Herb Gould
​I am a Chicago native, spent my working career as a Chicago Sun-Times sportswriter after stints in news, features and copy editing... B.A., history, Wisconsin...M.S., journalism, Northwestern. I am an award-winning baseball correspondent for the Peninsula Pulse, Best Local Sports Column, Wisconsin Newspaper Assn., 2024... Active hobbies: Bike. Hike. Golf. My handicap is my swing... My wife, Liz, and I own a home in Sister Bay, rent one in Tucson during the winter.
Nonfiction
Fiction
The Run Don't Count: The Life & Times of Frank Chance and His 1908 Chicago Cubs
2018
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The Run Don't Count is a historical novel about the Tinker-to-Evers-to-Chance Cubs, a colorful trio who led the team to four pennants in five years. The title is a quote from the umpire of the Merkle’s Boner game, which set off a frenzy in a season that was literally a matter of life and death. The story is told by a batboy, hired after a chance encounter with Chance. The 1908 baseball season was a raucous one, especially for the Cubs, who were gunning for their third straight National League pennant. Herb Gould makes the Cubs and their quest come to life—turning Tinker, Evers and Chance into real people with human flaws as well as baseball skills. After the glory, he follows their hopes and dreams as their baseball careers fade. This is a book about the birth of America's fascination with baseball, including the compelling story of the life and death of troubled National League president Harry Pulliam, who tried to keep order in a game filled with disorderly conduct. This meticulously researched novel about the Cubs’ last 20th Century World Series win touches all the bases.
Nonfiction
Lambeau: The Epic Life of Earl Louis ``Curly'' Lambeau, The Man Who Invented the Green Bay Packers
May 2025, Gonfalon Press
Curly Lambeau led a swashbuckling life on the football field and everywhere he ventured. He scored the first touchdown of his mentor Knute Rockne's coaching career, was a passing and scouting innovator and won six of the first 25 NFL titles. Together with George Halas, he was instrumental in helping a fledgling NFL survive. He was a master at publicity, and a visionary—the first to fly his team to a road game and the first to operate a dedicated practice facility. A notorious skirt chaser, his three tumultuous marriages ended in divorce. Although a Green Bay icon, he loved his frequent California escapes. When his Packer reign turned sour, the people of Green Bay forced him out. Brief stints coaching the Chicago Cardinals and Washington Redskins also ended badly. Perhaps most remarkably, the people of Green Bay forgave and forgot—and put his name on the most iconic stadium in pro football. His exploits would fade, but his name would live on.