It doesn't take too long to figure out that this edition of "The Year's Best Sports Writing 2024" - the annual series of anthologies on top sports writing - is going to be a little different than some of the predecessors.
Women have served as the yearly editor of this series (it's had some different publishers over the years) in the past, but Jane McManus has a somewhat different background than those in the past. She's done good work for a variety of publications, but also has some distinguished credits in the academic world. McManus has credits in the study of sports media at Seton Hall and Marist.
Then in the introduction, she comes out firing. McManus correctly points out that women's sports started to reach a turning point in terms of popularity in 2023 (when the book's articles were written). As we know now, that's a trend which if anything accelerated in 2024. I'm not going to suggest we've reached parity by any means, but the landscape is changing. As a result, McManus seems rather determined to make the point that good journalism is following that trend as well.
It's not surprising, then, that quite a few stories in this book deal with women's sports - probably more on a percentage basis than any other year in series history. For those who might be worried that the selection might not be quite up to the usual standards, well, it doesn't take long to dispel those thoughts. In fact, it takes one story, the first in the book. Sally Jenkins' story on Chris Evert and Martina Navratilova's relationship is called "Bitter Rivals. Beloved Friends. Survivors." I remember how good it was when it first appeared in The Washington Post. It's just as good now, destined to be a classic forever.
Some of the stories obviously fit in nicely with the theme. You might not recognize the name Jenni Hermoso, but you certainly remember that a Spanish soccer player was kissed by a Spanish official after that country won the Women's World Cup. There's a story on Livvy Dunne, a gymnast at LSU who figured out a way to become famous and wealthy through social media. Catlin Clark is the subject from her college days, just as she was becoming one of basketball's greatest gate attractions. The Rapinoe sisters have quite a story to tell.
There are also some stories in the book that only happen to be about women, because the story is universal. The Harvard women's hockey team had a coach whose behavior danced around the line of propriety, while a Boston long-distance running coach went well beyond that line.
There are plenty of other good stories here of all types. My personal favorite was a profile of baseball writer Peter Gammons, certainly on a short list of candidates for the title of best baseball writer ever. His complete story is quite compelling, as told by Tom Friend. There are good pieces on such subjects as Pele's funeral, Greg Oden's career after playing basketball, some Harvard football teammates from the past try to cope with the problems of one of their own, and the difficulty of a great Saint Joseph's basketball team from 20 years ago as it tried to cope with the problems of one of its own. There are also some unexpected delights, like a follow-up on a man who sank a half-court to win $1 million at a Bulls' game and the unexpectedly fascinating search for a brand of Barbie doll that's missing in action.
Reviewing a book like this always centers on the feelings toward a particular sport, and some of the less "traditional" activities receive coverage here too. It was tough for me to get through a few stories, including ones on surfing and climbing. Another one concerns one of the first women writers to work at Sports Illustrated. Virginia Kraft's professional story certainly is a good one, but the portions about hunting - her beat - left me skimming the text rather quickly. It's probably my loss.
Overall, "The Year's Best Sports Writing 2024" is another solid effort in a series that I've been reading for decades. If someone becomes a little more open-minded about women's sports in the process, all the better.
Four stars
Learn more about this book from Amazon.com.
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