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Daniel Okrent

43quotes

Daniel Okrent: A Life of Words and Wisdom


Full Name and Common Aliases


Daniel Okrent was born on April 21, 1948, in Chicago, Illinois.

Birth and Death Dates


April 21, 1948 - (still living)

Nationality and Profession(s)


American journalist, editor, author, and historian. He is best known for his work as the first Sports Editor of The New York Times and as a creator of the popular "Six Degrees of Separation" trivia game.

Early Life and Background


Okrent grew up in Chicago, Illinois, to a family that valued education and intellectual pursuits. His father was an engineer, and his mother was a homemaker who encouraged her children's love for reading and writing from an early age. Okrent's interest in sports began at a young age, and he developed a passion for baseball, which would become a lifelong fascination.

Major Accomplishments


Okrent's achievements are numerous and impressive. As the first Sports Editor of The New York Times, he brought a new level of sophistication and analysis to sports journalism. He is credited with inventing the "box score," a format that revolutionized the way baseball statistics were presented. Okrent has also written extensively on baseball history, including his critically acclaimed book "The Last Best League: One Summer, One Season, One Small Town, and the Search for the Perfect Game."

Notable Works or Actions


In addition to his work at The New York Times, Okrent has written several books on sports and culture. His novel, "Nine Innings," explores the world of baseball through a series of vignettes, while "Last Call: The Rise and Fall of Prohibition" examines the history of Prohibition in America. Okrent's writing often combines humor, wit, and deep research to create engaging narratives that appeal to both experts and general readers.

Impact and Legacy


Okrent's impact on sports journalism is immeasurable. He has been credited with raising the bar for sports writers, encouraging them to think more critically about their subjects. His work on baseball history has helped to shed new light on this beloved sport, revealing its complexities and nuances in ways that previous generations of fans may not have considered.

Why They Are Widely Quoted or Remembered


Okrent's unique blend of humor, insight, and knowledge makes him a compelling writer and speaker. His ability to connect seemingly disparate threads has earned him recognition as one of the most innovative and influential journalists of his generation. As a result, his quotes and insights are widely sought after by readers, writers, and scholars alike.

Throughout his career, Okrent has demonstrated a remarkable commitment to excellence and intellectual curiosity. He continues to write, teach, and speak on topics ranging from baseball history to cultural commentary, inspiring new generations of readers and thinkers with his wisdom and wit. As we reflect on his life's work, it is clear that Daniel Okrent will be remembered for generations to come as a masterful wordsmith and a champion of the written word.

Quotes by Daniel Okrent

He did not consider it “the function of law to jack up the moral tone of any community.” That, he said, was “the function of the home and the church.
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He did not consider it “the function of law to jack up the moral tone of any community.” That, he said, was “the function of the home and the church.
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But Taft also believed that the citizen who obeys only laws that he endorses “is willing to govern, but not be governed” – willing, in other words, to destroy the rule of law.
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But Taft also believed that the citizen who obeys only laws that he endorses “is willing to govern, but not be governed” – willing, in other words, to destroy the rule of law.
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There wasn’t a single teetotaler “among the world’s really great men,” Stoll wrote; on the contrary, he said, the roster of wine-loving giants ran from Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Columbus, Dickens, Lincoln, and Bismarck, not to mention Verdi, Wagner, and Admiral Dewey.
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There wasn’t a single teetotaler “among the world’s really great men,” Stoll wrote; on the contrary, he said, the roster of wine-loving giants ran from Alexander the Great and Julius Caesar to Columbus, Dickens, Lincoln, and Bismarck, not to mention Verdi, Wagner, and Admiral Dewey.
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That first week, I also went to Washington. That was really tough. I sympathize with those Washington figures who have to face 40 Times Washington bureau reporters. They ask hard questions and they’re relentless. And they were quite suspicious and quite dubious about me.
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That first week, I also went to Washington. That was really tough. I sympathize with those Washington figures who have to face 40 Times Washington bureau reporters. They ask hard questions and they’re relentless. And they were quite suspicious and quite dubious about me.
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With that single previous exception, the original Constitution and its first seventeen amendments limited the activities of government, not of citizens. Now there were two exceptions: you couldn’t.
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With that single previous exception, the original Constitution and its first seventeen amendments limited the activities of government, not of citizens. Now there were two exceptions: you couldn’t.
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Gough had delivered more than ten thousand speeches to audiences estimated at more than nine million people. Among his listeners was a San Francisco surveyor who named one of the city’s main thoroughfares in his honor – out of either a sense of gratitude or, possibly, irony.
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Gough had delivered more than ten thousand speeches to audiences estimated at more than nine million people. Among his listeners was a San Francisco surveyor who named one of the city’s main thoroughfares in his honor – out of either a sense of gratitude or, possibly, irony.
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San Francisco in 1890 might have seemed barely more saloon-sodden than that, reporting one for every 96 residents – but this was a measure only of the city’s 3,000 licensed establishments, while less restrictive estimates threw in an additional 2,000 unlicensed places.
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San Francisco in 1890 might have seemed barely more saloon-sodden than that, reporting one for every 96 residents – but this was a measure only of the city’s 3,000 licensed establishments, while less restrictive estimates threw in an additional 2,000 unlicensed places.
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The iron miners who belonged to the Italian Club in the town of Virginia, Minnesota, took pains to procure more suitable grapes, dispatching a grocer named Cesare Mondavi to the San Joaquin Valley late each summer to acquire their supply. Inspired to get into the grape business himself, Mondavi soon moved his family to California, where his precocious son Robert would make his own name in the winemaking world.
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The iron miners who belonged to the Italian Club in the town of Virginia, Minnesota, took pains to procure more suitable grapes, dispatching a grocer named Cesare Mondavi to the San Joaquin Valley late each summer to acquire their supply. Inspired to get into the grape business himself, Mondavi soon moved his family to California, where his precocious son Robert would make his own name in the winemaking world.
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It’s a very complicated issue about when is a fact not a fact in the context of opinions.
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It’s a very complicated issue about when is a fact not a fact in the context of opinions.
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But I think it’s undeniable that the Times is a liberal paper.
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But I think it’s undeniable that the Times is a liberal paper.
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