William Melvin "Bill" Libby (November 14, 1927 – June 17, 1984) was an American writer and biographer best known for books on sports including 65 on sports figures.

Early years

Libby graduated from Shortridge High School in Indianapolis, also attended by several notable authors including Kurt Vonnegut. He served 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 ...

from September 1945 to October 1948. He attended

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a system of public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. Campuses Indiana University has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration of IUPUI. *Indiana Universit ...

from 1948 to 1951. Libby was sports editor of the '' Herald Statesman'', then later worked for the ''

New York Post The ''New York Post'' (''NY Post'') is a conservative daily tabloid newspaper published in New York City. The ''Post'' also operates NYPost.com, the celebrity gossip site PageSix.com, and the entertainment site Decider.com. It was established ...

''.

Works

Libby wrote several books on sports figures including Rod Carew, Wilt Chamberlain,

Phil Esposito Philip Anthony Esposito ( , ; born February 20, 1942) is a Canadian former professional ice hockey player, coach and executive, and current broadcaster for the Tampa Bay Lightning. A member of the Hockey Hall of Fame, he played 18 seasons in t ...

, A. J. Foyt,

Catfish Hunter James Augustus Hunter (April 8, 1946 – September 9, 1999), nicknamed "Catfish", was a professional baseball player in Major League Baseball (MLB). From to , he was a pitcher for the Kansas City/Oakland Athletics and New York Yankees. Hunter wa ...

, Fred Lynn, Rocky Marciano, Pete Rose,

O. J. Simpson Orenthal James Simpson (born July 9, 1947), nicknamed "Juice", is an American former football running back, actor, and broadcaster who played for the Buffalo Bills and San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League. Once a popular figure ...

, Willie Stargell, and Fran Tarkenton as well as books on hockey, auto racing, professional football, and college football. He also co-wrote several books on celebrities and sports people including

Nancy Reagan Nancy Davis Reagan (; born Anne Frances Robbins; July 6, 1921 – March 6, 2016) was an American film actress and First Lady of the United States from 1981 to 1989. She was the second wife of president Ronald Reagan. Reagan was born in N ...

, the Roosevelt family, Rick Barry, Vida Blue, Monty Hall,

Richard Petty Richard Lee Petty (born July 2, 1937), nicknamed "The King", is an American former stock car racing driver who raced from 1958 to 1992 in the former NASCAR Grand National and Winston Cup Series (now called the NASCAR Cup Series), most notabl ...

John Roseboro John Junior Roseboro (May 13, 1933 – August 16, 2002) was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played as a catcher in Major League Baseball from 1957 until 1970, most prominently as a member of the Los Angeles Dodgers. A four ...

, Nolan Ryan, and Jerry West.

Libby national champions

Libby's 1975 book ''Champions of College Football'' selected a single college football national champion from the 1900 to 1974 college football seasons. As the highest level of college football does not have an official national champion, Libby's selections are often referenced by the athletic department of the selected university. Six of Libby's champions, for the years (1910, 1911, 1913, 1929, 1931, 1936), were not selected for that year as national champion by any NCAA-designated "major selector". † Champion not selected by any NCAA-designated "major selector".

Awards

In 1964, Libby was named National Magazine Sportswriter of the Year. He was named to the

Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame The Southern California Jewish Sports Hall of Fame, in Beverly Hills, California, is a hall of fame dedicated to honoring American Jewish athletes, other sports personalities, and teams from Southern California who have distinguished themselves ...

in 2004.

Family

Libby and wife Sharon had two daughters, Allyson and Laurie Libby.

References