Grantland Rice facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Grantland Rice
Grantland Rice on tel/mic, c. 1920. Source: World Telegram & Sun photo by Paul Thompson
Born	Henry Grantland Rice (1880-11-01)November 1, 1880 Murfreesboro, Tennessee, U.S.
Died	July 13, 1954(1954-07-13) (aged 73) New York City, U.S.
Occupation	Sportswriter
Alma mater	Vanderbilt University
Spouse	Fannie Katherine Hollis
Children	Florence Rice

Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (November 1, 1880 – July 13, 1954) was a famous American sportswriter from the early 1900s. He was known for his elegant and inspiring writing style. His articles appeared in newspapers across the country and were even broadcast on the radio.

Early Life and College Years

Grantland Rice was born in Murfreesboro, Tennessee. His father, Bolling Hendon Rice, was a cotton dealer.

A young Rice at Vanderbilt

Rice went to Montgomery Bell Academy and then Vanderbilt University in Nashville, Tennessee. At Vanderbilt, he was a talented athlete. He played on the football team for three years and was a shortstop on the baseball team. He also joined the Phi Delta Theta fraternity. In 1901, he graduated with a degree in classics.

Becoming a Sportswriter

Grantland Rice's Sportlights ad from 1924-1925

In 1907, Rice saw a football game between Sewanee and Vanderbilt. He later called a play from this game the most exciting moment he ever witnessed in sports. A Vanderbilt player named Stein Stone made an amazing catch, which led to a touchdown that won the championship.

Rice also became very interested in golf around 1909. He started covering golf events, and the sport quickly became a big part of his writing.

Starting His Career

Rice began his career working for newspapers like the Atlanta Journal and the Cleveland News. Later, he became a sportswriter for Nashville Tennessean.

He then moved on to bigger newspapers in the northeastern United States. In 1914, he started his famous "Sportlight" column in the New York Tribune. From 1925 to 1954, he also created "Grantland Rice Sportlights" for Paramount newsreels, which were short sports films shown in movie theaters.

Famous Contributions

Cartoon by Grantland Rice and Jay Norwood "Ding" Darling in the New York Tribune, 1919

Grantland Rice is well-known for two major things:

• He took over from Walter Camp in 1925 to select the annual College Football All-America Teams. These teams honored the best college football players each year.
• He gave the famous backfield of the 1924 Notre Dame Fighting Irish football team its legendary nickname: the "Four Horsemen" of Notre Dame. This name made the team even more famous.

Rice's writing often had an "inspirational" or "heroic" style. He made sports games seem like epic battles and the athletes like heroes.

Grantland Rice Sportlights ad in Motion Picture News, 1926

His columns became nationally syndicated starting in 1930, meaning they were published in many newspapers across the country. This made him known as the "Dean of American Sports Writers." His writing helped make the 1920s in the United States known as the "Golden Age of Sports."

Rice believed in helping others. Before serving in World War I, he trusted a friend with a large sum of money. When the friend later faced difficulties, Rice continued to support the friend's widow for the rest of his life.

Making Sports Heroes

Author Mark Inabinett wrote that Rice purposely tried to make heroes out of sports figures he admired. These included famous athletes like Jack Dempsey, Babe Ruth, Bobby Jones, Bill Tilden, Red Grange, Babe Didrikson, and Knute Rockne.

Rice also wrote a book of poetry called Songs of the Stalwart, published in 1917.

Personal Life

The grave of Grantland Rice in Woodlawn Cemetery

Grantland Rice married Fannie Katherine Hollis on April 11, 1906. They had one daughter, Florence Rice, who became an actress.

Rice passed away on July 13, 1954, at the age of 73, after having a stroke. He is buried at Woodlawn Cemetery in the Bronx, New York City.

Legacy and Honors

Grantland Rice left a lasting impact on sports journalism.

• In 1951, a scholarship called the Grantland Rice Fellowship in Journalism was created in his honor.
• In 1954, the Football Writers Association of America started the Grantland Rice Trophy. This award was given to the top college football team each year until 2013.
• The Grantland Rice Bowl, a college football bowl game played from 1964 to 1977, was also named after him.
• In 1966, he was given the J. G. Taylor Spink Award by the Baseball Writers' Association of America. This award recognizes great contributions to baseball writing.

At Vanderbilt University, a scholarship named for Rice and his colleague Fred Russell is given each year to a student interested in sportswriting. The press box at Vanderbilt Stadium is also named after Fred Russell, Rice's protégé.

Grantland Rice has been remembered in popular culture as well. He was mentioned in an I Love Lucy episode and was played by actor Lane Smith in the movie The Legend of Bagger Vance. In 2011, ESPN launched a sports website called Grantland, named to honor his legacy.