Henry Grantland "Granny" Rice (1880 –1954) was a gifted athlete who played football, baseball, and golf. He graduated from Vanderbilt University with a degree in classics, then embarked on a 50-year career as a sportswriter. In that role, Grant worked for a number of major newspapers, was the first play-by-play announcer carried live on radio and, ultimately, became a syndicated columnist whose work appeared in nearly a hundred papers. Nicknamed the “Dean of American Sports Writers,” he wrote poetry as well as sports news, and often included classic literary references in his columns and articles. The familiar quote, "It's not whether you win or lose, it's how you play the game," originated in his poem, "Alumnus Football."