Forget Ring Lardner, Grantland Rice, and the others. Jim Murray of the Los Angeles Times was not merely the best writer but the single greatest sports columnist who ever lived - fullstop. Known for his highly descriptive metaphors and phrasing - i.e “a strike zone the size of Hitler’s heart” - Murray was a poet. Steven Travers provides an in-depth look at a man whose influence went far beyond the baseball diamond and the boxing ring.