Acknowledgments

Every nonfiction author must rely on the goodwill of others in order to provide as complete a picture as possible, and I am sincerely thankful for the graciousness shown to me by the people mentioned here. Obviously, this book would not have been possible without the cooperation and memories of Mark Fidrych’s friends, family, teammates, and fans. I have never met anyone who had more people who considered themselves to be close friends. This fact alone suggests something about Mark’s remarkable personality and ability to connect with people.

I would like to especially thank Mark’s sister, Carol Fidrych-Duda, and her husband, Rick, for their great hospitality on my trip to Northboro and for the tour of Northboro and the old neighborhood. Thanks also to Jack Wallace for showing me the baseball fields of Mark Fidrych’s youth and to Mark’s good friend Joe Sullivan for the tour of his “Bird garage” and for sharing his opinions and memories.

I would like to thank the following people who were kind enough to speak or exchange e-mails with me: Victor Battini, Paul Beals, Jack Billingham, Tom Blackburn, Robert Boberg, Neil Burke, Dan Coakley, Rick Duda, Kevin Dumas, Ray Dumas, C. Michael Eliasz, Carol Fidrych-Duda, Laura Floetke, Fred Gladding, Charlie Glodas, Steve Grilli, Paula Grogan, Glenn Gulliver, Jeff Henningson, Wayne Hey, John Hiller, Kathy Hinchman, Jeff Hogan, Ralph Houk, Doug Howard, Jim Jablonski, Lori Karolowicz, Bruce Kimm, Dave Lavoice, Fred LeClaire, Rosemary Lonborg, Frank MacCormack, Dave Machemer, Keith MacWhorter, David Miles, Chuck Murphy, Brad Ostiguy, Mark Peerman, Daniel Rowe, Dave Rozema, John Sanderson, Greg Scupholm, Vivian Shyu, Thalia Stambaugh, Sherry Stover-Conley, Joe Sullivan, Gary Sutherland, Bob Sykes, Jane Syzdek, Steve Thomas, David Veinot, Jack Wallace, Rod Wharram, Diane Horn Whitaker, Kenneth White, Jim Willard, John Wockenfuss, Patrick Zier, and Tom Zocco.

It is a special treat to talk to former professional baseball players, and I am very appreciative to all of them for their time. I felt particularly honored, and lucky, to be able to talk to Ralph Houk, whose connection to Major League Baseball encompassed the DiMaggio and Mantle years of the New York Yankees. He was very helpful and enjoyed talking about Mark Fidrych, who he stated was one of his all-time favorites. I was greatly saddened to learn of Mr. Houk’s death a few months after our conversation.

I would like to thank the staff of the Northboro Historical Society, the Worcester Public Library, and the Bartholomew County Library in Columbus, Indiana particularly for Tyler Munn and Denise Wirrig, their invaluable assistance.

I would like to thank the following people who provided pictures (sorting through them and deciding which to include proved to be one of the most difficult tasks): Carol Fidrych-Duda, Jack Wallace, Lorie Karolowicz, Brad Ostiguy, and Sue Digiorgio of the Wertz Warriors. Also thanks to Kevin O’Sullivan of AP images for his rapid assistance and John Horne at the National Baseball Hall of Fame Library.

This project may not have been possible without my agent, John Talbot, who immediately recognized the importance of telling Mark Fidrych’s story to the present generation. Similarly, my editor, Rob Kirkpatrick, and his assistant, Nicole Sohl, provided invaluable assistance.

I would like to thank my mother for her continuing support and my brother, Ed, for sharing technical know-how and literary advice.

Finally, I would like to thank my beautiful wife Kathy for her never-ending support. Her presence on our trek to Northboro made the whole trip much more enjoyable.