Lest we forget: Roger Angell

They say you should never meet your heroes lest you be disappointed but I’d take that chance.

There are just a handful of writers I would want to share a drink with: Leonard Koppett, the first scribe I ever wrote to asking advice; Shirley Povich, because he managed to have an outstanding career in the sports world while remaining an Orthodox Jew; and Roger Angell, because, well, Roger Angell. But I had the feeling that Angell would not suffer fools gladly so that ruled me out.

The legendary New Yorker writer passed away May 20 at the age of 101.

Here’s his obituary from The New York Times. And the Washington Post.

He obviously had influence on many contemporary writers so here are some appreciations from Thomas Boswell, Tyler Kepner, and Tom Verducci. All due respect to these gentlemen, all excellent columnists in their own right, but I doubt we will ever see the likes of Roger Angell again.

Finally, here’s one from David Remnick, editor of The New Yorker.

Because he worked for a magazine and did not cover a daily beat, Angell was excluded from the Hall of Fame for many years. He finally got his due in 2014.

Books by Angell — mostly collections of his New Yorker pieces — include

• Once More Around the Park: A Baseball Reader
• Five Seasons: A Baseball Companion
• Late Innings: A Baseball Companion
• Game Time: A Baseball Companion
• Season Ticket: A Baseball Companion
• The Summer Game
• A Pitcher’s Story: Innings with David Cone
• Let Me Finish
• This Old Man: All in Pieces
• No Place I Would Rather Be: Roger Angell and a Life in Baseball Writing
• A Day in the Life of Roger Angell: Parodies and Other Pleasures

I would expect that in the days following his death, sales of his books moved up significantly in the Amazon rankings.

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