VA NY Harbor Healthcare System
Author Finds Baseball is Good for Mind and Body
Paul Gangi
With baseball season just started, it seems appropriate to remind everyone about Paul Gangi’s timeless books, “Words of Wisdom: Covering the Bases” (2003) and “Baseball Trivia Quiz Book” (2000).
Gangi recently celebrated 25 years as a clerk in the social work department at VA’s Manhattan Campus so he is familiar to many staff who know about his interest in baseball that led him to produce books of quotations and trivia on the sport. The books are out of print, but used copies may be found online. According to Gangi, trivia books are no longer as popular as they were when he wrote them, but we know some of you will enjoy these.
Gangi is at the front line of social work services, often the first person to talk with Veterans when they come to ask about services.
Born with Cerebral Palsy, Gangi was operated on when he was just 9 years old to extend his tendons and allow him to wear regular shoes. While in the hospital, he found that watching baseball on TV was a great distraction and he went on to play street baseball with other kids. “It was like an escape from feeling different from other people,” he recalls.
Now 53, with one side of his body disabled, he says his condition is stable. In addition to a physical disability, Gangi says he also has a mild learning disability. But it didn't stop him from graduating with a degree in philosophy from Kane University in New Jersey. Describing himself as “an academic at heart” Gangi has lived in England, and traveled widely in Europe. He served as a volunteer conversation instructor for English as a Second Language students at The International Center of New York. His other interests include a passion for classic movies and reading fiction, history and philosophy. Gangi says his condition sometimes makes social interactions confusing, but he feels for many of the Veterans he encounters whose issues are even more problematic than his.
Now, looking toward the opening of the baseball season, Gangi doesn’t anticipate writing more on the diamond sport, but he’s particularly interested in how the Yankees will do.
