This image is the cover for the book Caddie Was a Reindeer

Caddie Was a Reindeer

“A joy ride through the wild world of sports from the best sportswriter in the country.” —St. Paul Pioneer Press

Steve Rushin, a four-time finalist for the National Magazine Award, has been hailed as one of the best sportswriters in America. In The Caddie Was a Reindeer, he circumnavigates the globe in pursuit of extreme recreation. In the Arctic Circle, he meets ice golfers. In Minnesota, he watches the National Amputee Golf Tournament, where one participant tells him, “I literally have one foot in the grave.” Along the way, Rushin meets fellow travelers like Joe Cahn, a professional tailgater who confesses aboard the RV in which he lives: “It’s wonderful to see America from your bathroom.” And even Rushin has logged fewer miles in pursuit of extreme recreation than Rich Rodriguez, a marathon roller-coaster rider who makes endless loops for entire summers on coasters around the world. The Caddie Was a Reindeer is a ride to everywhere: to south London (where Rushin downs pints with the King of Darts), to the Champs-Elysées (where the author indulges in “excessive nightclubbing” with World Cup soccer stars), and to Japan (where Rushin eats soba noodles with the world champion of competitive eating). Enlightening, hilarious, and unexpectedly heartwarming, this collection is not a body of work: it’s a body of play.

Steve Rushin

Steve Rushin joined Sports Illustrated as a reporter after graduating from Marquette University in 1988. Within three years, at age twenty-five, he became the youngest senior writer on the SI staff. Born in Chicago, Rushin grew up in Bloomington, Minn., watching baseball and football games at Metropolitan Stadium, where he sold hot dogs and soft drinks to Twins and Vikings fans. Rushin has since been nominated for four National Magazine Awards. Rushin wrote the highly acclaimed feature article for SI’s Fortieth Anniversary issue. The story, which in text alone spans twenty-four pages, is the longest story ever to appear in a single issue of SI. Rushin and his wife, Rebecca Lobo, reside in New York City. His hobbies include basketball, reading, and travel.

Grove Press