Jack Cavanaugh, veteran sportswriter, at Westport Sunrise Rotary, Dec. 14

Sportswriter Jack Cavanaugh will discuss his latest book, "Season of '42: Joe D., Teddy Ballgame, and Baseball's Fight to Survive a Turbulent First Year of War," at the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club breakfast meeting at Bobby Q's, 42 Main St., Westport, on Friday, December 14th, 7:30 a.m. Guests are welcome. There is a $12 fee for the meeting which includes a breakfast buffet.

The season of 1942 was the first baseball season of World War II.  Before hundreds of major leaguers went off to war, they enjoyed one final season in the sun. In his book, Cavanaugh recounts this historic season, how it was affected by the war, and what life was like during that first war year on the American home front.

Cavanaugh is a Stamford native and graduate of Syracuse University. After having served two years in the Navy as a signalman following graduation from Stamford High School, he worked on newspapers and news agencies in New Haven, Providence, Hartford, New York, and Washington, including 25 years as a sportswriter and feature writer at The New York Times. He later spent six years as a reporter for ABC News and six years as a reporter for CBS News.

He has written five books – "Damn the Disabilities: Full Speed Ahead"; the Pulitzer Prize nominated biography "Tunney," about the intellectual former heavyweight champion; "Giants Among Men," about the NY football Giants of the 1950s and 1960s; "The Gipper," about the legendary Notre Dame football star; and "Season of '42."

Cavanaugh has also written for Sports Illustrated, Reader's Digest, The Sporting News, Golf and Tennis magazines, and for a number of airline magazines along with the Chicken Soup book series. Over the last 15 years, Cavanaugh has taught writing courses at Fairfield and Quinnipiac Universities, and at the Columbia Graduate School of Journalism. Currently Cavanaugh writes a weekly column for his hometown paper, the Stamford Advocate.  He resides in Wilton with wife Marge.

Westport Sunrise Rotary supports a wide range of charitable programs locally and internationally, serving all ages, in four categories: community service, including Gillespie Center and Staples Student of the Month; vocational service, such as the District Four-Way Speech Contest; international service, including worldwide polio eradication; and local organizations, including Cancer Care, CLASP, Earthplace, HomesWithHope, Meals on Wheels, Project Return, Smart Kids with Learning Disabilities, STAR and Westport Youth Film Festival. Funds are raised through various Sunrise Rotary-sponsored events annually, including a Duck Race in June and a Wine Tasting in October. A complete list of organizations that Westport Sunrise Rotary serves is available at http://www.westportsunriserotary.com/charities.html

For information about Westport Sunrise Rotary, visit its website at www.westportsunriserotary.com; contact Steve Cowherd, membership, at 203-209-3568 or by email at herd59@gmail.com; or attend a meeting any Friday at 7:30 a.m. at Bobby Q's Restaurant, 42 Main Street, Westport.

The members of the Westport Sunrise Rotary Club are a diverse group of business and professional leaders who contribute their time, talents and financial support to aid local charities, youth programs and international humanitarian programs. They are dedicated to encouraging high ethical standards in all club activities and to helping Rotary International build goodwill and peace in the world. The club participates with 1.2 million fellow Rotarians in 33,000 clubs around the world to uphold Rotary's motto of "Service above Self."