Al Hirshberg

Albert Simon Hirshberg (May 10, 1909 – April 13, 1973),[1] frequently credited as Al Hirshberg, was an American author and sportswriter who was primarily active in the 1930s to the 1960s. He is best known as the co-author of Jimmy Piersall's 1955 autobiography titled Fear Strikes Out: The Jimmy Piersall Story, that was later made into the 1957 film Fear Strikes Out, starring Anthony Perkins.[2]

Early life

Al was born on May 10, 1909, the son of David Hirshberg. He served as an officer in the United States Navy in the South Pacific during World War II.

Career

Hirshbergwrote several books on the history of the Boston Red Sox baseball team, and co-wrote dozens of other people's memoirs, often, but not exclusively, about baseball players and/or Boston area sports figures and teams. He worked for The Boston Post from 1930 to 1952 and the Boston Herald from 1964 to 1968.[1]

Personal life

Hirshberg was married to Bert Cohen Hirshberg (née Milstone), an editor of Bostonia and benefactor of Boston University. It was her second marriage. They had no children together. She died in a car accident on February 2, 2008.[3][4] He had two children from an earlier marriage to Marjorie Littauer Hirshberg, to whom he was married for 31 years until her death in 1970.

Hirshberg had continued sportswriting until his death and had moved to Longboat Key, Florida for the winter. He died of a heart attack at a hospital in Sarasota, Florida on April 13, 1973, age 63.[1]

References
  1. "Al Hirshberg Dies; Ex-sportswriter, Age 63". The New York Times. 13 April 1973. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  2. Edgington, K; Erskine, Thomas; Welsh, James M (2010). Encyclopedia of Sports Films. Scarecrow Press. p. 156. ISBN 978-0810876538. Retrieved 18 January 2017.
  3. "Bert Milstone Cohen Hirshberg, 1919 - 2008". Jewish Women's Archive. Retrieved 2021-02-01.
  4. "Bert Cohen Hirshberg, editor (obituary)". Boston Globe. 7 February 2008. Retrieved 18 January 2017.


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