Ted Williams: The Biography of an American Hero

With the death of baseball legend Ted Williams on July 3, 2002, Sports Illustrated ran Leigh Montville's powerful obituary as its much-praised cover story. Williams is one of those larger-than-life figures—a man whose hold on the public's imagination goes far beyond his feats on the baseball field. Still a teen when he signed with the Boston Red Sox in 1938, he soon unleashed the raw talent that would set longstanding records in the sport. His incredible full-season .406 batting averag…