25-Jul-08 4:45 PM CST

"Biggio, The Final Game!" A Book of Photos of a Houston Hero by Houston photographer, Michael Hart

On September 30, 2007, Craig Biggio, the man who made Houston a baseball town, played his final game in front of a record-breaking crowd in Minute Maid Park. The entire city felt the emotion as a twenty-year love affair on the diamond ended. In a time of team hopping, grandstanding, and questionable conduct, Biggio's slender physique casts an impressive shadow. He is a throw back to a nobler age of sport: a family man, a dedicated community service volunteer, and a Houston Astro since his rookie year.

Biggio: The Final Game provides an intimate window on this baseball icon at the moving culmination of his career: the emotion of saying goodbye, the admiration of his sons, the roar of the crowd, and the respect of Houston. It is a fitting tribute for the man who taught us what it means to be an All-star.

The Final Game is a visual record of the entire time Craig was on the field, from the minute he walked into the dugout and surveyed the setting, until his final farewell and waves to the crowd as he entered the dugout tunnel for the last time as an active player. It includes his first at-bat, and subsequent hit, the last of his career, and his 668th double, most ever by a right-handed hitter, and 6th all-time. It includes an insightful Foreword by LARRY DIERKER, Astro's first twenty game winning pitcher, National League All-star, award-winning Astro's manager, and Houston Sport Legend. The Final Game concludes with a behind the scenes Afterword by RICHARD JUSTICE, sports columnist for the Houston Chronicle, sports talk-show host of KGOW 1560 The Game, and a frequent guest on ESPN's Pardon the Interruption.

MICHAEL HART is a professional photographer in Houston, Texas. He has been on assignment to the Astros since 1989, and is a self-declared "huge fan of Biggio's." He originally created Biggio: The Final Game as a personal gift to Craig Biggio. In the process of documenting the game from this personal perspective, he has given a gift to all those who understand what truly matters about baseball. Owner of Michael Hart Photography in Houston, his honors and prizes include: Art Director's Club of Houston, Houston Ad Federation, Dallas Society Visual Communications, Communication Arts Magazine, Photography Annual, Print's Regional Design Annual, London Spyder Awards for B&W Photography, included in recent book of the best of the first three years of The Spyder Awards, The Best B&W Photography In The World.

Click Here to Pre Order Now!! Ships on August 10th - just in time for Biggio's number retirement on August 17th!
Biggio: The Final Game

$24.95 Hardcover with jacket
978-1-933979-28-1
101/2" x 101/2", 108 pages
120 full-color photographs
Sports / Baseball / Photography
August 2008

by Michael Hart
Foreword by Larry Dierker
Afterword by Richard Justice

Michael Hart interview schedule – Biggio: The Final Game

Friday, July 18 – 12:00 noon. MLB.com interview with Krysten Oliphant. 713-725-4890, krys930@hotmail.com. To run the week of August 11 or August 18.

Wednesday, July 30 -11 AM Richard Justice radio show The Game 1650
Contact David Gow or Richard Justice

tbd. Astros Radio and TV broadcasts during the Astros last game before they hit the road. KTRH and Fox Sports Southwest. Contact: Jimmy Stanton.

Wednesday, July 30 – 4:00 pm. Sports Radio 610 in Houston with Rich Lord. Contact: John Brejot : 713-881-5403, 713-501-6935

Tuesday, August 5 – 12:30 pm In Studio. 1560 “The Game” in Houston. Contact: David Nuño – danuny@gmail.com, 832-496-7662

Wednesday, August 6 – 9:40 am. Sports Radio 610 in Houston with Marc Vandermeer. Contact: John Brejot : 713-881-5403, 713-501-6935

Thursday, August 7 – morning time tbd. Sports Radio 790 The Animal with David Dulati. Contact: David dd@790thesportsanimal.com. Working on plans to do an afternoon show with Charlie Palillo as well after Aug. 20, possibly in September

Michael Hart
mhart@hartphoto.com