Asinof, Eliot, 1919-2008

Eliot Asinof was a minor league baseball player briefly and later an author of fiction and non-fiction works. He devoted several years to researching his book, Eight Men Out, and co-wrote the motion picture based on the book with its director, John Sayles.

From the description of Eliot Asinof papers, 1954-2006 (bulk 1963-1977). (Chicago History Museum). WorldCat record id: 718738162

Born in New York City to Russian-American tailor Max Asinof, writer Eliot Tager Asinof (1919-2008) played baseball for Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst on Long Island, before joining the Swarthmore College team. Following graduation, he signed a contract for the Philadelphia Phillies’ minor league team. During World War II, Asinof trained as a fighter pilot until going into the U.S. Army’s Officer Candidates School with the help of Detroit Tigers’ first baseman Hank Greenberg, a family friend. Upon graduation, Asinof was stationed for two years at the army and naval base on Adak Island, Alaska. Following the war, he returned to New York City, where he met and married actress Jocelyn Brando (1919-2005), the sister of actor Marlon Brando. The two eventually had a son, Martin, before divorcing in 1955.

In the 1950s, Asinof began writing scripts for TV shows and fronting for writers blacklisted by the House Un-American Committee. Signing a petition to integrate the New York Yankees, Asinof soon found himself among the blacklisted screenwriters. In 1955, he wrote Man on Spikes, a novel based on his former teammate Mickey Rutner’s difficulties making it into major league baseball.

That same year, Asinof moved to California to write a screenplay adaptation of Man on Spikes, which appeared on the television show Goodyear Playhouse. A contract writer for Warner Brothers, Asinof began work on a movie for John Wayne, but studio head Jack Warner fired Asinof after he wrote a scene where Wayne’s character grieves the death of a friend by hitting a horse.

Asinof then returned to New York City to write a TV screenplay for David Susskind about the Black Sox scandal, in which eight Chicago White Sox players in collusion with gamblers intentionally lost the 1919 World Series. When the screenplay was dropped, Asinof attained an advance from Putnam to turn the story into a book. He met with several people involved in the scandal, including White Sox outfielder Oscar “Happy” Felsch and boxer Abe Attell, who allegedly supplied money from gangster Arnold Rothstein to the players. The result, Eight Men Out, was published in 1963, receiving a place in Sports Illustrated’s top 50 best sports books of all time. John Sayles adapted the book into the 1987 film of the same name.

Asinof published numerous other novels and non-fiction books, such as People v. Blutcher (1970); Craig and Joan (1971); The Fox is Crazy, Too (1976); Bleeding Between the Lines (1979); Strike Zone (1994); and Final Judgment (2008).

Sources:

Kisseloff, Jeff. “Bio.” Eliot Asinof. Accessed February 2, 2010. http://eliotasinof.com/page4/page4.html.

Weber, Bruce. “Eliot Asinof, Eight Men Out Author, Is Dead at 88.” New York Times. June 11 and 12, 2008.

From the guide to the Asinof, Eliot, papers 2009-171., [ca. 1930s-2000s], (Dolph Briscoe Center for American History, The University of Texas at Austin)

Born in New York City to Russian-American tailor Max Asinof, writer Eliot Tager Asinof (1919-2008) played baseball for Lawrence High School in Cedarhurst on Long Island, before joining the Swarthmore College team.

Following graduation, he signed a contract for the Philadelphia Phillies' minor league team. During World War II, Asinof trained as a fighter pilot until going into the U.S. Army's Officer Candidates School with the help of Detroit Tigers' first baseman Hank Greenberg, a family friend. Upon graduation, Asinof was stationed for two years at the army and naval base on Adak Island, Alaska. Following the war, he returned to New York City, where he met and married actress Jocelyn Brando (1919-2005), the sister of actor Marlon Brando. The two eventually had a son, Martin, before divorcing in 1955.

In the 1950s, Asinof began writing scripts for TV shows and fronting for writers blacklisted by the House Un-American Committee.

Signing a petition to integrate the New York Yankees, Asinof soon found himself among the blacklisted screenwriters. In 1955, he wrote Man on Spikes, a novel based on his former teammate Mickey Rutner's difficulties making it into major league baseball. That same year, Asinof moved to California to write a screenplay adaptation of Man on Spikes, which appeared on the television show Goodyear Playhouse. A contract writer for Warner Brothers, Asinof began work on a movie for John Wayne, but studio head Jack Warner fired Asinof after he wrote a scene where Wayne's character grieves the death of a friend by hitting a horse.

Asinof then returned to New York City to write a TV screenplay for David Susskind about the Black Sox scandal, in which eight Chicago White Sox players in collusion with gamblers intentionally lost the 1919 World Series.

When the screenplay was dropped, Asinof attained an advance from Putnam to turn the story into a book. He met with several people involved in the scandal, including White Sox outfielder Oscar "Happy" Felsch and boxer Abe Attell, who allegedly supplied money from gangster Arnold Rothstein to the players. The result, Eight Men Out, was published in 1963, receiving a place in Sports Illustrated's top 50 best sports books of all time. John Sayles adapted the book into the 1987 film of the same name.

Asinof published numerous other novels and non-fiction books, such as People v. Blutcher (1970); Craig and Joan (1971); The Fox is Crazy, Too (1976); Bleeding Between the Lines (1979); Strike Zone (1994); and Final Judgment (2008).

From the description of Asinof, Eliot, papers, [ca. 1930s-2000s] (University of Texas Libraries). WorldCat record id: 719636123