Albert Simon Hirshberg (May 10, 1909 April 13, 1973), was an American writer and

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism started in the early 1800s when it was targeted to the social elite and transitioned into an integral part of the n ...

whose work was published primarily from the 1930s to the 1960s. He is best known as the co-author of

Jimmy Piersall James Anthony Piersall (November 14, 1929 – June 3, 2017) was an American baseball center fielder who played 17 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB) for five teams, from 1950 through 1967. Piersall was best known for his well-publicized ba ...

's 1955 autobiography titled ''Fear Strikes Out: The Jimmy Piersall Story'', which was later made into the 1957 film ''

Fear Strikes Out "Fear Strikes Out" is a 1957 American biographical sports drama film depicting the life and career of American baseball player Jimmy Piersall. It is based on Piersall's 1955 memoir ''Fear Strikes Out: The Jim Piersall Story'', co-written with Al ...

'', starring

Anthony Perkins Anthony Perkins (April 4, 1932 – September 12, 1992) was an American actor, director, and singer. Perkins is best remembered for his role as Norman Bates in Alfred Hitchcock's suspense thriller '' Psycho'', which made him an influential ...

Early life

Al was born on May 10, 1909, the son of David Hirshberg. He served as an officer in the

United States Navy The United States Navy (USN) is the maritime service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. It is the largest and most powerful navy in the world, with the estimated tonnage ...

in the South Pacific during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposin ...

Career

Hirshberg wrote several books on the history of the

Boston Red Sox The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...

baseball team, and co-wrote dozens of other people's memoirs, often, but not exclusively, about baseball players and/or Boston area sports figures and teams. He worked for ''

The Boston Post ''The Boston Post'' was a daily newspaper in New England for over a hundred years before it folded in 1956. The ''Post'' was founded in November 1831 by two prominent Boston businessmen, Charles G. Greene and William Beals. Edwin Grozier bough ...

'' from 1930 to 1952 and the ''

Boston Herald The ''Boston Herald'' is an American daily newspaper whose primary market is Boston, Massachusetts, and its surrounding area. It was founded in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States. It has been awarded eight Pulit ...

'' from 1964 to 1968.

Personal life

Hirshberg had two children from his marriage to Marjorie Littauer Hirshberg, to whom he was married for 31 years until her death in 1970. Hirshberg then married Bert Cohen Hirshberg (née Milstone), an editor of '' Bostonia'' and benefactor of

Boston University Boston University (BU) is a private research university in Boston, Massachusetts. The university is nonsectarian, but has a historical affiliation with the United Methodist Church. It was founded in 1839 by Methodists with its original campu ...

. It was her second marriage. They had no children together. She died in a car accident on February 2, 2008. Hirshberg had continued sportswriting until his death and had moved to

Longboat Key, Florida Longboat Key is a town in Manatee and Sarasota counties along the central west coast of the U.S. state of Florida, located on and coterminous with the barrier island of the same name. Longboat Key is south of Anna Maria Island, between Sarasot ...

for the winter. He died of a heart attack at a hospital in

Sarasota, Florida Sarasota () is a city in Sarasota County on the Gulf Coast of the U.S. state of Florida. The area is renowned for its cultural and environmental amenities, beaches, resorts, and the Sarasota School of Architecture. The city is located in the sout ...

on April 13, 1973, age 63.

References

1909 births 1973 deaths Sportswriters from Massachusetts People from Longboat Key, Florida Sportswriters from New York (state) The Boston Post people {{US-sportswriter-stub