Another writer whose work I admired has passed. David Halberstam, who seemed as comfortable writing about baseball as he was writing about history and politics (especially war), was killed in a car crash outside San Francisco.
When I heard about this unexpected tragedy, I couldn't help but think of his book 1964, which discusses the changing mores of major league baseball as civil rights issues rose to the forefront of American consciousness. He contrasts the lily-white Yankees, whose aging, almost exclusively white players were on their descent, with the St. Louis Cardinals, who were a far more diverse team than the Yankees with black stars and a more exciting brand of baseball, playing in what was still a southern-style city.
As that particular nonfiction work is about much more than baseball, Halberstam was more than a simple scribbler. He was a true journalist in all the best meanings of the term. I had hoped to meet him, interview him, perhaps have a beer and talk about the game with him. Instead, I'll have to read more of his books to get to know a bit more about the man and the times in which he lived.
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