Author Hal Higdon was born on the south side of Chicago on June 17, 1931, the son of Harry J. and Mae O'Leary Higdon. His father, director of advertising for the Phoenix Metal Cap Company, was the long-time editor of the well-known industrial publication The Phoenix Flame, as well as a frequent contributor to the Chicago Tribune . His mother had worked for the Chicago Herald and Examiner .
In 1953, Higdon received his B.A. from Carleton College. He served from 1954 to 1956 in the United States Army. In 1957, he became assistant editor of Kiwanis Magazine in Chicago. On April 12, 1958, he married Rose Mussacchio. They have three children: Kevin, David, and Laura. In 1959, Higdon began a full-time career as a free-lance writer, writing for such national magazines as the New York Times Magazine, Good Housekeeping, National Geographic, Sports Illustrated, This Week, the Chicago Tribune Magazine, and Playboy . He also authored or edited over a dozen books, primarily non-fiction, on varied topics ranging from sports to management consulting firms. Higdon also edited a volume entitled Pro Football, U.S.A. (Putnam, 1968) and contributed to Together, a casebook of joint practices in primary care under the general editorship of Berton Roueche for the National Joint Practices Commission, 1977.
An avid sports fan, Higdon competed as a long distance runner. He won a gold medal in the steeplechase at the World Masters track meet in 1957 and finished first (of the Americans) in the 1964 Boston Marathon. Winner of several national championships, he placed first in the 10,000 meter run at the U.S. Masters Championships (for runners over forty), and won the United States Masters cross country race. He has been a member of the National Road Runners Club as well as the Society of Magazine Writers. He acted in numerous plays at the Dunes Summer Theatre near his home in Michigan City
From the guide to the Hal Higdon (1931- ) Papers, 1961-1983, (Northwestern University Archives)
