Overview

Marty Glickman, the incomparable sportscaster and Olympian athlete, writes of his five decades in sports. And what a career it was! At the heart of his autobiography is the notorious incident at the 1936 ""Nazi Olympics"" in Berlin. Glickman and Sam Stoller, the only Jews on the American track and field team, were dropped from the 400-meter relay team. More than any other event that would shape his life, this would be a defining moment for Glickman, one that would propel him into one of the richest and longest career in sports broadcasting history. In The Fastest Kid on the Block, Glickman recounts his beginnings as an athlete in Brooklyn and his early years at Syracuse University. After his devastating experience at the Olympics, he began his broadcasting career. As one of the best-known voices of New York City sports, he announced many of the most exciting games in sports history, including baseball, hockey, football, wrestling, and basketball. Glickman was actively involved with, and now brings to life, the most influential teams and personalities in the sports world, including the New York Knicks, the New York Giants, Red Auerbach, Joe Namath, Wilt Chamberlain, Bill Bradley, Bud Collins, and Mike Emrick, to name just a few. This spirited autobiography concludes with Glickman's trenchant observations about his fellow sports broadcasters, the present-day Olympics, and his own tips on how to break into the competitive, wonderful world of sports broadcasting.

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9780815603931

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Reviews

Decades ago Jack Kerouac described Marty Perfectly: 'Absolutely the greatest.' No argument here.--Bob Costas, NBC Sports

The legendary athlete and broadcasting pioneer recounts with great emotion the triumphs and setbacks of nearly seven decades in the sporting world. As the title of this engaging memoir suggests, Glickman discovered at an early age that he could indeed run faster than the other children in his neighborhood. And then, more sadly, he discovered that ability alone would not always be enough. This was made painfully evident when Glickman and Sam Stoller, the only Jews on the 1936 American Olympic track and field team, were dropped at the last minute by team coaches and officials (most notably Avery Brundage, head of the US Olympic Committee and an acknowledged Nazi sympathizer) from the 400-meter relay. The games were held that year in Berlin. Putting aside his anger, Glickman went on to become a world-class runner and an All-American football player at Syracuse University; his gridiron fame eventually led him to a career in broadcasting. Glickman has covered almost everything, from pro wrestling to hockey, football, baseball, and basketball. With the same spare, candid style that he exhibited in the press box, Glickman discusses the freewheeling heyday of radio sports broadcasting; the early days of TV broadcasting; and the rise to primacy of sports on the American cultural landscape. He also shares with readers a wealth of tales about such sports and broadcasting immortals as Wilt Chamberlain, Joe Namath, Howard Cosell (whom Glickman criticizes for always having made himself more important than the event ), and Roone Arledge. While not shy about touting his own accomplishments (particularly his role in the growth of HBO, where he served as the first sports director), Glickman does not gloss over his mistakes, such as his slowness to acknowledge that college basketball in the late 1940s and early 1950s was badly tainted by gambling. A frank, fascinating memoir by a remarkable reporter. (Kirkus Reviews)

Author Information

Marty Glickman,"" Voice of the New York Knick,"" was a standout collegiate football players and sprinter who earned a place on the 1936 Olympic track and field team and was elected to the basketball, the Sportscasters, and the New York Sports Halls of Frame.

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