Elwyn Harmon Silverman (12 April 1926 – 10 March 2019), known as Al Silverman, was a noted

sports writer Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

, the author of 10 books and numerous essays published in, among other publications,

Playboy ''Playboy'' (stylized in all caps) is an American men's Lifestyle journalism, lifestyle and entertainment magazine, available both online and in print. It was founded in Chicago in 1953 by Hugh Hefner and his associates, funded in part by a $ ...

, Saga, and Sport magazine. Among his publications is ''I Am Third'', written with

Gale Sayers Gale Eugene Sayers (May 30, 1943 – September 23, 2020) was an American professional football halfback and return specialist in the National Football League (NFL). Sayers played for the Chicago Bears from 1965 to 1971, though injuries effec ...

, which was adapted for the 1971 television movie ''

Brian's Song ''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo ( James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer, focusing on his friendship with teammate Gale Sayers ( Billy Dee Williams) ...

''. In addition to his writing, Silverman also worked as an

editor Editing is the process of selecting and preparing written, visual, audible, or cinematic material used by a person or an entity to convey a message or information. The editing process can involve correction, condensation, organization, a ...

and

publisher Publishing is the activities of making information, literature, music, software, and other content, physical or digital, available to the public for sale or free of charge. Traditionally, the term publishing refers to the creation and distribu ...

. He was editor of Sport Magazine from 1951 to 1963 and was

CEO A chief executive officer (CEO), also known as a chief executive or managing director, is the top-ranking corporate officer charged with the management of an organization, usually a company or a nonprofit organization. CEOs find roles in variou ...

and chairman of

Book of the Month Club Book of the Month (founded 1926) is a United States subscription-based e-commerce service that offers a selection of five to seven new hardcover books each month to its members. Books are selected and endorsed by a panel of judges, and members ch ...

from 1972 to 1988. Most recently, Silverman served as editor and publisher at

Viking Press Viking Press (formally Viking Penguin, also listed as Viking Books) is an American publishing company owned by Penguin Random House. It was founded in New York City on March 1, 1925, by Harold K. Guinzburg and George S. Oppenheimer and then acqu ...

from 1989 to 1997.

Marriage

Silverman was married to Rosa Silverman, a ceramic sculptor.

Bibliography

* Silverman, Al. ''The Time of Their Lives: The Golden Age of Great American Book Publishers, Their Editors, and Authors''. New York: Truman Talley, 2008. Print.

Notes

{{DEFAULTSORT:Silverman, Al 1926 births 2019 deaths American book editors American sportswriters American magazine editors 20th-century American journalists 20th-century American male writers 20th-century American non-fiction writers 21st-century American male writers 21st-century American non-fiction writers American male non-fiction writers