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William F. Kirk (1877 - 1927) was an American baseball writer, columnist, humorist, poet and songwriter.〔''New York Times'' March 26, 1927.〕 ==Career== Although born in Mankato, Kirk spent most of his childhood in Chippewa Falls. He graduated from high school there and began his career in journalism on a local paper. His humor column, “Fleeting Fancies”, was a popular feature in the ''Chippewa Falls Herald'' and later in the ''Milwaukee Sentinel''.〔 It brought him to the attention of metropolitan dailies and was the name of his first book, published in 1904. Kirk's lyrics drew comparisons with those of other poets, whose work he sometimes parodied: Henry Wadsworth Longfellow, Eugene Field and James Whitcomb Riley.〔''The Syracuse Post-Standard'' June 17, 1905.〕 A longtime newspaperman, Kirk got his start at press outlets in Chippewa Falls and Milwaukee. In 1905 he signed a contract with the Hearst organization and moved to New York, where he was employed at two of William Randolph Hearst's papers: the ''New York American'' and the ''New York Evening Journal''.〔(''Johnny Kling: A Baseball Biography'' by Gil Bogen, (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 2006) pp. 249 - 250. )〕 After returning to Chippewa Falls in 1918, he continued working as a nationally syndicated columnist.〔''Ironwood Daily Globe'' March 25, 1927.〕 For eighteen years Kirk was distributed by the International Features Syndicate and reached a national audience as he wrote on subjects as diverse as baseball, temperance, women's suffrage and divorce.〔 His pieces were seen in everything from "The Smart Set" to trade union publications. He was widely known for the features "Little Bobbie's Pa" and "The Manicure Lady".〔''The San Francisco Call'' September 1, 1913.〕 Recent works on baseball's deadball era have had numerous examples of Kirk’s sports writing. One can, for instance, read his account of Fred Merkle's infamous blunder 〔(''The Complete Armchair Book of Baseball'' edited by John Thorn, (New York: Galahad Books, 1997) p. 497. )〕 or his rhyming tribute to the Flying Dutchman, Honus Wagner.〔''Honus Wagner: The Life of Baseball's Flying Dutchman'' by Arthur D. Hittner, (Jefferson, N.C.: McFarland, 1996).〕 ''The Unforgettable Season'' by Gordon H. Fleming recounts the 1908 National League pennant race through contemporary press coverage by Kirk and others.〔''The Unforgettable Season'' by Gordon H. Fleming, (New York: Holt, Rinehart and Winston, 1981).〕 In 1911 Kirk published a collection of baseball ballads called ''Right Off The Bat''.〔(''Right off the Bat'' by William F. Kirk, (New York: G.W. Dillingham, 1911). )〕 抄文引用元・出典: フリー百科事典『 ウィキペディア（Wikipedia）』 ■ウィキペディアで「William F. Kirk」の詳細全文を読む スポンサード リンク
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