Ralph Houk: Filling Casey’s Shoes

When Ralph Houk took over the manager job for the New York Yankees, he had big shoes to fill.  Casey Stengel’s shoes. Houk guided the Yankees from 1961 to 1973, then took the helm of the Detroit Tigers from 1974 to 1978.  He finished his managerial career with...

Lonesome Rhodes, Will Stockade, and Andy Taylor

Corruption rooted in ego, fame, and power forms the foundation for A Face in the Crowd, a 1957 film; Budd Schulberg wrote the screenplay based on his short story The Arkansas Traveler. Andy Griffith stars as Lonesome Rhodes, a country bumpkin discovered by television...

The Glory Years of Baseball

Today marks the anniversary of a turning point in baseball.  On May 9, 1883, Brooklyn hosted its first home game in professional baseball, playing to a 7-1 victory against Harrisburg in the Interstate Baseball Association. On May 1st, Brooklyn debuted in professional...

Lucy Meets the Duke

When I Love Lucy utilized Hollywood as its setting, movie stars provided verisimilitude.  Lucy Ricardo, starstruck, attempted to meet them, often with hilarious results.  Guest stars included William Holden, Van Johnson, Richard Widmark, and Harpo Marx.  But...

The Other Lone Ranger

Clayton Moore is synonymous with the Lone Ranger.  He played the character in The Lone Ranger television series that aired on ABC from 1949 to 1957.  But he wasn’t the only actor to do so. Moore departed the series after the second season, only to be rehired a...