THE FASTEST KID ON THE BLOCK

The legendary athlete and broadcasting pioneer recounts with great emotion the triumphs and setbacks of nearly seven decades in the sporting world. As the title of this engaging memoir suggests, Glickman discovered at an early age that he could indeed run faster than the other children in his neighborhood. And then, more sadly, he discovered that ability alone would not always be enough. This was made painfully evident when Glickman and Sam Stoller, the only Jews on the 1936 American Olympic track and field team, were dropped at the last minute by team coaches and officials (most notably Avery Brundage, head of the US Olympic Committee and an acknowledged Nazi sympathizer) from the 400-meter relay. The games were held that year in Berlin. Putting aside his anger, Glickman went on to become a world-class runner and an All-American football player at Syracuse University; his gridiron fame eventually led him to a career in broadcasting. Glickman has covered almost everything, from pro wrestling to hockey, football, baseball, and basketball. With the same spare, candid style that he exhibited in the press box, Glickman discusses the freewheeling heyday of radio sports broadcasting; the early days of TV broadcasting; and the rise to primacy of sports on the American cultural landscape. He also shares with readers a wealth of tales about such sports and broadcasting immortals as Wilt Chamberlain, Joe Namath, Howard Cosell (whom Glickman criticizes for always having ``made himself more important than the event''), and Roone Arledge. While not shy about touting his own accomplishments (particularly his role in the growth of HBO, where he served as the first sports director), Glickman does not gloss over his mistakes, such as his slowness to acknowledge that college basketball in the late 1940s and early 1950s was badly tainted by gambling. A frank, fascinating memoir by a remarkable reporter. (47 illustrations, not seen)