Best Ledes?

There is a difference between humor and being snarky. If a writer can toe both sides in a lede and make it compelling, it's good to me.

 

They mustn't use humor, but they must be given free license.

At my shop, if I tried:
"Inflation killed Vanderbilt on Saturday. As soon as the football was inflated, the Commodores were dead."
It would be axed.

Maybe it's not a coincidence that most if not all of these ledes were written ages ago, before professional sports (and sportswriters) were deified. I doubt that all of these ledes were written by columnists. But maybe sports editors allowed their tennis writer or college football guy to write something with style and panache and — Heaven help us! — a little opinion/observation.

 

I generally let creativity stand in featury stories when they make sense. I let his use of that literary device stand. When creativity is done skillfully and well, killing it is overediting IMO.

 

Jesus wept.

 

That is great. A million times better than, "The imperfect man pitched a perfect game.'' That Larsen one seems awfully obvious, kind of a first-thought-to-pop-into-the-head deal.

Oh, and the Povich lede on the Larsen game is a classic.

 

This is one of my favorites. Chris Snow of the Boston Globe, from October 20, 2005. Houston's Game 7 NLCS win and the last game ever in Busch Stadium.


ST. LOUIS -- She looked her best, the 39-year-old lady in red. She beamed for the flashbulbs that flickered throughout the evening. She took in the warm air, full of anticipation and excitement. She wanted one more night, one more dance. She wanted to be 39 forever.

But it wasn't to be for Busch Stadium last night, in her final night, before a wrecking ball takes to this home of the Cardinals opened in 1966. And, for the second consecutive season, Busch was, on its final night of the baseball season, but a bridesmaid at the grandest of receptions.

After Houston's 5-1 Game 6 win in the National League Championship Series was secured, Roy Oswalt's seven transcendent innings and MVP Award seared into the minds of the 52,438 at Busch, Jeff Bagwell crept up behind Roger Clemens in the Houston clubhouse and shoveled ice into the rear of Clemens's pants. ''I don't even feel that," said Clemens, 43, who nearly retired two seasons ago but came back for a night such as this. ''My nerves are gone.

 

Nothing.

 

Larry Larue in Tacoma once had a dandy on a feature story about Royals manager Tony Muser, who had been seriously injured when a clubhouse boiler exploded one spring training:

"Tony Muser always thought a major league clubhouse was the greatest place in the world to be until the day one of them tried to kill him."

 

Maybe not all, but Povich was not only a columnist, he was the boss, as in the SE. So he could write pretty much what he wanted. Not that that's a bad thing.

 

One of my favorite ledes ever, and it came from the AP.

"The NFL is trying to stop the spread of Ron Mexico."

Story about the NFL putting a stop to selling personalized Michael Vick jerseys after the scumbag QB was accused of passing an STD and doing it under the alias "Ron Mexico."

 

Yuck.

 

That might be the best lead I've ever read.