The Big Town

Ringgold Wilmer Lardner (1885-1933) was an American sports columnist and short story writer best known for his satirical takes on the sports world, marriage, and the theatre. In 1916 he published his first successful book, You Know Me Al, which was written in the form of letters written by Jack Keefe, a bush league baseball player, to a friend back home. He went on to write such well-known stories as Haircut, Some Like Them Cold, The Golden Honeymoon, Alibi Ike, and A Day in the Life of Conrad Green. He also continued to write follow-up stories to You Know Me Al, with the hero of that book, the headstrong but gullible Jack Keefe, experiencing various ups and downs in his major league career and in his personal life. Private Keefes World War I letters home to his friend Al were collected in Treat Em Rough. Lardner also had a lifelong fascination with the theatre, though his only success was June Moon, a comedy co-written with Broadway veteran George S. Kaufman.