College Dean Writes Sequel to a Baseball Classic; "Baseball's Greatest Players: The Saga Continues" Picks Up Where Tom Meany's Classic Leaves Off.

Sports Editors/Baseball Writers and Columnists

WAUKEGAN, Ill.--(BW SportsWire)--June 26, 2001

David Shiner's new book, "Baseball's Greatest Players: The Saga Continues" has been published by Superior Books.

The book is a sequel to the classic, "Baseball's Greatest Players" by the late Tom Meany, which profiled 25 of the greatest players from the first half of the 20th century. Shiner's sequel follows the format of the Meany book, presenting biographies of the 25 biggest stars from the second half of the century.

Shiner is currently the dean of Shimer College in Waukegan where he has worked for the past 25 years. A lifelong baseball enthusiast, Shiner's articles, interviews, stories and book reviews have appeared in many sports publications, research journals and literary magazines.

Shiner has also been a guest speaker at the Babe Ruth Conference in 1996 and the Jackie Robinson Conference in 1997, among many others. Shiner's interest and expertise in the history of baseball led him to continue Meany's classic. The endeavor was also a welcome break from his more scholarly day job.

"I wanted to follow Meany's example with the last half of the century and capture the greatness of players like Willie Mays and Mickey Mantle," Shiner said. "That meant adapting my style, which is normally pretty academic, to the requirements of baseball fans rather than scholars."

The book has received a positive assessment from several baseball luminaries, including Hall of Fame announcer Ernie Harwell and Chicago White Sox front-office veteran Roland Hemond. Shiner's book is described by Tim Kurkjian, the award-winning sports commentator for ESPN the Magazine, as "fun to read." The book has also been added to the esteemed collection at the Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

Does Shiner expect his students to buy the book?

"Shimer College is a small, high-class liberal arts college," Shiner said. "Our students aren't into sports. Every season we get free tickets for a Cubs game at Wrigley Field. We can't give them away."

Shiner says the students think that his book is "pretty cool," but not as cool as reading Plato.

If you are interested in receiving a review copy of the book or arranging an interview with the author, please contact Stephanie Kallbacka at FirstWord Agency, 801/463-0976 or [e-mail].