Tom Swift Writer’s Notebook

Question: Why the heck did you decide to write this book?

Answer: Charles Bender was Minnesota’s first representative in the National Baseball Hall of Fame and, for nearly fifty years, the only one. When other Minnesota-born players (such as Dave Winfield) started receiving consideration Bender’s name often popped up in local newspaper articles as a footnote. I had no idea who he was and I became curious to find out. The more I learned the more I wanted to learn.

And the thing that grabbed me was what I consider a terrific human-interest story. Bender had a rare ability to throw a baseball and, obviously, he’s most known for his fabulous career. But he was not just a fine pitcher. He was a man forced to deal with the harsh hand of prejudice, a man who engaged in a staggering number of hobbies (many of them with unusual skill) and, looking at the arc of his life, a man who went from being a shy, introverted 19-year-old big leaguer to, late in life, a popular people person often asked to tell funny stories at banquets.

It’s funny, and I have said this in a few interviews, but I never would have known about Bender if I wasn’t a baseball fan, but I never would have written the book if he had been just a great baseball player.

This post was added on Monday, March 17, 2008 by Tom Swift at 15:24 and is filed under Albert, FAQs.