Author. He is best known for the acclaimed baseball book “Eight Men Out” (1963), which was based on the 1919 “Black Sox” scandal and became a 1988 film adaptation. Born in New York City, he was educated at Swarthmore College and later played baseball in the Philadelphia Phillies minor league system. After serving in the United States Army during World War II, Asinof began his writing career in television during the 1950s for such programs as “Climax!” and “The DuPont Show of the Month”. Among his other books are “Man on Spikes” (1955) and “Seven Days to Sunday” (1968). He was formerly married to actress Jocelyn Brando. He died from complications of pneumonia. (bio by: C.S.)