Longtime New York sports writer Phil Pepe dies at 80
NEW YORK (Phil Pepe, a revered baseball writer who spent more than five decades chronicling sports in New York, has died. He was 80.
Pepe died Sunday of an apparent heart attack at his home in Englewood, New Jersey, his son, David, told The Associated Press.
A longtime New York Yankees beat writer who covered Hall of Fame stars from Mickey Mantle to Reggie Jackson, Pepe also authored dozens of books on some of the biggest names in sports.
Pepe joined the Yankees beat in 1961 with the New York World Telegram & Sun and assumed that role with the New York Daily News from 1968-81.
After leaving the beat, he began churning out sports books at a vigorous pace. He wrote nearly 50 of them, including co-authoring Mantle's autobiography "My Favorite Summer: 1956", which rose to No. 7 on the New York Times bestseller list.