The Landmark Case of Ludtke vs. Kuhn

In the 1970s—the decade of disco, Watergate, and bell bottom pants—the women’s rights movement escalated to a new level, continuing a legacy ignited by Susan B. Anthony, Elizabeth Cady Stanton, and Ida Harper. Billie Jean King’s defeat of Bobby Riggs in...

“Ball Four Goes Hollywood”

When Jim Bouton’s book Ball Four hit bookshelves in 1970, it exploded myths, revealed secrets, and offered tales of baseball, theretofore kept protected from the public.  If reporters knew about Mickey Mantle’s alcohol problem, for example, they...

Letterman, Leno, and Late Night

Tonight, the first full week without David Letterman in late night television begins. Letterman, the informal successor to Johnny Carson as the ruler of the late night kingdom, began his television talk show hosting career with a morning show in 1980.  It won two Emmy...

You’ve Gotta Be A Football Hero

In 1964, Brian Piccolo was the top college football rusher in the country.  His success capped a terrific college football career at Wake Forest.  Surprisingly, his credentials did not impress any NFL team during the draft.  Fourteen teams.  Twenty rounds.  No draft...