"Allen White is the author of ""Phantom of the Bullpen"". He was born in Madison, West Virginia and was raised in Y&O coal camp near Van in the south-central part of the state. Adopted by maternal grandparents at birth, he faced immense obstacles growing up in life. Directly related to his chance encounter with the main character in this book, he tried college again in 1993. He graduated from North Carolina State University in 1996 with a Bachelor of Science degree in middle school education for Language Arts and Social Studies. At his graduation ceremony, he was given the Outstanding Future Educator Award. Twenty years behind on a 4-year plan, Allen finally became the teacher and coach he had always wanted to be. He retired from teaching in 2017 after twenty years of having the best job on the planet."