A Century of Harper's at the Ballgame

Criticism has long been lobbed at sportswriting: that it is serious writing's unserious cousin, slightly boorish, perhaps with an overbite or some kind of walking impediment—that it often appears next to the crossword and the weather report for a reason. Yet the sportswriting that has appeared in the estimable Harper's Magazine—nearly three dozen pieces of which are collected now in a new anthology called Rules of the Game: The Best Sports Writing from Harper's Magazine—has always made the case that sports need not be relegated to the journalistic kids' table.