"Game Called" by Grantland Rice

Major League umpire Jim Joyce and Detroit Tiger pitcher Armando Galarraga.

These two gentlemen, as a result of how they handled the "blown call" at the conclusion of a Galarrago pitched perfect game on June 2, 2010, added strength to the moral fiber of America. I am reminded of the great Grantland Rice poem, which coined the phrase, "it's not whether you win or lose, but how you play the game."

"Game Called"

Game called

Across the field of play

The dusk has come

The hour is late

The fight is done

And lost or won

The player files out

Through the gate

The tumult dies

The cheer is hushed

The stands are bare

The park is still

But through the night

There shines the light

Of home beyond the silent hill

Game called

Where in the golden light

The bugle rolled the reveille

The shadows creep

Where might falls deep

And taps has called the end of play

The game is done

The score is in

The final cheer and jeer have passed

But in the night

Beyond the fight

The player finds his rest at last

Game called

Upon the field of life

The darkness gathers far and wide

The dream, is done

The score is spun

That stands forever in the Guide

Nor victory nor yet defeat

Is chalked against the player's name.

BUT DOWN THE ROLL

THE FINAL SCROLL

SHOWS ONLY HOW HE PLAYED THE GAME.

Grantland Rice, Poet and Sportswriter - 1921