W. W. Norton

Scroll to Info & Navigation

Fueled by righteous—some would say self-righteous—outrage at the injustices he deemed endemic in sports and society, Cosell provided a voice for the underdog in an age of protest and tumult. Whether it was the evils he saw in baseball’s Reserve Clause, the dearth of African-Americans in coaching and managerial positions, the unconstitutional treatment of Muhammad Ali, or the monopolistic policies of the NFL in its war with the rival USFL—he could be found on his soapbox “telling it like it is.

From Don Ohlmeyer’s review of Mark Ribowsky’s HOWARD COSELL: The Man, The Myth, and Transformation of American Sports