Joe Niese

A lifelong sports fan, Joe Niese is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and the Professional Football Researchers Association. He has written four sports biographies: "Burleigh Grimes: Baseball's Last Legal Spitballer" (McFarland), "Handy Andy: The Andy Pafko Story" (Chippewa River Press), "Gus Dorais: Gridiron Innovator, All-American and Hall of Fame Coach" (McFarland), and "Zack Wheat: The Life of the Brooklyn Dodgers Hall of Famer" (McFarland). In 2015, "Handy Andy" won a bronze prize in Foreword Review's Book of the Year Award (Sports). That same year Joe received the Wisconsin Baseball Coaches Association State Media Award. "Zack Wheat" won SABR’s 2021 Ron Gabriel Award and was on the shortlist of finalists for their Larry Ritter Award.

Joe lives in Chippewa Falls, Wisconsin with his wife and three children, where he works as the Library Director of the Chippewa Falls Public Library.