Something Special Gone From the Paper

Mel Durslag’s final column (May 22) for The Times brought back a flood of memories--all of them good.

I have looked forward to every Durslag column since I first arrived in Los Angeles as a youngster in 1955. For many years I subscribed to the Los Angeles Examiner and later the Herald Examiner for only one purpose--to read and enjoy Durslag. I know, personally, that a lot of other folks bought those newspapers for the same reason.

As a mature sports junkie, it has been my good fortune over the years to have had the pleasure of reading and enjoying the best sportswriting in the business--Red Smith, Jim Murray, Dave Anderson, Paul Zimmerman, Grantland Rice, Jimmy Cannon. But Durslag, in my opinion, is at the head of the class.

His final column was vintage Durslag. This one I’ll keep.

CLIFFORD A. MILLER, Beverly Hills