Charles Einstein

Born in Boston in 1926, Charles Einstein built a long career as a newspaperman, sportswriter, novelist, editor, and screenwriter. After graduating from the University of Chicago, he worked for the International News Service and later wrote for major San Francisco newspapers, where his baseball writing earned lasting attention.

Einstein is best known to many readers for his baseball books, especially Willie’s Time, his acclaimed portrait of Willie Mays and the era around him. He also collaborated with Mays on books, edited the influential Fireside Book of Baseball volumes, and became a lifetime member of the Baseball Writers' Association of America.

His range went well beyond sports. Early in his career he wrote the novel The Bloody Spur, which became the basis for Fritz Lang’s film While the City Sleeps, and he also worked in television writing. He died in 2007, leaving behind a body of work that shows both a reporter’s eye for detail and a storyteller’s feel for drama.