Leonard Koppett, 79, a sportswriter and author of 16 books whose career spanned nearly six decades, died June 22 in San Francisco.
Koppett died of an apparent heart attack at Davies Symphony Hall, where he and his wife were to attend a concert.
"He was one of the most innovative, knowledgeable and astute thinkers in the game of baseball," said Ross Newhan, the Hall of Fame baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times. "I think with all of the years he spent writing about the game, he brought a fresh perspective to complex subjects."
Koppett's sportswriting career began in New York and continued when he moved to Northern California in 1973, becoming the New York Times' first West Coast sports correspondent.
In 1992, Leonard Koppett was elected into the writers' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
He also covered the National Basketball Association in its formative years and was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994.
Koppett was a fixture in the press box at San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics games. He was one of the first writers to use statistics not readily found in box scores.
"He would compare how many home runs were hit in the 1930s with the kind of ball they used, and how they changed the height of the mound in the '40s and '50s. He really broke it apart and was great at comparing the eras," Oakland radio broadcaster Marty Lurie told the Chronicle.
He wrote about the great home-run race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. His recollections were sought frequently when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa raced to break Maris' home-run record in 1998.
Koppett died of an apparent heart attack at Davies Symphony Hall, where he and his wife were to attend a concert.
"He was one of the most innovative, knowledgeable and astute thinkers in the game of baseball," said Ross Newhan, the Hall of Fame baseball writer for the Los Angeles Times. "I think with all of the years he spent writing about the game, he brought a fresh perspective to complex subjects."
Koppett's sportswriting career began in New York and continued when he moved to Northern California in 1973, becoming the New York Times' first West Coast sports correspondent.
In 1992, Leonard Koppett was elected into the writers' wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame.
He also covered the National Basketball Association in its formative years and was voted into the Basketball Hall of Fame in 1994.
Koppett was a fixture in the press box at San Francisco Giants and Oakland Athletics games. He was one of the first writers to use statistics not readily found in box scores.
"He would compare how many home runs were hit in the 1930s with the kind of ball they used, and how they changed the height of the mound in the '40s and '50s. He really broke it apart and was great at comparing the eras," Oakland radio broadcaster Marty Lurie told the Chronicle.
He wrote about the great home-run race between Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle in 1961. His recollections were sought frequently when Mark McGwire and Sammy Sosa raced to break Maris' home-run record in 1998.
