Tuesday, September 03, 2019

Wait Till Next Year by William Goldman and Mike Lupica

My book for August was Wait Till Next Year: The Story of a Season When What Should've Happened Didn't, and What Could've Gone Wrong Did by William Goldman and Mike Lupica. This was one of the books mentioned on The Sports Repodders Podcast in March.

William Goldman was an American novelist, playwright, and screenwriter. He first came to prominence in the 1950s as a novelist before turning to screenwriting. He won Academy Awards for his screenplays Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969) and All the President's Men (1976). His other works include his thriller novel Marathon Man and comedy/fantasy novel The Princess Bride, both of which he adapted for the film versions.

The book follows the year 1987 from the perspective of a New York Sports fan. It looks at the seasons of the Mets, Yankees, Knicks, Nets, Gaints and Jets with a little bit of Columbia University football thrown in. In 1986, the Mets had won the World Series beating the Red Sox, while the Giants had won their first Super Bowl against the Broncos in early 1987. The 1987 NFL season included a strike and the use of replacement players.

Darryl Strawberry and Dwight Gooden feature prominently in stories. Golden was suspended for drug use at the beginning of the 1987 season. I saw a depressing documentary about Strawberry and Gooden several years ago.

I was luke warm about the book while I was reading it. Sitting and thinking about the book to write this, I appreciate it more than I thought.

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