Charles E. (Charles Emmett) Van Loan

Charles Emmett Van Loan was an American journalist, humorist, and short-story writer born in San Jose, California, on June 29, 1876. He became known for writing about sports with warmth, wit, and a strong feel for spoken language, especially in stories about baseball, boxing, golf, and racing.

He wrote for major magazines including Collier's and The Saturday Evening Post, and his fiction was widely read in the years before his early death. His books include The Big League, The Ten-Thousand-Dollar Arm, The Lucky Seventh, Score by Innings, and Taking the Count.

Van Loan died on March 2, 1919, at just 42 years old. Though he is less widely remembered now, he still stands out as an important voice in early American sports writing, blending newspaper energy with the easy charm of popular fiction.