He wrote 18 books , nine of them novels .
Deford wrote for Sports Illustrated magazine from 1962 until his death in 2017 , and was a correspondent for the Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel television program on HBO .
Deford wrote 18 books , nine of them novels .
Deford wrote for Sports Illustrated magazine from 1962 until his death in 2017 , and was a correspondent for the Real Sports with Bryant Gumbel television program on HBO .