|---|
Born | Washington, D.C., U.S. | October 11, 1947
Occupation | Sportswriter, Author |
Alma mater | Amherst College (B.A.) |
Spouse | Wendy Boswell |
Children | 1 |
Thomas M. Boswell (born October 11, 1947) is a retired American sports columnist who spent his whole career with The Washington Post .
Born in Washington, D.C., he attended St. Stephen's School in Alexandria, Virginia and graduated from Amherst College in 1969, with a degree in English literature. [1]
Boswell spent his entire career at The Washington Post , joining it shortly after graduating college. He became a columnist in 1984. In addition to the Post, he has written for Esquire , GQ , Playboy and Inside Sports . He also makes frequent television appearances. [2]
Writing primarily about baseball, he is credited with inventing the total average statistic. [3]
In 1994, he appeared several times in the Ken Burns series Baseball , sharing insightful commentary into the history of America's national pastime; he appeared again in "The Tenth Inning," Burns' 2010 extension of the series.
On October 19, 2020, Boswell announced in his column that he would not be covering the World Series for the first time since 1975. The 72-year-old Boswell cited health concerns related to the COVID-19 pandemic, saying that it was too risky for someone at his age to make the trip. Boswell pointed out in his column that at the time, the 1975 World Series was considered the greatest World Series ever played, largely due to the dramatic game six that ended with Carlton Fisk’s historic home run. The drama of the series convinced him to remain a journalist with the Post and, in his column, he speculates “Where would I be today if Fisk's ball had gone foul?” [4]
Boswell's column compelled the Boston Globe’s Dan Shaughnessy to also write a column about missing the World Series for the first time in his career. Like Boswell, his column listed some of the greatest moments he had experienced covering the games. [5]
On May 7, 2021, Boswell announced that he would be retiring at the end of June 2021 in a column in The Washington Post. [6] A number of his colleagues paid tribute to him, including former Post sports editor George Solomon, former Post chairman and publisher Donald E. Graham, and fellow sportswriters Dan Shaughnessy, Tim Kurkjian, Jeff Passan, Christine Brennan, and Ken Rosenthal. [7]
In 2018, Boswell was inducted into the National Sports Media Association's Hall of Fame. Previously, he had been inducted into the Washington DC Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame and the Washington, DC Sports Hall of Fame, one of only seven sports writers among the 140 members, who include Walter Johnson, Red Auerbach, Bones McKinney, and National Sports Media Association Hall of Famers Shirley Povich and Bob Wolff. [8]
Boswell lives in Crownsville, Maryland, with his wife Wendy. They have one child together, a son named Russell. [1]
Carlton Ernest Fisk, nicknamed "Pudge" and "the Commander", is an American former professional baseball catcher who played 24 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for the Boston Red Sox and the Chicago White Sox. In 1972, he was the first player to be unanimously voted American League (AL) Rookie of the Year. Fisk is best known for his game-winning home run in the 12th inning of Game 6 of the 1975 World Series, during which he memorably waved his arms hoping for the batted ball to remain fair.
The Baseball Writers' Association of America (BBWAA) is a professional association for journalists writing about Major League Baseball for daily newspapers, magazines, and qualifying websites. The organization was founded in 1908 and is known for its annual awards and voting on membership in the Baseball Hall of Fame.
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Carlton Fisk's 1975 World Series home run was a baseball play that occurred in Game 6 of the 1975 World Series on October 21, 1975, at Fenway Park in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Red Sox defeated the Cincinnati Reds, 7–6, forcing a deciding seventh game, when Carlton Fisk hit a home run in the 12th inning home run to cap off what many consider to be the best World Series game ever played.