Missed over the holiday weekend: the passing of the talented Mr. Wheeler, a writer who assisted on the autobiographies of superstars like Hank Aaron, Bob Gibson, and Mike Piazza, as well as his own thought-provoking work.
Here’s The New York Times‘ obituary, contributed by Richard Sandomir.
I had the pleasure of talking with Wheeler for a Bookshelf Conversation not once, but twice.
I have produced more 100 interviews between this blog and its previous incarnations. There have been only a handful of times when I’ve felt a particular connection with a guest, someone with whom I could see myself keeping in touch after the interview. Wheeler was one of those. We exchanged occasional emails and in the intervening years and I always thought of him as a friendly gentleman.
I think there a lot of fans who don’t appreciate the contributions of writers and authors. They might be content to just watch the game and move on, and that’s fine. But for me, I was always interested in analysis and perspective, so I gravitated more towards folks like Wheeler and regret not being able to see more of his projects.
is available on Amazon.com,
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