Referee Story Mentioned in The Best American Sports Writing

RACINE, Wis. — For the first time, a story published in Referee magazine has been mentioned as one of the best features of the year in The Best American Sports Writing.

The feature, “If You Take Us Back, We Will Come,” was published in the September 2007 issue and was written by Associate Editor Matt Moore, edited by Managing Editor Julie Sternberg and designed by graphic artist Ross Bray.

The feature dealt with the fights of Bob Davidson, Tom Hallion and Ed Hickox to regain their Major League Baseball umpiring jobs after having lost them in a labor dispute in 1999. All three returned to the minor leagues before eventually being rehired by MLB.

The story was submitted for consideration in The Best American Sports Writing 2008, the 18th annual edition of that book. The feature was listed in the “Notable Sports Writing of 2007” section of the book along with 60 other submissions as selected by series editor Glenn Stout.

The Best American series is the premier annual showcase for the country’s finest short fiction and non-fiction. Each year, the series editor selects the stories that will be reviewed by that year’s guest editor, who then picks the best pieces to republish. For the 2008 edition, the top 29 stories, as selected by veteran Sports Illustrated Senior Writer William Nack, were reprinted in the book.

Referee magazine, part of the Referee Enterprises Inc. (REI) family of sports-oriented publications, is a monthly publication for and about sports officials. To read the story “If You Take Us Back, We Will Come,” visit the Referee magazine website at www.referee.com.

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