William Swank
Encyclopedia
Introduction
William George Swank is the author or co-author of seven books and numerous articles primarily about baseball. The San Diego Historical Society identified him as "San Diego's preeminent baseball historian."Life
Bill Swank was born in ChicagoChicago
Chicago is the largest city in the US state of Illinois. With nearly 2.7 million residents, it is the most populous city in the Midwestern United States and the third most populous in the US, after New York City and Los Angeles...
on June 17, 1940, to parents William George Swank and Estelle Jensen Swank. He received a Bachelor of Science degree from San Diego State College in 1962. He was a Supervising Probation Officer
Probation officer
Parole officers and probation officers play a role in criminal justice systems by supervising offenders released from incarceration or sentenced to non-custodial sanctions such as community service...
for the County of San Diego from 1963-1994. He has three children, Eric William Swank, Karen Swank-Fitch, William Corey Swank, and one grandson, Matthew Fitch. He currently lives in San Diego, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
, with his wife Jeri Lynne (Bessie) Swank, whom he married in 1986.
Swank has campaigned since 1988 to get San Diego's first major league baseball
Major League Baseball
Major League Baseball is the highest level of professional baseball in the United States and Canada, consisting of teams that play in the National League and the American League...
player and early home run king Gavy Cravath elected to Baseball's Hall of Fame. His scale model of Lane Field (built in 1997) is on permanent display at the San Diego Hall of Champions
San Diego Hall of Champions
The San Diego Hall of Champions is an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California. Located in the Federal Building in Balboa Park, the facility recognizes outstanding athletic accomplishments and traditions involving more than forty-two sports...
. Following the release of his award-winning book, Echoes from Lane Field (1999), Swank has extensively explored the history of baseball in San Diego and helped honor many local players including Pete Coscarart
Pete Coscarart
Peter Joseph Coscarart was a second baseman/shortstop in Major League Baseball who played for the Brooklyn Dodgers and Pittsburgh Pirates . Coscarart batted and threw right-handed. He was born in Escondido, California...
, Johnny Ritchey, Floyd Robinson
Floyd Robinson
Floyd Andrew Robinson is a former outfielder in Major League Baseball for the Chicago White Sox , Cincinnati Reds , Oakland Athletics , and Boston Red Sox...
, Manuel Hernandez
Manuel Hernández
Manuel Hernández García is a motorcycle road racer. He currently races in the 250cc Grand Prix world championship. He started to race professionally in 2004. His father, also named Manuel Hernández, raced in the same category in the late 1980s.-Grand Prix motorcycle racing career:-References:...
and Ted Williams
Ted Williams
Theodore Samuel "Ted" Williams was an American professional baseball player and manager. He played his entire 21-year Major League Baseball career as the left fielder for the Boston Red Sox...
.
Swank has been Santa Claus
Santa Claus
Santa Claus is a folklore figure in various cultures who distributes gifts to children, normally on Christmas Eve. Each name is a variation of Saint Nicholas, but refers to Santa Claus...
for Christmas on the Prado in Balboa Park
Balboa Park
Balboa Park is the name of several municipal parks or neighborhoods, including the following:* Balboa Park, San Diego, California, United States* Balboa Park, San Francisco, California, United States...
, San Diego, since 2002. He also volunteers as Santa for several other charitable organizations in San Diego. As "Baseball Santa," he played second base for the House of David
House of David
The Israelite House of David is a religious society founded by Benjamin and Mary Purnell in Benton Harbor, Michigan, in March 1903. Benjamin Franklin Purnell was born near Maysville, Kentucky. As a child he was fascinated by preaching and learned to read using the New Testament, being raised in a...
from 2003 through 2008. In 2009, Baseball Santa began giving baseball equipment to Little Leagues
Little League
Little League Baseball and Softball is a non-profit organization in South Williamsport, Pennsylvania, United States which organizes local youth baseball and softball leagues throughout the U.S...
in Mexico
Mexico
The United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
.
Echoes from Lane Field
Published in 1999. Winner, San Diego Press Club and San Diego Book Awards, 1999Echoes of Lane Field is a compilation of interviews conducted by Swank of San Diego Padres team members when the Padres were a minor league team.
Gold Leather Helmets, Black Hightop Shoes
Published in 2003. Written with Bill Rice.An Athletic History of Mission Bay High School During the 1950s. From a review by Don King, Historian of the San Diego Hall of Champions
San Diego Hall of Champions
The San Diego Hall of Champions is an American multi-sport museum in San Diego, California. Located in the Federal Building in Balboa Park, the facility recognizes outstanding athletic accomplishments and traditions involving more than forty-two sports...
: "Bill Swank is San Diego's eminent baseball historian, but he's a couple tacos short of a combination plate. Mission Bay is a powerhouse today, but that wasn't the case when the school opened fifty years ago…and then it got worse. Why would somebody write about this? With painstaking research and a sense of humor, Swank and Bill Rice have created a time capsule of the 1950s. How did they ever find so much information about women's athletics from that era? You don’t have to be a Buc to enjoy this book."
Baseball in San Diego
Baseball in San Diego: From the Padres to Petco, published in 2004Baseball in San Diego: From the Plaza to the Padres, published in 2005
From the book jacket: Baseball in San Diego: From the Plaza to the Padres, takes the reader on a seven-decade journey from Horton Plaza, the site of San Diego's first base ball game in 1871, to lower Broadway and the future home of Lane Field. Before the Pacific Coast League, San Diego had three Class D teams. One was the Bears, whose frustrated owner Dick Cooley complained, “I don't believe they'll make baseball pay here in a thousand years.” With America's finest year-round climate, barnstorming and black baseball were popular attractions. Rube Foster's Chicago American Giants practically lived in San Diego in the winter of 1913. All the while, there were constant struggles between the forces of amateur and professional baseball for players, diamonds, and sports coverage.
Bob Chandler's Tales from the San Diego Padres
Published in 2006. Co-author.From the book jacket: Longtime Padres announcer Bob Chandler shares his memories of the team with San Diego baseball historian Bill Swank in an easy-to-read recap of the team's colorful past. Chandler and Swank utilize their numerous contacts to bring readers many inside stories and humorous anecdotes dating back to the team's actual birth on May 27, 1968. Eight-time batting champion Tony Gwynn and Cy Young Award-winner Randy Jones are among the former players providing insight and inside stories. Chandler's longtime broadcast partner Jerry Coleman, elected to the broadcasters wing of the baseball Hall of Fame in 2005, has written the foreword.