A look at John Updike’s wonderful 1960 essay about Ted Williams final game, “Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu.”
It’s not too much to say that “Hub Fans” changed sportswriting. Affectionately mocking the tradition of sports clichés (as in the title, which didn’t actually appear in any of Boston’s seven dailies at the time, but easily could have), the essay demonstrated that you could write about baseball, of all things, in a way that was personal, intelligent, even lyrical. Updike compares Williams to Achilles, to a Calder mobile, to Donatello’s David, standing on third base as if the bag were the head of Goliath.
Both the article and Updike’s wonderful piece are well-worth your time.
Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu, John Updike (1960)
Update: I read Updike again (I have read it more than once before.). It really is magnificent.