RIP William Nack

No story yet, but lots of journalists tweeting the iconic writer has died.

 

His Sports Illustrated story on Secretariat is one of the best I have ever read.

 

A giant.

 

Shit.

 

Veteran Writer William Nack Dies

 

I'd go so far as to simply say "the best." RIP.

 

Since reading it in the magazine, I probably read it every three years or so. Just a beautiful story.

 

I met him one spring in Vero Beach. Wonderful guy.
He was enthralled with the Disneyland atmosphere of Dodgertown -- the baseball street lights, the names of the streets, Koufax Lane, Robinson Drive; pool, tennis, golf, etc.
The players have to walk a couple of hundred yards from the clubhouse to the stadium, with fans having full access. The place was open for fans to trek to every practice field and interact with the players if they wanted.
He pitched the idea to the SI editors and got the OK. He charged around the place like a maniac, seeking out every detail of the facility. And that was for a feature for NEXT spring. He worked his ass off on a feature that wouldn't run for a year.
Fantastic person. RIP, sir.

 

I have read that more than any other sports story from any publication than I can think of.