Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour (final chapter)

If you grew up in New Jersey, Jerry Izenberg is a legend.
If you've been in this business long enough on the East Coast, you've learned that Jerry also is a great guy.
He is one of only 3 remaining writers to cover every Super Bowl and will slip into semi-retirement after SB XLI in February.
He's doing an eight-part retrospective of his 55 years in the business on consecutive Sunday's in The Star-Ledger. Here are Parts 1 and 2 (or episodes 1 and 2 as he calls them). Some very fine stuff.

http://www.nj.com/sports/ledger/izenberg/

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

Impressive stuff. I liked this quote in particular:

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

Truth is, Dools, I learned more from Jerry than he could ever learn from me.

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

If I may, I echo spnited's thoughts on the Izenberg series. Having worked with Jerry for a number of years, I didn't know what to think when I heard he was going to do the series. I figured I didn't have to read it because I knew most of the stories, having heard them from the horse's mouth, so to speak. But I was wrong. He has even more stories to tell than I imagined and I have enoyed every word of it. Jerry is a vast font of knowledge that anybody in the business -- young or old -- can learn from.

Thanks for listening.

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

Wow...Part I was extremely heartwarming. I know Izenberg's slowed down a bit, but he still has a great fastball.

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

Jerry was one of the old guys when I was a young guy who took the time. God bless him.

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

To read Jerry is to know what sportswriting can be. To know Jerry is to know what a man can be. I love who he is and I love what he does.

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

Thanks for the lin, spnited. Great reads, both of them.

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

jerry has always been a class act. a great storyteller who has never, to my knowledge, big-timed anyone. he's the king of jersey, deservedly so. i'm privileged to count him as a friend.8) 8) 8)

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

When I was a freshman in college, I had the audacity to want to interview him for the Pride Bowl, which he helped start. What followed wasn't an interview, it was a lecture on how to be a sports reporter and using some ethics in the job. It was my first, and best, lesson.

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour


I read him every day, especially when I was a junior and senior in high school.\

Maybe I should have been reading my textbooks, but there's no way I would have learned as much or had as much fun.

 

Re: Jerry Izenberg's farewell tour

Mr Nited,

I've been a JI fan for a long time. I have How many miles to Camelot? ... back in the early 70s it was a good anti-sports-establishment read. I'm going to pick up his anthology. My regret: I spied him at a Gatti fight I was working and didn't introduce myself. That said, he never did answer my email afterward.

Sigh, etc