Bob Fox Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 When it comes to authors who write about sports and the star athletes who play in those sports, there was no one better than the late, great **** Schaap. Schaap wrote autobiographical books about stars like Hank Aaron, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Tom Seaver, Bo Jackson and Mickey Mantle. Schaap also wrote that same type book about Jerry Kramer, called Instant Replay. More about that book a bit later. The Brooklyn native also wrote books about golfing events like the Masters and the U.S. Open. It wasn’t just sports that Schaap wrote about either, as he wrote about Robert Kennedy in his 1967 book called RFK, plus he also wrote about the Son of Sam, along with Jimmy Breslin, in a book called .44 Caliber. Schaap also wrote about comedian/actor Billy Crystal in the 1986 book called Absolutely Mahvelous. Schaap was a well-rounded author who also excelled on TV, as he hosted The Sports Reporters on ESPN for several years, plus had a show called Schaap One on One on ESPN Classic. Schaap also had a show on ESPN radio called The Sporting Life with **** Schaap. In that show, Schaap discussed the sports stories of the week with his son Jeremy. Sadly, Schaap died in 2001 at the young age of 67 due to complications from hip replacement surgery. In 1961, Schaap wrote another book called, Paul Hornung: Pro Football’s Golden Boy. Schaap spent a number of weeks covering the Packers that season, which also turned out to be the year the Packers won their first NFL championship under head coach Vince Lombardi. That was also the first time Schaap got to know Kramer. Schaap was walking through the dorm of the Packers at St. Norbert that training camp. As he passed by the room shared by Kramer and fullback Jim Taylor, he heard Kramer reciting poetry to Taylor. Schaap found that situation somewhat unusual, so he stopped for a few seconds to listen to the poetry. I had a chance to talk with Kramer this week about his great relationship with Schaap, which basically blossomed due to that encounter and he recalled the poetry he was reading to Taylor. “I was reading some work by Robert Service,” Kramer said. “Things like Spell of the Yukon and Dangerous Dan McGrew.” That episode stuck in the mind of Schaap and in 1966, he asked Kramer about doing a book together. To read the rest of the story, please go to: https://greenbaybobfox.wordpress.com/2018/04/22/jerry-kramer-talks-about-****-schaap/ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChaRisMa Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Is that pronounced dik shop? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 I read this as he talks **** about Schaap. Had visions of when Bobby Fischer went off on Jeremy. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tredpack Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 12 minutes ago, NormSizedMidget said: I read this as he talks **** about Schaap. Had visions of when Bobby Fischer went off on Jeremy. Was that a 30 for 30? Either way, that was a great watch. Schaaps always seemed like genuine good guys. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Norm Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 17 minutes ago, tredpack said: Was that a 30 for 30? Either way, that was a great watch. Schaaps always seemed like genuine good guys. Not a clue. Could have been. Not exactly sure why I know about it but that would make sense. And yeah agreed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Packer_ESP Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 6 hours ago, Bob Fox said: Schaap wrote autobiographical books about stars like Hank Aaron, Joe Montana, Joe Namath, Tom Seaver, Bo Jackson and Mickey Mantle. How does one write autobiographical books about somebody else? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reaper Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 Nice read; I imagine for established players who get new coaches who do things differently than they are used to, it is a tough adjustment especially if its not working. Definition of insanity blah blah blah. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pugger Posted April 23, 2018 Share Posted April 23, 2018 I had to giggle when I saw Schaap's first name bleeped out. Seriously?? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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