by David Krell | Feb 22, 2017 | David Krell
Among its symbols, Spokane boasts The Historic Davenport Hotel, the Bing Crosby Theatre, and the Monroe Street Bridge. They are, to be sure, propellants of the city’s physical, cultural, and architectural landscapes. Baseball contributes an equally significant...
by David Krell | Feb 21, 2017 | David Krell
Hobie Landrith holds the distinction of being the first New York Met, selected on October 10, 1961 in the expansion draft that populated the lineups of the nascent Mets and Colt .45s. When the Mets took the field at the Polo Grounds the following April for their first...
by David Krell | Feb 20, 2017 | David Krell
Reggie Jackson was the King Midas of baseball. Everything he touched turned to gold. The Kansas City A’s had a 62-99 record in 1967, Jackson’s rookie season. But Jackson only played in 35 games. When he became a starter, the A’s won three World...
by David Krell | Feb 19, 2017 | David Krell
Leroy Robert “Satchel” Paige was, to be sure, past his prime when the Cleveland Indians signed him in 1948. An icon of the Negro Leagues, Paige reportedly signed on his 42nd birthday, making his major league début two days later. Pitching against the St....
by David Krell | Feb 18, 2017 | David Krell
Football, a brutal sport symbolizing man’s primal quest to conquer territory, offers humor as compelling as the viciousness of Dick Butkus, the grace of Lynn Swann, and the agility of Walter Payton. Necessary Roughness exemplifies the underdog theme, a common...
by David Krell | Feb 17, 2017 | David Krell
To say that Babe Ruth was a dominant force is like saying that Mount Vesuvius spewed a little lava. Firmly stands the Babe in popular culture, in part because of portrayals in films. “The pattern of the drama, with its Horatio Alger stamp—rags to riches and...
by David Krell | Feb 16, 2017 | David Krell
Jackie Robinson has inspired an abundance of portrayals in popular culture, unsurprisingly. Examples include Blair Underwood in the 1996 HBO tv-movie Soul of the Game, Chadwick Boseman in the 2013 movie 42, and the man himself in the 1950 movie The Jackie Robinson...
by David Krell | Feb 15, 2017 | David Krell
Urban Clarence “Red” Faber played in the 1917 World Series like Andrew Carnegie governed the steel industry—with dominance. Faber spearheaded the Chicago White Sox to a World Series championship by winning three games against John McGraw and the New York...
by David Krell | Feb 14, 2017 | David Krell
Before he governed North Fork, New Mexico with a Winchester rifle on ABC’s The Rifleman, Chuck Connors played in the major leagues. It was, however, a short stint—one game for the Brooklyn Dodgers and 66 games for the Chicago White Sox in 1949 and 1951,...
by David Krell | Feb 13, 2017 | David Krell
When Roger Maris and Mickey Mantle battled for supremacy in the single-season home run category in 1961, the spotlight that shone on them placed the excellence of the Yankee ball club in the shadows. Elston Howard had a career high .348 batting average, Whitey Ford...
