Let's make this birthday one to remember.

74 years old (Born on August 26, 1950)

Happy Birthday, Carl Deuker! May your celebrations today bounce higher than a basketball on the Devil's Court and score more cheers than Night Hoops. You've spun compelling tales that earned Young Adult Book of the Year Awards in places like South Carolina, Nebraska, Tennessee, Pennsylvania—and let's not forget Iowa—where fields of dreams meet pages of excellence.

Thanks for giving all readers heart-poundingly memorable characters who show what real champions are made of (and reminding us sometimes book championships are even tougher to win). Wishing you another year as thrilling as Game Seven overtime—but without any plot twists about getting older!