Local author finishes first baseball book

For 18 years, Aurora resident John O'Donnell has been working on his first book.

Work might be a stretch, because it's also been a labor of love. And now it's out, Like Night and Day, O'Donnell's look back at Chicago baseball from 1964-69.

O'Donnell, who teaches freshman and junior English at Benet Academy in Lisle, wrote about Cubs and White Sox games he went to as a kid while weaving in events that were going on in society.

"It's a neat process," O'Donnell said. "It's been fun to have my students read the book. It's good to let them know if you can persevere, if you don't get discouraged, you can do this."

O'Donnell grew up on the west side of Chicago and started going to games on both sides of town when he was in fourth grade. He had one parent who was a Cubs fan and one a Sox fan.

Here's how O'Donnell describes his book on his Web site:

"Highlighting games from this era, it takes a trip to a time when games were more of a game than a business, when seats were available to the common folk, and when players were more accessible, more heroic, yet more like us.

"The players featured in this book include Hall-of-Famers, All-Stars, has-beens, and never-weres, but all contributing to baseball lore. Games featured include no-hitters, near perfect games, slugfests, pitching duels, thrilling comebacks, and heartbreaking defeats. It follows teams that were both pretenders and contenders, but could never quite get there. Some second and third guessing is allowed as managerial and general management moves and motives are featured.

"Ever go to on those trips to the ballpark on Little League Days? Do you remember the thrill of your first autograph? This book will bring those days to life."

For more information, visit amazon.com or nightanddaybook.com.