Author John G. Coulson resides in Hanover, Pennsylvania. His love of baseball has lasted throughout his life. He inherited that affection from his father, a successful baseball manager. John states that he held a baseball bat before a pencil. His earliest memories include running around the bases while his father was coaching a state championship team. By the time John was in elementary school, his father had given up coaching men and had begun managing little league teams, a focus for another twenty years. The author stated that the baseball diamond was his babysitter. John spent many years as a player, coach and now fan. That same love has been instilled in his son and grandsons. The author adds, “Baseball always gave my father and me something to talk about.” In the spring of 1956 before he started school, John, his parents and his grandparents made a trip to Florida by automobile. They visited many of the major league training camps. He was fortunate to sit next to Jackie Robinson and Roberto Clemente as they were interviewed in the old wooden bleachers. One of his favorite experiences was traveling with his father to Yankee Stadium every summer to watch the Old-Timers game and a Yankees weekend series. Also, he saw the great Clemente and the Pirates play in Shea Stadium when that ballpark first opened in 1964.
At age six, John opened his first pack of baseball cards. The color player photos opened a new baseball world. He had watched limited major league games on the family’s black and white television. Now, he saw close-up color photos of the players with their history detailed on the card backs. This experience began a lifelong attachment to baseball cards. Oddly, when he left for college, his parents bought a color television. Not sure what that means.
Through the years, John has attended many major league baseball games – primarily in Baltimore. While in high school, he accompanied the local Associated Press representative to Oriole games and sat in the press box. Often, he rode the elevator with Chuck Thompson, the voice of the O’s. While in Baltimore, he was fortunate to witness two no-hitters, an all-star game and a World Series game. He saw the Oriole debut of Eddie Murray, Cal Ripken, Jr., and Reggie Jackson plus the final Memorial Stadium contest and the first opener at Oriole Park at Camden Yards. He has met many of baseball's greatest players including Joe Dimaggio, Ted Williams, Duke Snider, Mickey Mantle, Hank Aaron, Ernie Banks, Stan Musial, Bob Feller and many others. His niece is married to former major leaguer Chris Heisey.
John’s book on Wee Willie Sherdel: Cardinals’ Winningest Left-Hander is his second. In this effort, he worked with John T. Sherdel, the grandson of Willie. John Sherdel lives in New Oxford, Pennsylvania, and continues to promote the memory of his grandfather. Previously, Coulson authored a reference book on the class D Hanover Raiders and the history of the Blue Ridge League from 1915 to 1930. That book Hanover Raiders: Minor League Baseball In Hanover, Pennsylvania resides in the Library of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York. He remains a student of baseball history and a member of SABR (The Society for American Baseball Research).
The author graduated from Millersville State College with a Bachelor of Science degree in Mathematics. He remains an alumni member of Sigma Tau Gamma national fraternity. John spent his first career in banking technology, retiring after serving as executive vice president and chief technology officer for several mid-sized banks in the south-central Pennsylvania area. Now in his second life, he supports libraries and has served as chairman of the board of the county library system. John and his wife have a son and daughter and five grandchildren.