The ep52 Memorable Tributes To Granny Rice

This is Jimmy Powers and happy to be coming your way with another Grantland Rives story. This is Jimmy Powers. It has been my pleasure for the past few months to bring you the

tumult and the shouting, the autobiography of the Dean of Sports Riders, Grantland Rives. Shortly after the book was finished, the world was stunned to hear that Granny Rice had passed away. Since that time, many words have been spoken and recorded in praise and commendation of this great man.

Three tributes stand out clearly in my mind that I'd like you to hear at this time. The first was spoken by a close friend and confidant of Granny's and one of the top newspapermen in the country, Mr. John Kieran.

Now I wish to deny the soft impeachment that I was closest in the last years to Grant. Fortunately I wasn't, but I was in Frank Grant. Of course it's told when the actor preserved his profession, but as I look at all of this gathering here, there isn't a single place that I see.

I didn't see what Grant and a great many occasions and I would say that 90% of his old friends are right here in this room and there is actually nothing that I could tell you about Grant Rice that you don't know.

But I do insist on one thing, and that is that this was a great man. He was not only a great sports writer. He was not only a good sport, but he was really a great person, a great influence.

Now you must remember that he wrote for about 50 years, maybe a little more, And he had an influence on three generations of young men and some young women in this country. And he had a great deal more influence than some people that we thought were really powerful and famous.