King of the Jungle

Bill Lyon, the sports columist to end all sports columnists, is retiring from his post at the Philadelphia Inquirer after a career spanning, well, the entirety of my life. His work was immensely vital to the shaping of this (still?) young writer's mind. It was Lyon's friendly pacing of prose that a young GR shamelessly aped during his career-starting stint as a sportswriter for the Lancaster New Era and Sunday News back in the 90s. Therefore, I left a comment in the forum which reads thusly:

Bill-
Thanks very much for your work. It's probably not the most prudent thing to bring up, but your career service is the same as my age. I imagine that, like other young 30-something sports fans, reading your column became more and more of a given over the years. Growing up in the Lehigh Valley, I remember through my teens thinking "this guy probably has the best job in the world in the best sports town in the world." Of course, I have no idea whether or not that's actually true, but looking back, my sentiments were probably more due to your consistant quality of writing than any single game or season I witnessed. Between your style and your residence, you seemed to have everything a sports-minded writer like myself could ever want. On a personal note, I learned more about how to use words from your consistant output than I ever did in any classroom, newsroom, or bookroom. So, for that, I thank you.
Enjoy your retirement, you've earned it.

-gr

Anyone who does not appreciate or is not familiar with Bill's effortless style of writing should read probably one of the best columns ever written, a eulogy for the man who created the greatest comic strip of all time about a boy who continued, no matter what, to play the greatest game of all time.

The greatness of Bill's writing cannot be fully explained. It must be experienced.