Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieu: John Updike on Ted Williams

On September 28, 1960a day that will live forever in the hearts of fansRed Sox slugger Ted Williams stepped up to the plate for his last at-bat in Fenway Park. Seizing the occasion, he belted a solo home runa storybook ending to a storied career.

In the stands that afternoon was twenty-eight-year-old John Updike, inspired by the moment to make his lone venture into the field of sports reporting. More than just a matchless account of that fabled final game,Hub Fans Bid Kid Adieuis a brilliant evocation of Williams entire tumultuous life in baseball.

Now, on the fiftieth anniversary of the dramatic exit of baseballs greatest hitter, The Library of America presents a commemorative edition ofHub Fans, prepared by the author just months before his death. To the classic final version of the essay, long out-of-print, Updike added an autobiographical preface and a substantial new afterword.