By Grantland Rice

In the annals of sports writing, there is no more hallowed figure than Vanderbilt graduate Grantland Rice. By his own estimate, over his half-century career, Rice wrote more than 22,000 columns, 7,000 sets of verse, and over a thousand magazine articles. But his story began in the heart of SEC country, as "Granny" Rice was born in Murfreesboro, Tenn., went to Vanderbilt, and then began a remarkable journalism career, with his first job at the Nashville Daily News for $5 a week. This is the story of not an athlete but an observer, poet and storyteller - a giant in the world of sports.