Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

I was recently interviewed by iSportacus, a Philadelphia focused blog.

The books editors at both the Star Tribune and the St. Paul Pioneer Press have recently devoted column space to Minnesotans in Baseball, a collection of dozens of the most famous baseball players born or raised in the state. The book was edited by Stew Thornley, award-winning author, foremost historian of baseball in the North Star state, and a guy I learned a lot from while writing my book. I also know many of the book’s contributors — all are members of the Society for American Baseball Research — and so I vouch for its credibility (unlike another recent work of local baseball history). The writing is accessible, I guarantee you’ll learn something on nearly every page, and Nodin Press did a nice job with design. If you are a Minnesota baseball fan (or have one in your life), I recommend picking up a copy — and not just because the profile of Charles Bender was written by yours truly.

While writing “Chief Bender’s Burden,” I looked everywhere I could think of for footage of Charles Bender. In my dreams I would discover lost in-game pitching footage. More realistically, I thought I had shot at something — a demonstration or even an off-field appearance. The man was, after all, in a movie. I swung and missed everywhere. But I didn’t look in all the right places because a short segment has now turned up on YouTube. Perhaps it won’t be the treat for you that it is for me, but if you’re interested, Bender is the man standing with a bat over his shoulder at about 1:08 and — best of all — there he is pitching at 1:25 or so. Hey, was that a nickel curve?

I know many well-adjusted human beings are and for a long time have been on Facebook, but it’s always seemed a little like fourth grade to me. That saying about mocking what we don’t understand comes into play here and although I’m not sure that I yet comprehend what it means, I am, alas, now among the masses. Should you want to be my friend I will surely want to be yours.

Charley Walters — former Major Leaguer and all-star at the St. Paul Pioneer Press — was kind enough to make note of “Chief Bender’s Burden” in his Sunday column. Keep reading well past commentary on Joe Mauer’s employment status.

I will be Mike Schikman’s guest on “Speaking Of …” Friday (May 22) evening when we’ll talk about “Chief Bender’s Burden” 55 years to the day after Charles Bender stopped pitching in this world. That’s 6:30 p.m. Eastern, WSVA 550 AM, Harrisonburg, Virginia.

Thanks to Rob Hardy for the Q&A published at Northfield.org. Rob, a fellow writer and a keen reader, also has a personal blog that is worth the time. I especially enjoy Rob’s ruminations on writers and books.

Easily, without question, I got far more out of writing “Chief Bender’s Burden” than anyone will ever get from reading it. And the book only exists because I worked with an editor of rare patience, because I share my life with a woman of incomparable understanding, and because I belong to the Society for American Baseball Research.

The best part of going to Cleveland to accept the Seymour Medal was the chance to stand in a room and publicly thank some of the people — and an organization; I profited immensely from SABR’s deep well of intellectual capital — to whom I owe so much.

Two other highlights of the Seymour Medal Conference were the public reading at The Lit and meeting Dorothy Seymour Mills (pictured with John Zajc, executive director of SABR, and a guy who wears a tie as often as turtle wears a turtle neck). Dorothy — she let me call her Dorothy — said flattering things about the book during the awards ceremony and it’s hard to say how much her words mean to me. People who don’t regularly read baseball books may not recognize the name, but Ms. Seymour Mills and the late Dr. Harold Seymour wrote a seminal three-volume history of the game. In fact, as I told Dorothy, I can distinctly remember the moment I reviewed Baseball: The Golden Age and came across a small item that pertained to Charles Bender. Specifically, the Seymours wrote of American Indians who traveled a long distance to follow Bender’s exploits in the World Series. Because of their work, I dug deeper into that topic than they possibly could and after I tracked down contemporary news accounts, I was able to add an angle (in my opinion, an important angle) to the narrative that I otherwise never would have thought to explore.

So it was no small honor to receive something with the Seymour name attached to it. I didn’t know Dorothy would personally be on hand — she flew in from Florida to be there — and it was all the more special to receive the award in her presence.

Side notes: Dorothy, a prolific writer, is finishing a book of essays slated for publication in 2010. She has one reader already … Joe Posnanski gave a witty and insightful keynote address. I really enjoyed meeting Joe. You would never know by talking to him that he has more than once been named the Associated Press sports columnist of the year. He participated all weekend and yet still found time to polish off a Sports Illustrated cover story. … If you haven’t read Posnanski’s most recent book, consider it — even if you’re not a baseball fan.

Strib books editor Laurie Hertzel kindly mentioned the award in her column on Sunday.

I didn’t personally thank those of you who commented on the previous post (about news of the award) but please don’t take my silence personally. I am sincerely grateful for your kind words and your congratulations. One thing I’ve found is that winning such an award makes me think — again — of how much help I have received. From researchers. Historians. Librarians. Archivists. Writers. Editors. Readers. Friends. Family. It’s staggering, really, how much assistance I have gotten in the years since I signed the contract through about five minutes ago. And I needed every helping hand I got. Thank you. Thank you. Thank you.

I have had a week to assemble the right words for this post but unfortunately I have come to realize that time is not my biggest obstacle. It’s not possible to adequately articulate my reaction to word that I have been named the recipient of the 2009 Seymour Medal. In fact, the only salient comment I can make is that now I know why people who win awards always strain to express their appreciation. You want people to know how grateful you are — and what it means to receive an award with the name Seymour attached to it — except you don’t know how to do that and so you say the word honor a lot, not because it’s what everyone says but because it’s true.

The Seymour Medal, named in honor of historians Dr. and Mrs. Harold Seymour and awarded by the Society for American Baseball Research, honors the best book of baseball history or biography published during the preceding calendar year. I’ll receive the medal during the Seymour Medal Conference in Cleveland on April 24-26. I will also give a free public reading during the conference’s opening reception at 7 p.m., Friday, April 24, at The Lit. The medal will be awarded Saturday during the conference, which takes place at the Radisson Hotel at Gateway.

Hopefully, by then I’ll find better words — but I’m making no guarantees.

How flattering to have my name mentioned in the same sentence as Larry Ritter’s.

My thanks to Bev Hermes, who alerted me to news that Charles Bender will appear in the center of one of the murals that will adorn Target Field and the transit station across from the Minnesota Twins’ new open-air ballpark.

Sometimes I wish e-mail would go the way of the telegram. But then every once in a while I open the inbox and hear from some kind soul in another corner of the country I never would have connected with otherwise. Here’s a slice of a comment from one such person:

I just finished reading “Chief Bender’s Burden” and have spent half an hour trying to figure a way to thank you for an effort which gave me, personally, a great deal of information about my great-uncle and some of his family. I am the granddaughter of Fred Bender, the brother of Charles Bender and was given a personalized autographed copy of your creation. Not only am I grateful for the information but also for a really good read!! I’m not a fan of baseball but … Even though I understood very little of the technicalities of the game of baseball, I was, thanks to your skills as a storyteller, caught up in the descriptions of the series games. Thank you for all your efforts.

-Susan Bender Scott

By the way, Ms. Bender Scott, you figured right. I can’t think of a better thank you than this one.

I’m late with this note, but my tardiness says nothing about how grateful I am that I can share it. Tom Flynn wrote a fine and flattering review that was published the most recent issue of The Corresponder, a publication of one of the state’s great graduate writing programs, under the heading “Fan Letter to Minnesota Writers.” There are so many good writers in this state — and I am tickled to see my name mentioned alongside several of them. From Flynn’s piece: “Too often accounts of sports figures’ lives are a mishmash of statistical data and hero worship. This is not the case with ‘Chief Bender’s Burden.’ In Swift’s hands, Bender is revealed as a man whose life away from the baseball diamond is as interesting as his life on it. … [This] is not a book for baseball fans only. Swift’s objective approach to telling Bender’s story allows the facts of his life to overshadow the baseball legend, revealing a man who, throughout his life, overcame the personal and societal obstacles he faced along the way.”

I heard the name Chris Livingston long before the book was published. I’m eager to see his renowned bookstore, which I will visit on Saturday evening when I will share Charles Bender’s story with anyone who’d like to listen and sign copies for anyone who would like to receive one. Hope to see you there. If nothing else, I bet you can get some holiday gifts out of the way.

Update: This has nothing to do with me other than I think it’s cool: Livingston will appear on NPR’s Morning Edition on Thursday, Dec. 11, to discuss great holiday book options.

I can’t help but be thankful: “Chief Bender’s Burden” was named one of 10 noteworthy books of 2008 by Kansas City Star history writer Brian Burnes.

Seth Stohs was kindly invited me to be a guest on his baseball-chatter podcast this week. If you’re a fan of the Minnesota Twins, especially future Minnesota Twins, Seth Speaks has you covered. But you probably already knew that.

I was asked to be the featured speaker at the Minnesota American Indian Chamber of Commerce’s 21st annual awards dinner Thursday night. The chamber’s worthy mission is to act as an advocate for American Indian businesses, organizations and professionals. What a terrific opportunity for me. Ironically, in his day Charles Bender was a sought-after speaker for similar banquets. He told good stories, he could, if the occasion called for it, sing, and he was funny. At least I will be able to offer one of the three: a good story — his.

There have been commentaries of late about Philadelphia’s sports drought. Of the cities with at least one team in all four major American team sports, the City of Brotherly Love has gone the longest — 25 years — without a championship. This has come up because the Phillies, of course, are trying to break the skid. Yet there was a time when Philadelphia was something of a Title Town. Ninety-five years ago this month the Philadelphia Athletics won their third World Series in a span of four years.

One of my favorite chapters (nineteen) from one of my favorite books chronicles the colorful 1913 World Series. During that series the A’s beat the New York Giants in six games and Charles Bender cemented his reputation as baseball’s premier clutch pitcher. Following the historic victory the Philadelphia Bulletin declared: “On Broadway they rave about Mathewson being the greatest ‘money pitcher’ in base ball — but only on Broadway. Right here in this town where we boast of the greatest ball club of all time we boast of the greatest money pitcher — the greatest of all. That hurler is Charles Albert Bender.”

Bender completed and won both of his starts in the series. Another A’s victory was delivered by a fellow Minnesota-born pitcher, Bullet Joe Bush. Meaning, Minnesota pitchers won three games as opposed to the great Christy Mathewson, who could manage only a single W.

Neither Bender nor Bush were born in Brainerd but newspapers often wrote that they were. And the town followed the pair’s exploits in the World Series as though they were native sons. “There was not a store in Brainerd that did a nickel’s worth of business after the returns began to come in,” said William McKenzie, a Brainerd resident in 1913. “The interest was so intense that everybody deserted business and flocked to the telegraph office to get the news hot off the wire.”

Note: The accompanying photo was taken during the 1913 World Series. Bender is pictured in the middle holding a bat, one of two wearing a mackinaw over his uniform.