William "Bill" George Swank is the author or co-author of ten books and numerous articles primarily about baseball. The
San Diego Historical Society
The San Diego History Center is a museum showcasing the history of San Diego, located in the city's Balboa Park.
Description and history
Founded in 1928 by businessman and civic leader George W. Marston, the San Diego Historical Society was h ...
identified him as "San Diego's preeminent baseball historian."
Life
Bill Swank was born in Chicago on June 17, 1940, to parents William George Swank and Estelle Jensen Swank. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from
San Diego State College in 1962. He was a Supervising
Probation Officer
A probation and parole officer is an official appointed or sworn to investigate, report on, and supervise the conduct of convicted offenders on probation or those released from incarceration to community supervision such as parole. Most probati ...
for the County of
San Diego from 1963–1994. He has three children and two grandsons. He currently lives in
San Diego, California, with his wife Jeri Lynne (Bessie) Swank, whom he married in 1986.
Swank has campaigned since 1988 to get San Diego's first
major league baseball player and early home run king
Gavy Cravath elected to
Baseball's Hall of Fame. His scale model of
Lane Field (built in 1997) is on permanent display at the
San Diego Hall of Champions. Following the release of his award-winning book, ''
Echoes from Lane Field'' (1999), Swank has extensively explored the history of baseball in San Diego and helped honor many local players including
Pete Coscarart
Peter Joseph Coscarart (June 16, 1913 – July 24, 2002) was a second baseman and shortstop in Major League Baseball who played from 1938 through 1946 for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates. Listed at 5' 11" , 175 lb. , Coscarart batte ...
,
Johnny Ritchey
John Franklin Ritchey (January 5, 1923 – January 14, 2003) was an American professional baseball catcher. Listed at 5' 10" (1.78 m) tall, weighing 180 lb. (82 k), he batted left-handed and threw right-handed.
Ritchey is recognized as one of th ...
,
Floyd Robinson
Floyd Andrew Robinson (born May 9, 1936) is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox (1960–1966), Cincinnati Reds (1967), and the Oakland Athletics and Boston Red Sox (1968). He batted left-handed and threw right ...
,
Manuel 'Nay' Hernandez and
Ted Williams.
Swank has been
Santa Claus
Santa Claus, also known as Father Christmas, Saint Nicholas, Saint Nick, Kris Kringle, or simply Santa, is a Legend, legendary figure originating in Western Christianity, Western Christian culture who is said to Christmas gift-bringer, bring ...
for Christmas on the Prado in
Balboa Park, San Diego, since 2002. He also volunteers as Santa for several other charitable organizations in San Diego. As "Baseball Santa," he played second base for the
House of David from 2003 through 2008. In 2009, Baseball Santa began giving baseball equipment to
Little Leagues in
Mexico.
Works
''The Lane Field Padres, 1936-1946 and 1947-1957, (two volumes)''
Published by the San Diego Padres and San Diego Baseball Historical Society, 1997; co-author Ray Brandes
''Echoes from Lane Field''
Turner Publishing Company, 1999. Winner, San Diego Press Club and San Diego Book Awards, 1999
''Gold Leather Helmets, Black Hightop Shoes''
Big League Press, 2003. Co-Author 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 1950s. 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'' (two books)
''Baseball in San Diego; From the Padres to Petco'', Arcadia Publishing, 2004
''Baseball in San Diego; From the Plaza to the Padres'', Arcadia Publishing, 2005
''Bob Chandler's Tales from the San Diego Padres''
Sports Publishing, 2006. Co-author Bob Chandler
''The Life of Dion Rich: Live Like a Millionaire With No Money Down''
Silver Threads, 2011. Co-author
Charlie Jones Charles, Charlie, Charley or Chuck Jones may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Chuck Jones (1912–2002), American animator, director, and producer
* Charles Jones (c. 1889–1942), American actor better known as Buck Jones
* Charles Jones (pho ...
.
''Off Guard''
Silver Threads, 2012. Co-author
Walt Sweeney
Walter Francis Sweeney (April 18, 1941 – February 2, 2013) was an American professional football player who was an offensive lineman in the American Football League (AFL) and National Football League (NFL). He played college football ...
''Christmas in San Diego''
Arcadia Publishing, 2015.
Honors
*Winner, San Diego Press Club, History, for "Cruisin' with the Bay Park Boys" (2017)
*Winner, San Diego Press Club, Profile, for "Frye Wings" (2017)
*Winner, San Diego Press Club, Gardening, for "Dorothy Carroll, The Jacaranda Lady" (2017)
*Winner, San Diego Press Club, Sports, for "Clairemont's Long Forgotten Little League Ballfields" (2017)
*The National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences (Emmy Award), Pacific Southwest Chapter. Best Sports Documentary 2012: ''The First Padres''. General Malaise Productions; William Swank, Associate Producer.
*Inspiration Award, Friends of Balboa Park, 2012.
*Winner, San Diego Press Club, 2015.
*Winner, San Diego Press Club, 1999.
*Winner, San Diego Book Awards, 1999
External links
William Swank's BlogNow Batting: San Diego's Top Baseball Historian (interview with Voice of San Diego Magazine)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Swank, William
1940 births
Living people
Writers from Chicago
Writers from San Diego
Baseball writers
American male writers