Dave Halberstam Dies

One of my favorite sports writers, Dave Halberstam was killed in a car accident in California. Details of the accident are not clear yet. Halberstam was 73.

He was on his way to interview Y.A. Tittle for an upcoming book on the 1958 NFL Championship game. The game that really launched the sport.

I've read three of his books, so I suppose that makes him one of my favorite authors. I've read many more works by Dr. Seuss and J.K. Rowling but Halberstam is up there.

"Summer of '49" was an interesting book that traced the Red Sox - Yankees rivalry to its early stages.

"October 1964" was a great book. This one I would recommend. Quite obviously it's about the 1964 World Series between the Cardinals and the Yankees. I have always called the 1964 Cardinals the most influential team in baseball history. Then I read this book and - surprise! - I was right.

"Teammates" is the story of Johnny Pesky and Dom DiMaggio taking one last trip to visit their dying buddy, Ted Williams. Two things struck me from this book. First of all, Ted Williams was a miserable sonovabitch. The precursor to today's spoiled me-first athletes. Second, Dom DiMaggio was the brother of Joe DiMaggio and the best friend of Ted Williams and he was happier than both of them. They were better at baseball but he was better at everything else. He became very rich thanks to some shrewd business deals, if I recall, and stayed married to the same woman his whole life.

I have never read "The Breaks of the Game" but I've heard good things about it and maybe I'll give it a whirl.

I also want to read Halberstam's bio of Bill Belichick called "The Education of a Coach."

Sad to see such a great writer pass, especially under those circumstances.