by David Krell | Nov 30, 2016 | David Krell
Jackie Robinson, the black knight who rescued baseball from the claws of segregation, accomplished his mission neither immediately nor solitarily. His was a burden of entrenched bigotry, racial taunts, and blind ignorance. When Branch Rickey selected Robinson, his...
by David Krell | Nov 29, 2016 | David Krell
Tom Seaver was no longer the pitching phenom with the boyish face, unparalleled precision, and Herculean right arm on August 4, 1985. He was a legend with achievements guaranteeing a passport to Cooperstown. From 1968 to 1976, for example, Seaver had nine straight...
by David Krell | Nov 28, 2016 | David Krell
Baseball’s history is highlighted by its heroes. Lou Gehrig revealed unimaginable courage in his “Luckiest Man” speech as he faced the debilitating, horrific, and fatal disease of Amyotrophic Lateral Sclerosis that took his life nearly two years...
by David Krell | Nov 27, 2016 | David Krell
There is another kind of pitching in baseball, one that has nothing to do with curveballs, strikeouts, or a catcher’s signs. Pitching products is a cornerstone of the National Pastime. As a spokesman, a baseball player uses his fame, personality, and...
by David Krell | Nov 26, 2016 | David Krell
The Pause That Refreshes. The Real Thing. The Best Friend Thirst Ever had. Coca-Cola. With slogans changing nearly every year, Coca-Cola is entrenched in American culture through a barrage of advertising campaigns, marketing strategies, and celebrity endorsements....
by David Krell | Nov 23, 2016 | David Krell
Brooklynites tuning their radios to WOR for the Dodgers-Pirates broadcast on September 18, 1941 encountered an unexpected delay in Red Barber’s recounting of balls and strikes. A natural phenomenon triggered the interruption and, consequently, the ire of Dodger...
by David Krell | Nov 22, 2016 | David Krell
The 1950s was a decade of change. Elvis Presley spearheaded the introduction of rock and roll, television replaced radio as the preferred mass medium for news and entertainment, and several baseball teams migrated westward—way westward for two teams, mid-westward for...
by David Krell | Nov 21, 2016 | David Krell
As Corporal—later Sergeant—Maxwell Q. Klinger on M*A*S*H, Jamie Farr brought laughter to millions and fame to the Toledo Mud Hens as he incorporated his hometown of Toledo, Ohio into the Klinger character. On his web site www.jamiefarr.com, Farr explains the nexus...
by David Krell | Nov 20, 2016 | David Krell
Though not technically the first black player in the major leagues—that distinction belongs to Moses Fleetwood Walker of the American Association’s Toledo Blue Stockings in 1884—Jackie Robinson destroyed the unspoken yet visible barrier constructed in the late...
by David Krell | Nov 19, 2016 | David Krell
If Zeus were a pitcher, he’d be jealous of Bob Feller. After getting noticed by Cleveland Indians scout and fellow Iowan Cy Slapnicka, Feller left the family farm to mow down American League opponents instead of grass. Beginning his career as a teenager in...
