SoJ Web Report | Oct. 27, 2011
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| Photo by Ron Angsiy |
| Sportswriter Bob Hammel, left, visited J261 Introduction to Sports Journalism earlier this month. Here, he is with visiting lecturer Marty Pieratt. |
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As a sportswriter and editor for more than 30 years at the (Bloomington, Ind.) Herald-Times, Hammel met his share of characters who often were involved in conflict or controversy. Chief among these was former IU men’s basketball coach Bob Knight, whom Hammel covered through Knight’s long string of successful teams to the now famous chair-throwing incident and technical foul theatrics.
Along the way, Hammel gained respect from readers and other sportswriters, and his many awards are a testament to this: the Curt Gowdy Award, a 15-time selection as top sportswriter by the National Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association, membership in the U.S. Sportswriters Hall of Fame and the Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame, and many others.
In class, Hammel talked about his years covering Knight, including his books about the coach and his teams. Hammel’s latest book is a revisit to the iconic IU teams – 1974-75 and 1975-76 – he wrote about in two now out-of-print books. Perfect is available as an ebook and reprises All the Way and Knight with the Hoosiers, both printed in the late 1970s.
“Only twice in the first 106 years of Big Ten basketball has any school swept the league by beating every conference opponent at home and on the road. Those were the two year, and Indiana – 1974-75 and 1975-76 – was the team,” Hammel writes in the new book.
Visiting lecturer Marty Pieratt introduced Hammel as an icon, telling the students, “He's not only special for folks here at IU and the state of Indiana, but also to great writers and sports fans all over the planet. He's a treasure chest of facts, figures and the inside picture of the Bob Knight era. He is a sportswriter who is first and foremost a journalist. He believes in precision, ethics and discipline, sort of like his good friend Mr. Knight. However, he doesn't seem to have coach's temper."
– Student Ronald Angsiy contributed to this story.
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