Owning and publishing this newspaper I have over the past four years met and spoke with a lot of local people. One such person is Bill Swank a long time Clairemont resident. The more we spoke the more I learned about the man.
Our readers may not realize that Squaremont columnist (p8) Bill Swank has been Santa Claus at the Spreckels Organ Pavilion in Balboa Park since 2002. He is also recognized as San Diego’s preeminent baseball historian. It is during our conversations talking about baseball that he reminds me of my father a longtime newspaper man and sports photographer. Swank is always rattling off names of old time baseball players and I always remind him he and my dad would have had a great time talking baseball over old a cold one. The stories of the old days of baseball do not hold a candle to what the game was like decades ago.
Bill has a new book, Christmas in San Diego that was released on October 26, 2015.
Christmas in San Diego features over 200 black & white and color images of our favorite San Diego holiday. It is divided into five chapters: the history of Christmas in San Diego, the many Christmas traditions throughout San Diego, the various Christmas celebrations in the communities of San Diego County, unique San Diego Christmas trees and, lastly, some very special San Diego Santas.
Book Signings for Christmas in San Diego
· Point Loma Bookstar/Loma Theatre, 3150 Rosecrans Place on Saturday, November 7, 2015 at 1:00 PM
· Bill will be in the full red suit at D.G. Wills Books, 7461 Girard Avenue, La Jolla on Saturday, December 12, 2015 at 7:00 PM.
Christmas in San Diego is Swank’s tenth book. Most of his previous titles are about baseball:
The Lane Field Padres (two volumes), Ray Brandes and Bill Swank (1997),
Echoes from Lane Field, Bill Swank (1999),
Gold Leather Helmets/Black Hightop Shoes: An Athletic History of Mission Bay High School during the 1950s, Bill Swank and Bill Rice (2003),
Baseball in San Diego: From the Padres to Petco, Bill Swank (2004),
Baseball in San Diego: From the Plaza to the Padres, Bill Swank (2005),
Bob Chandler’s Tales from the San Diego Padres Dugout, Bob Chandler with Bill Swank (2006),
The Life of Dion Rich: Live Like a Millionaire With No Money Down, Charlie Jones and Bill Swank (2011)
Off Guard, Walt Sweeney with Bill Swank (2012).
If you would like to purchase an EXCLUSIVE signed copy of any of the books Bill has published he can be reached by email at: Bill@ClairemontTimes.com or by Phone at (858) 274-7999
Direct Link to Amazon to this book: http://www.amazon.com/Christmas-Diego-Images-Modern-America/dp/1467134554/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=144…
Or any of his books can be ordered online at Amazon (unsigned):
http://www.amazon.com/s/ref=nb_sb_noss?url=search-alias%3Daps&field-keywords=bill+swank
