Frank deford born december 16, 1938, in baltimore, maryland is a senior contributing writer for sports illustrated, author, and commentator. Whether frank deford is the voice you hear on national public radios morning edition or the name you see in the newsweek byline, you are sure to be highly entertained with the irreverent musings of this muchacclaimed sports mind. Dear frank, i would like to add my congratulations on the occasion of the 400th performance of casey at the bat. The best of frank deford relates not only the specific and the spectacular events that make up great sports writing, but reflects through sports the larger world of american culture. Frank deford wrote with sincerity, giving depth to. Getty images legendary sportswriter frank deford has died at the age of 78. His legendary confidence, honed by his mother since childhood, was in freefall. Frank deford sports illustrated apr 1984 1 h permalink. What a wonderful combination of symphonic writing, big band, synthesizer and narration. Nprs late frank deford reading casey at the bat wkgc. May 3, 2017 frank deford bids farewell to the ringling brothers circus and has some further thoughts on taking a final bow.
When the team is losing, the fans react silently by thinking, if only casey could but get a whack at that wed put up even money now, with casey at the bat. A ballad of the republic sung in the year 1888 is a baseball poem written in 1888 by ernest thayer. A humorous and colorful account of the fateful day that casey stepped up to bat. Wrote the novel everybodys allamerican in 1981, which was adapted into film starring dennis quaid before fame. Casey lines 78 casey symbolizes hope and success for the town of mudville. This is a grand collection of his most vivid caricatures, colorful anecdotes, and outofleftfield observations on the often humbling and humorous nature of sport. Deford possesses a witty and poignant take on the world of athletics that has earned him a wealth of fans, from the most ardent sports. The poem has also influenced a number of fiction writers as well, from frank defords comic documentary, casey on the loose 1989, to bernard malamuds serious novel the. From 1980 until his death in 2017, he was a regular sports.
There was pride in caseys bearing and a smile on caseys face. A ballad of the republic sung in the year 1888 is a baseball poem written in. In 20 frank was presented the national humanities medal by president obama. His work has appeared in virtually every medium, including print, where he has written eloquently for sports illustrated since 1962. He exported his voice to radio, tv and film, and if you didnt know him you might have thought he. We are happy to present this presentation of the classic baseball poem casey at the bat read to you by the one and only frank deford. Few american poems have survived as long in the popular imagination as casey at the bat. An orchestral adaptation by composer frank proto has been recorded by the cincinnati pops. Frank deford puts aside his gripes this week to pay tribute to the poem by ernest lawrence thayer, first. Raised by women to conquer men a profile of jimmy connors on the eve of the 1978 u. All structured data from the file and property namespaces is available under the creative commons cc0 license. Casey at the bat ernest thayer 1888 hear the poem duration.
See more ideas about casey at the bat, baseball cards and baseball. Casey at the bat frank deford puts aside his gripes this week to pay tribute to the poem by ernest lawrence thayer, first published in the san francisco examiner 125 years ago. There was ease in caseys manner as he stepped into his place. Frank deford practically invented the notion of multimedia. He would go on to spend another 33 years as a commentator on morning edition.
Although thayer wrote many other ballads besides casey at the bat. After we have read casey at the bat, we will discuss as a class the sequence of events as a class, referring back to the text frequently. A novel by frank deford and a great selection of related books, art and collectibles available now at. Caseys altercation with the drunk and overweight champion is the next event in this cleverly extended whatif, tracing fictitious events that lead up to the actual atbat immortalized by the thayer poem. Second, it reiterates the fact that casey is at the batcasey, the potential savior of the team, the man to depend on. The library of congress lists online 39 casey at the bat titles in their collection. Frank deford passed away today, at the age of 78 years old. Frank deford was born on december 16, 1938 in baltimore, maryland, usa as benjamin franklin deford iii. Walt disneys casey at the bat, 1946 is the cartoon version of baseballs most enduring poem, casey at the bat by ernest l. And when, responding to the cheers, he lightly doffed his hat, no stranger in the crowd could doubt twas casey at the bat. Click to view or download a pdf sample of the music.
Casey at the bat frank deford puts aside his gripes this week to pay tribute to the poem by ernest lawrence thayer, first published. Thayers casey at the bat is the most famous sports poem ever written. See more ideas about casey at the bat, baseball poems and narrative poetry. Frank deford was awarded a national humanities medal by president obama in 20. Casey at the bat by ernest lawrence thayer poetry foundation. New york frank deford, who mined the sports world for human stories and told them with literary grace over six decades in sports illustrated, a shelf of books, and many years of radio and. Deford writes lovingly of a time long past and his setup of the famous atbat is nicely conceived.
Benjamin franklin deford iii december 16, 1938 may 28, 2017 was an american sportswriter and novelist. Hes 64, trim, wears silk ties, french cuffs, and natty sports coats. Frank deford puts aside his gripes this week to pay tribute to the poem by ernest lawrence thayer, first published in the san francisco. The outlook wasnt brilliant for the mudville nine that day. The score stood four to two, with but one inning more to play, and then when cooney died at first, and barrows did the same, a palllike silence fell upon the patrons of the game. Files are available under licenses specified on their description page. He wrote more than a dozen books and in 20 he was the first sportswriter to receive a national humanities medal. Legendary sports writer frank deford, who spent five decades as perhaps the defining voice of sports illustrated during the magazines peak, died sunday in. Casey at the bat by ernest lawrence thayer read by tom. A nostalgic poem that has stood the test of time, its typically studied by elementary school students in grades 45. An american summer, the latest novel by awardwinning sportswriter and journalist frank deford, is set in the baltimore of 1954. Casey at the bat by ernest lawrence thayer poetry analysis poem task cards. In 1988, on the 100th anniversary of the poem, sports illustrated writer frank deford.
By the end of the civil war, baseball cemented itself as the national game. Frank deford knows what really happened in casey at the bat. Frank deford puts aside his gripes this week to pay tribute to the poem by ernest lawrence thayer, first published in the san francisco examiner 125 years ago june 3. This page was last edited on 16 february 2019, at 03. Congratulations to frank deford, gil eisner and abe seltzer. On the 100th anniversary of casey at the bat, frank deford imagined what really might have happened in the days before and. Frank deford is among the most versatile of american writers.
Casey at the bat became the source of numerous verse parodies and sequels, many of which are documented in martin gardners the annotated casey at the bat 1967. First published in the san francisco examiner then called the daily examiner on june 3, 1888, it was later popularized by dewolf hopper in many vaudeville performances. It is not known if the poem refers to a real casey or a real mudville. Frank deford, often considered the finest sportswriter of his generation for his detailed psychological profiles of athletes and coaches, who also won acclaim for his novels, his television and. On the 100th anniversary of casey at the bat, frank deford imagined what really might have happened in the days before. This makes it all the more ironic when casey strikes out and loses the game. Casey at the bat is considered the most famous baseball poem ever written. Next, in partners, the students will work together to create a good summary of events that took place in casey at the bat, using.
Frank protos 1973 musical setting of casey at the bat captures both the fun and the. The legendary sportswriter spent more than 50 years as a contributing writer for sports illustrated. Frank deford released the novel, casey on the loose, what really might have happened in. On the 100th anniversary of casey at the bat, frank deford imagined what really might have happened in the days before and after ernest l. Casey at the bat has been my favorite poem ever since my sixthgrade teacher, mayme housh of neligh, neb. Timothy casey is a brilliant young ballist as they were called back in 1888 whose extraordinary hitting has galvanized the town of mudville. He graduated from princeton in 1962 and then picked up a brief job with sports illustrated as a researcher. Deford everybodys allamerican uses ernest thayers classic poem casey at the bat to create a whimsical tale blending fact, fiction and fantasy. See more ideas about casey at the bat, make mine music and book prompts. How did the crowd respond to casey coming up to bat. It has become one of the bestknown poems in american literature. Prominent sportswriters from grantland rice to frank deford have. The first one in the collection is frank defords 1988 story spun off of.
Clarence mcdonald published casey twenty years later, in the san francisco examiner, in which casey hit a gamewinning homer for bugville. Casey at the bat and casey 20 years later casey s full life story recited bob muldoon duration. Thayer casey at the bat frank deford the rubes waterloo zane grey alibi ike ring lardner three new twins join club in spring garrison keillor goodwood comes back robert penn warren the rookie eliot asinof the crab gerald beaumont you could look it up james g. On june 3, 1888, under the pen name of phin, ernest l. Deford has been writing for sports illustrated since the early 1960s. Frank deford was the first sportswriter to win that honor.
43 498 479 1060 530 1490 1407 1244 185 1046 1196 1166 891 115 269 71 780 398 713 261 121 779 733 382 598 1424 515 612 131 663 1390 1090 352 804 1270 645 1228