Ring Lardner was one of America’s finest sports columnists. His work appeared in more than 100 newspapers and was consumed by millions of faithful readers. His admirers included authors such as H.L. Mencken, F. Scott Fitzgerald, and Virginia Woolf. He also wrote short stories (“Haircut,” “Gullible’s Travels”), plays (Elmer, the Great, June Moon), poems, Zigfield Follies skits, and scripted a comic strip, You Know Me Al, based on his popular novel about fictional ball player Jack Keefe.