Literary birthday greetings: Art Shamsky, Al Oliver

October 14, 2010

Art Shamsky, a favorite of Jewish baseball fans everywhere, turns 69 today.

I ran into Shamsky last Sunday at the memorial service for Maury Allen. Still looking good and hoping for a resurrection of professional baseball in Israel; he was manager of the Modi’in Miracle in 2007, the only season for the Israel Baseball League.

Shamsky published The Magnificent Seasons: How the Jets, Mets, and Knicks Made Sports History and Uplifted a City and the Country with Barry Zeman in 2004.

Also celebrating today, Al Oliver, 64, one of the more underestimated players of the 1970s to mid-80s. A seven-time All-Star, he played 18 seasons — mostly for the Pirates and Rangers — and finished with a career batting average of .303 with 216 home runs and 1,326 RBIs.

Andrew O’Toole wrote Baseball’s Best Kept Secret in1997.

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Tagged as: Al Oliver, Art Shamsky, Israel Baseball League, Maury Allen

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