Charley Dickey (1921-1998) was for many years one of America’s best known and most-loved sporting scribes. A generalist, he wrote on subjects ranging from deer hunting to trout fishing. However, his work is best remembered for warmth and wit and an uncanny ability to go to the heart of the matter with a few well-chosen words and some homespun philosophy.

Dickey could find humor in the simplest subjects and often poked fun at himself. “My most congenial behavior,” he reckoned, “always seems to happen when I’m with a person who owns a lot of quail land.” He spoke for every befuddled bird hunter in the midst of a mad search for missing paraphernalia the eve of opening day when he commented: “I’ve never known an outdoorsman who owned all the gear he thought he needed. Even if he owns it, the odds are that he can’t find it.”