My Father's Game

Rick Wilber is a journalism professor at the University of South Florida. He lives in St. Petersburg, Florida.

“It couldn’t have been easy to write this book. It isn’t particularly easy to read it. But whether you care about baseball or not, it speaks valuably to the experience many of us will have on one side of the life cycle or the other, and ultimately perhaps both. … [It] may well become a classic in the literature.”—Broad Street Review; “a beautifully rendered biography, a family memoir, and a near-essential companion for those of us faced with the responsibility and privilege of sharing our parent’s lives as they age. With grace, with anger, and with the strong tools of truth and love, Rick Wilber gives that essential gift of the writer by somehow, magically and invisibly, linking his journey through the difficult emotional and physical work of caring for his mother and father with our own as we care for ours. Reading My Father’s Game will indeed give you a unique and marvelous glimpse of baseball history, but its real value is that it will also ease the tribulations of this difficult passage by showing you that you are not alone.”—Novelist Kathleen Ann Goonan; “Rick Wilber’s powerful memoir is a work of uncommon courage. In it he cares for demanding, ailing parents while trying to be the best husband, father, and teacher he can be. It’s an impossible task, it turns out, and as he relives the frustration, pain, and anger, we watch fascinated as the drama plays out. My Father’s Game is an honest, affecting book that will touch you deeply.”—Peter Golenbock, author of Wrigleyville, Bums, and Red Sox Nation; “this is a stunning book. Rick Wilber’s dead-level, achingly honest account of what he learned about himself, his father, and one of our central national mythologies should be read by every baseball fan and would be helpful to everyone who takes on the role of caregiver. My Father’s Game abounds with faith, heartbreak, love, insight, and honor”—Peter Straub, award-winning author of Lost Boy, Lost Girl, Koko and In the Night Room; “as one of his many writing protégés, I know something about Rick Wilber’s father-son relationships. But I never knew about the one that shaped his life, strengthened his heart, honed his soul. I never knew about, My Father’s Game, the story of how a simple nine-inning game could fashion a bond that would last two men a lifetime. I am honored to have been of Rick Wilber’s students. While reading My Father’s Game I realize I am learning from him still”—Bill Plaschke, Los Angeles Times Sports Columnist and panelist on ESPN’s Around the Horn.

• Table of ContentsAcknowledgments       Preface      1. Cycling In      2. At the End: July 2002      3. Getting into the Game      4. The Easy Way, the Hard Way      5. Writing Dad      6. Using Dad      7. Special Needs      8. Assisted Living      9. The Aristocracy      10. Myth and History      11. Keeping Score      12. Fins to the Left      13. The Final Game: March 2002      14. Alternate Realities      15. Some Hard-Earned Advice      16. Bridges: May 2002      17. Memorabilia      18. Life After Baseball      19. Post Hoc      20. Cycling Out      Appendix: Some Useful Resources      Index