Bad Bill Dahlen

Bill Dahlen earned his nickname “Bad Bill” because of his arguing style that had the finesse of a 300-pound ballerina.  It triggered 65 ejections for Dahlen, a figure in the Top 10 in baseball history. Dahlen played from 1891-1911 for the Chicago Cubs, New...

The Story of Baseball

Sitting in my bookcase is a childhood icon.  The Story of Baseball by John M. Rosenburg. Random House published this oversized baseball history book for children in 1962 and several updated versions thereafter. It was the book that I read after Little League games, on...

Building A Corporate History Library

A corporate history is only as good as the resources that inform it. A corporate history library, in turn, is only as good as the books that populate it. A corporate historian may want to consider the triad approach, consisting of primary books, secondary books, and...

Lou Gehrig, Baseball History, and July 4th

On my desk, a 25-cent Lou Gehrig stamp rests in a frame nestled on a plastic stand. It reminds me of Gehrig’s dedication to his baseball craft, reflected in 2,130 consecutive games played. It reminds me of Gehrig’s courage in facing Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis...

The Other Wrigley Field

Wrigley Field is a baseball landmark. It thrives in nostalgia, our baseball memories contributing to its increasingly rich history. Not that Wrigley Field, “the ivy-covered burial ground” as described eloquently yet mournfully in Steve Goodman’s song A Dying Cubs...