Dan O'Neill was born in St. Louis and grew up in University City. At 15, he lied about his age and got a job as a busboy at the Arena Club, during the formative years of the Blues franchise. O'Neill attended the University of Missouri School of Journalism and spent 32 years as a feature writer/columnist at the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, where he covered a number of beats, including Blues hockey. O'Neill is the author of two other Reedy Press books, including Celebration: The Magic of the Cardinals in the 1980s and When the Blues Go Marching In―Championship Edition.