Celebrated sports journalist Robert Lipsyte—the New York Times’ longtime lead sports columnist—mines pure gold from his long and very eventful career to bring readers a memoir like no other. An enthralling book, as much about personal relationships and the culture of sports as the athletes and teams themselves, An Accidental Sportswriter interweaves stories from Lipsyte’s life and the events he covered to explore the connections between the games we play and the lives we lead. Robert Lipsyte has been there—from the Mets’ first Spring Training to the fight that made Muhammad Ali an international icon to the current steroids scandals that rewired our view of sports—and in An Accidental Sportswriter he offers a fresh and refreshing view of the world of professional athletes as seen through the eyes of a journalist who always managed to remain independent of our jock-obsessed culture. But what happens when the reporter becomes part of the story? Journalism Memoir: Lipsyte shares the inside story of his half-century at the New York Times, from nervous copyboy to influential columnist, navigating a world of deadlines, heroes, and bullies. Muhammad Ali: Go ringside for a complex, fifty-year relationship with "The Greatest," witnessing his rise, his exile, and his transformation into an international icon. Icons and Anti-Heroes: Features candid encounters with sports legends like the swaggering Howard Cosell, the troubled Mickey Mantle, and the revolutionary Billie Jean King. Civil Rights in Sports: Explore the intersection of sports and social justice, from Dick Gregory’s activism to the rise of the Athletic Revolution and the fight for equality on and off the field.