Game Over

George Plimpton has taken participatory journalism too far, seeking to send dispatches from the other side after passing away last night at the age of 76. The Harvard-educated son of a diplomat who founded the literary magazine Paris Review, Plimpton found his greatest following recounting his tales as an underdog everyman in extraordinary circumstances. He boxed with heavyweight champion Archie Moore, played quarterback for the Detroit Lions in a preseason game, pitched to Willie Mays in an All-Star exhibition, and manned the trapeze in the Clyde Beatty-Cole Brothers Circus. He also conspired with Sports Illustrated to pull off one of the all-time great April Fool's jokes, detailing the exploits of Sidd Finch, a mysterious pitcher from Tibet who threw a fastball 168 mph during spring training with the Mets in a 1984 cover story that fooled hundreds of readers. Despite his noble upbringing and regal bearing, Plimpton's self-deprecating nature kept him well grounded, and he deigned to do ads for Mattel Electronics Intellivision "Intelligent Television" video game console and cartridges, appeared as John Carter's (the other one) grandfather on ER and appeared in a Simpsons episode. In his later years, he was beseiged by lifetime literary awards, but the pyrotechnic-phile was most pleased with the honorary position of New York City Fireworks Commissioner.