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Lonnie Wheeler

Biography

Lonnie Wheeler

Lonnie Wheeler (1952-2020) was the author or co-author of many books on baseball, including I HAD A HAMMER with Hank Aaron, PITCH BY PITCH with Bob Gibson, SIXTY FEET, SIX INCHES with Bob Gibson and Reggie Jackson, LONG SHOT with Mike Piazza, BLEACHERS: A Summer in Wrigley Field, and INTANGIBALL, winner of a 2016 SABR Baseball Research Award.

Lonnie Wheeler

Books by Lonnie Wheeler

by Lonnie Wheeler - Biography, Nonfiction, Sports

James “Cool Papa” Bell was a legend in Black baseball, a lightning fast switch hitter elected to the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1974. In THE BONA FIDE LEGEND OF COOL PAPA BELL, experienced baseball writer and historian Lonnie Wheeler recounts the life of this extraordinary player, a key member of some of the greatest Negro League teams in history. Born to sharecroppers in Mississippi, Bell was part of the Great Migration, and in St. Louis, baseball saved Bell from a life working in slaughterhouses. Wheeler charts Bell’s ups and downs in life and in baseball, in the United States, the Dominican Republic and Mexico, where he went to escape American racism and MLB’s color line.

by Bob Gibson and Lonnie Wheeler - Memoir, Nonfiction, Sports

PITCH BY PITCH gets inside Bob Gibson's head on the evening of October 2, 1968, when he took the mound in game one of the World Series against the Detroit Tigers and struck out a record 17 batters. Gibson, known as one of the most intimidating pitchers in baseball history, relives each inning and every pitch. Facing down batter after batter, Gibson shares his insights into every player that stepped into the batter's box against him that day --- recounting the pitches he threw, his control over the ball, and moments of frustration and synchronicity with his teammates.

by Mike Piazza with Lonnie Wheeler - Autobiography, Nonfiction

Mike Piazza’s autobiography is the candid story of the greatest hitting catcher in the history of baseball, from his inauspicious draft selection to his Hall of Fame-worthy achievements and the unusual controversies that marked his career. He addresses the steroid controversy that hovered around him and Major League Baseball during his time and describes the thrill of his game-winning home run on September 21, 2001.