The Hall of Fame Case for Charles Ebbets

For reasons passing understanding, Charles Ebbets is not a member of the Baseball Hall of Fame. This is shameful at best and unforgivable at worst.  Imagine a baseball lineage without Ebbets Field, which débuted in 1913, becoming the home for a team with various...

The Début of Gilmore Field

Boosted by cheers from Hollywood stars supporting the Hollywood Stars of the Pacific Coast League, Gilmore Field débuted as a ballpark on May 3, 1939.  Among the famous fans:  Buster Keaton, Jack Benny, and Rudy Vallee.  “Glamour was furnished in the person of...

The Lone Star Years of Román Mejías

During the Colt .45s’ inaugural season—1962—Houstonians could point to few bright spots in the team’s 64-96 record.  Román Mejías was one of them. Mejías played in 146 games, swatted 162 hits, and finished the season with a .286 batting average.  Initially...

The Chronicles of Bob Greene

In 1964, the Beatles made their first live television appearance in America on The Ed Sullivan Show. The Rogues premiered on NBC, starring David Niven, Gig Young, and Charles Boyer as con men using their skills to fool wealthy people who lacked honesty, decency, and...

The Day the Lone Ranger Lost His Mask

As dawn anticipated breaking over southern California on the morning of August 30, 1979, a man two weeks shy of his sixty-fifth birthday covered his thinning hair with a cowboy hat.  Besides the hairline, age was not a serious opponent.  He was still fit and trim with...