- William Swank
Infobox Celebrity
name = William Swank
imagesize =
caption =
birth_date = birth date and age|1940|06|17
birth_place =Chicago ,Illinois ,U.S.A.
death_date =
death_place =
occupation =Author ,columnist ,television personality andblog ger
spouse = Jeri Lynne Theresa Wayne Swank
children = Eric William, Karen Estelle, William Corey
website = [http://baseballsanta.vox.com/ Baseball Santa]
footnotes =Introduction
"'William George Swank"' is an author of books covering the history of baseball. The
San Diego Historical Society recognizes him as "San Diego's preeminent baseball historian."Life
William Swank was born in
Chicago on June 17, 1940, to parents William George Swank and Estelle Jensen Swank. He received a Bachelor of Science fromSan Diego State College in1962 . He was a Supervising Probation Officer for the County ofSan Diego from 1963-1994. He has three children, Eric William, Karen Estelle, William Corey. He currently lives in San Diego, California, with his wife Jeri Lynne Bessie, whom he married in 1986.William swank has served on the
Gavy Cravath Hall of Fame Commission Escondido since 1995. He served on the Johnny Ritchey Commemorative Committee from 2003 through 2005.William Swank has played Santa Claus at the
Christmas on the Prado inBalboa Park , San Diego, since 2002, and for theSan Diego Gaslamp Quarter Historical Society since 2007.Works
The Lane Field Padres
Two volumes, published in 1997
Echoes from Lane Field
Published in 1999. Winner, San Diego Press Club and San Diego Book Awards, 1999
Echoes of Lane Field is a compilation of interviews conducted by Swank of San Diego Padres team members when the Padres were a minor league team.
Gold Leather Helmets, Black Hightop Shoes
Published in 2003. Written with Bill Rice.
An Athletic History of Mission Bay High School During the 1950s. From a review by Don King, Historian of the San Diego Hall of Champions: “Bill Swank is San Diego’s eminent baseball historian, but he’s a couple tacos short of a combination plate. Mission Bay is a powerhouse today, but that wasn’t the case when the school opened fifty years ago…and then it got worse. Why would somebody write about this? With painstaking research and a sense of humor, Swank and Bill Rice have created a time capsule of the 1950’s. How did they ever find so much information about women’s athletics from that era? You don’t have to be a Buc to enjoy this book.”
Baseball in San Diego
Baseball in San Diego: From the Padres to Petco, published in 2004Baseball in San Diego: From the Plaza to the Padres, published in 2005
From the book jacket: Baseball in San Diego: From the Plaza to the Padres, takes the reader on a seven-decade journey from Horton Plaza, the site of San Diego's first base ball game in 1871, to lower Broadway and the future home of Lane Field. Before the Pacific Coast League, San Diego had three Class D teams. One was the Bears, whose frustrated owner Dick Cooley complained, “I don't believe they'll make baseball pay here in a thousand years.” With America's finest year-round climate, barnstorming and black baseball were popular attractions. Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants practically lived in San Diego in the winter of 1913. All the while, there were constant struggles between the forces of amateur and professional baseball for players, diamonds, and sports coverage.
Bob Chandler's Tales from the San Diego Padres
Published in 2006. Co-author.
From the book jacket: Longtime Padres announcer Bob Chandler shares his memories of the team with San Diego baseball historian Bill Swank in an easy-to-read recap of the team's colorful past. Chandler and Swank utilize their numerous contacts to bring readers many inside stories and humorous anecdotes dating back to the team's actual birth on May 27, 1968. Eight-time batting champion Tony Gwynn and Cy Young Award-winner Randy Jones are among the former players providing insight and inside stories. Chandler's longtime broadcast partner Jerry Coleman, elected to the broadcasters wing of the baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, has written the foreword.
External links
William Swank's Blog. [http://baseballsanta.vox.com/]
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