Whose Life Story Is It Anyway?

The life story genre is a staple of baseball films. Fear Strikes Out depicted the anxieties of Jimmy Piersall.  William Bendix and John Goodman played Babe Ruth in The Babe Ruth Story and The Babe, respectively.  42 spotlighted Jackie Robinson’s story of...

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...

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...

Happy Birthday, Baseball Hall of Fame!

Today, we celebrate the birthday of the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum. Opened on June 12, 1939 in Cooperstown, New York, the Baseball Hall of Fame is a time tunnel that journeys its visitors through a cornerstone of American history. More than a mere...