Thomas M. Boswell (born October 11, 1947, in

Washington, D.C. ) , image_skyline = , image_caption = Clockwise from top left: the Washington Monument and Lincoln Memorial on the National Mall, United States Capitol, Logan Circle, Jefferson Memorial, White House, Adams Morgan, ...

) is a retired American sports columnist.

Career

Boswell spent his entire career at the ''

Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'', joining it shortly after graduating from

Amherst College Amherst College ( ) is a private liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. Founded in 1821 as an attempt to relocate Williams College by its then-president Zephaniah Swift Moore, Amherst is the third oldest institution of higher educatio ...

in 1969. He became a ''Post'' columnist in 1984. Writing primarily about

baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

, he is credited with inventing the

total average Total average is a baseball statistic devised by sportswriter Thomas Boswell and introduced in the 1978. It was also described in his 1982 article "Welcome to the world of Total Average where a walk is as good as a hit". It is designed to measure ...

statistic. In 1994, he appeared several times in the

Ken Burns Kenneth Lauren Burns (born July 29, 1953) is an American filmmaker known for his documentary film, documentary films and television series, many of which chronicle United States, American History of the United States, history and Culture of the ...

series ''

Baseball Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...

'', sharing insightful commentary into the history of America's national pastime; he appeared again in "The Tenth Inning," Burns' 2010 extension of the series. In addition to the ''Post'', he has written for ''

Esquire Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentlema ...

'', '' GQ'', ''

Playboy ''Playboy'' is an American men's lifestyle and entertainment magazine, formerly in print and currently online. It was founded in Chicago in 1953, by Hugh Hefner and his associates, and funded in part by a $1,000 loan from Hefner's mother. K ...

'' and ''

Inside Sports ''Inside Sports'' magazine was a major general interest sports magazine in the United States. Launched in 1979 by Newsweek, it was designed as an edgier, monthly alternative to the longer-running ''Sports Illustrated'' and '' SPORT Magazine'' bra ...

''. He also makes frequent television appearances. On October 19, 2020, Boswell announced in his ''Washington Post'' column that he would not be covering the

World Series The World Series is the annual championship series of Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada, contested since 1903 between the champion teams of the American League (AL) and the National League (NL). The winner of the World ...

for the first time since 1975. The 72-year-old Boswell cited health concerns related to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identif ...

, saying that it was too risky for someone at his age to make the trip. Boswell pointed out in his column that at the time, the

1975 World Series The 1975 World Series was the championship series of Major League Baseball's (MLB) 1975 season. The 72nd edition of the World Series, it was a best-of-seven playoff played between the American League (AL) champion Boston Red Sox and the Natio ...

was considered the greatest World Series ever played, largely due to the dramatic game six that ended with

Carlton Fisk Carlton Ernest Fisk (born December 26, 1947), nicknamed "Pudge" and "The Commander", is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball as a catcher from 1969 to 1993 for the Boston Red Sox (1969, 1971–1980) a ...

’s historic home run. The drama of the series convinced him to remain a journalist with the ''Post'' and, in his column, he speculates “Where would I be today if Fisk’s ball had gone foul?” Boswell's column compelled the ''

Boston Globe ''The Boston Globe'' is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes, and has a total circulation of close to 300,000 print and digital subscribers. ''The Boston Glob ...

’s''

Dan Shaughnessy Dan Shaughnessy (born July 20, 1953) is an American sports writer. He has covered the Boston Red Sox for ''The Boston Globe'' since 1981. In 2016, he was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Hall of Fame. Shaughnessy is often refe ...

to also write a column about missing the World Series for the first time in his career. Like Boswell, his column listed some of the greatest moments he had experienced covering the games. On May 7, 2021, Boswell announced that he would be retiring at the end of June 2021 in a column in ''The Washington Post''.

Awards

In 2018, Boswell was inducted into the

National Sports Media Association The National Sports Media Association (NSMA), formerly the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, is an organization of sports media members in the United States, and constitutes the American chapter of the International Sports P ...

's Hall of Fame. Previously, he had been inducted into the Washington DC Professional Chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists Hall of Fame and the Washington, DC Sports Hall of Fame, one of only seven sports writers among the 140 members, who include

Walter Johnson Walter Perry Johnson (November 6, 1887 – December 10, 1946), nicknamed "Barney" and "The Big Train", was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year baseball career in Major League Baseball as a right-ha ...

Red Auerbach Arnold Jacob "Red" Auerbach (September 20, 1917 – October 28, 2006) was an American professional basketball coach and executive. He served as a head coach in the National Basketball Association (NBA), most notably with the Boston Celtics. ...

Bones McKinney Horace Albert "Bones" McKinney (January 1, 1919 – May 16, 1997) was an American professional basketball player and coach. A 6'6" small forward who played at both North Carolina State University (2 seasons) and the University of North Carolina (1 ...

, and National Sports Media Association Hall of Famers

Shirley Povich Shirley Lewis Povich (July 15, 1905 – June 4, 1998) was an American sports columnist and reporter for '' The Washington Post''. Biography Povich's parents were Jewish immigrants from Lithuania. Having grown up in coastal Bar Harbor, Main ...

and

Bob Wolff Robert Alfred Wolff (November 29, 1920 – July 15, 2017) was an American radio and television sportscaster. He began his professional career in 1939 on CBS in Durham, North Carolina while attending Duke University. He was the radio and TV vo ...

Books

* ''How Life Imitates the World Series'' (1982) * ''Why Time Begins on Opening Day'' (1984) * ''Strokes of Genius'' (1987) * ''The Heart of the Order'' (1989) * ''Game Day: Sports Writings 1970–1990'' (1990) * ''Cracking the Show'' (1994) * ''Diamond Dreams'' (with

Walter Iooss Walter Iooss Jr. ( ; born September 15, 1943) is an American photographer noted for his images of athletes, including Michael Jordan, Kelly Slater, Tiger Woods, Scottie Pippen, and Muhammad Ali. He has been called "the poet laureate of sports." ...

) (1996)

References

External links

Boswell's columns at The Washington Post
* {{DEFAULTSORT:Boswell, Thomas 1947 births Living people Amherst College alumni American sportswriters American columnists Baseball writers The Washington Post journalists Journalists from Washington, D.C.