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377: Baseball's Historical Concentricities - With Curt Smith

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Release Date: 01/06/2025

401: AFL Football & Civil Rights Pioneer Abner Haynes - With King David Haynes show art 401: AFL Football & Civil Rights Pioneer Abner Haynes - With King David Haynes

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In this special episode, we sit down with King David Haynes, son of American Football League legend and civil rights trailblazer Abner Haynes, to discuss his newly released biography "." Abner Haynes was far more than just a football star — he was a barrier-breaking athlete, community leader, and a courageous voice for racial justice. From integrating Texas college football in the 1950s to becoming the league's first MVP in 1960 to standing at the forefront of athlete activism during the 1965 AFL All-Star Game boycott, his story is as American as it is heroic. King David shares deeply...

info_outline 400: Hall of Fame Broadcaster Steve Albert show art 400: Hall of Fame Broadcaster Steve Albert

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It's our 400th, so we’re going big with a guest who’s called it all, seen it all, and somehow lived to laugh about it. Steve Albert ("") -- Hall of Fame broadcaster and proud member of the legendary Albert sportscasting family (including nephew/t Kenny) -- joins us for a deep dive into his one-of-a-kind, 45-year ride through the wilds of professional sports. From vanished leagues to unforgettable fights, from Brooklyn bedrooms-turned-broadcast-booths to center stage at Showtime Championship Boxing, Albert's stories are equal parts history and hilarity. In this special...

info_outline 399: Roller Hockey International's San Jose Rhinos - With Brad Porteus show art 399: Roller Hockey International's San Jose Rhinos - With Brad Porteus

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What do you get when you mix Gen X slacker spirit, a startup sports league on wheels, and a 25-year-old Deadhead-turned-front office exec? Welcome to the wild world of Roller Hockey International (RHI) — and the improbable story of the San Jose Rhinos. Brad Porteus, former GM of the Rhinos and author of the rollicking new memoir "," joins us to unpack one of the most absurd, glorious, and ultimately short-lived chapters in modern American pro sports history. RHI burst onto the scene in the early 1990s during the inline skating craze, promising a legit summer hockey league full of...

info_outline 398: The Seattle Metropolitans - With Kevin Ticen show art 398: The Seattle Metropolitans - With Kevin Ticen

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Before the Kraken. Before the Canucks. Before the NHL crossed the 49th parallel, there was the Seattle Metropolitans -- the first American team ever to win the Stanley Cup, in 1917. This week, we uncover the forgotten saga of the Metropolitans, a team built on innovation, grit, and West Coast ambition. They played fast, they played smart -- and led by brilliant young coach Pete Muldoon, they made hockey history in a city barely known for winter sports. But as author/guest Kevin Ticen chronicles in his acclaimed book " ," their Stanley Cup story wasn’t just about sports -- it...

info_outline 397: The 2000 397: The 2000 "Subway Series" - With Chris Donnelly

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We use up our remaining MTA MetroCard credit this week for a sit-down with baseball author/historian Chris Donnelly — whose new book "" represents the final installment of his intriguing trilogy charting the divergent, yet intertwined sagas of the Mets and Yankees from the mid-1980s through 2000's historic “Subway Series.” Donnelly’s previous works — "" and "" — set the stage.   But now, with “,” he delivers the most in-depth look ever at how the late-1990s Yankees rose to dynasty status while the Mets clawed their way back from...

info_outline 396: 396: "Play Harder" - With Gerald Early

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We welcome to our microphones award-winning author, cultural critic and Washington University in St. Louis professor Gerald Early, whose new book is a sweeping chronicle of Black Americans’ extraordinary influence on the game of baseball — from the sport’s formative days in the wake of the Civil War, through the heyday of the Negro Leagues, to the modern era. A leading voice in the conversation about race, sports, and American identity, Early also served as an advisor to the ’s landmark new exhibit, . Together, the book and exhibit offer a timely and powerful retelling of...

info_outline 395: The 395: The "American Game" - With S.L. Price

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Lacrosse is more than just a sport; it’s a mirror — one that reflects the history, tensions, and contradictions of America itself. So posits acclaimed sports journalist/renowned Sports Illustrated Senior Writer S.L. Price on this week's episode, as we explore his impressive new book "" — a sweeping chronicle of the Indigenous origins, elite entrenchment, and modern upheaval of America's truest "oldest sport.” From its sacred beginnings among the Native American (and First Nations) Haudenosaune — where the “Creator’s Game” served as both spiritual expression and a form of...

info_outline 394: The 1985 394: The 1985 "Show-Me" World Series - With Marshall Garvey

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Though it seems like only yesterday, this season marks the 40th anniversary of one of baseball's most misunderstood and overshadowed Fall Classics - the surprisingly competitive seven-game 1985 World Series.  While most remember the all-Missouri "Show-Me Series" for umpire Don Denkinger's blown call at first base in Game 6, baseball historian Marshall Garvey joins us to discuss why that single moment, while a significant turning point, shouldn't define what was otherwise a colorfully spirited battle between two well-matched in-state rivals.  In his new book, "," Garvey peels back...

info_outline 393: The NFL Incorporates AAFC Stats - With Ken Crippen show art 393: The NFL Incorporates AAFC Stats - With Ken Crippen

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In a surprise move that instantly reshapes the league’s historical narrative, the National Football League last month announced it will now officially incorporate statistics from the upstart All-America Football Conference (AAFC), the short-lived but impactful rival professional football league that operated from 1946 to 1949.  The brings long-overdue recognition to the achievements of several prominent players from the mid-20th century and results in the revision of several long-standing records in the NFL’s official record books. Renowned early pro football historian Ken...

info_outline 392: Dan Pastorini & The Houston Oilers show art 392: Dan Pastorini & The Houston Oilers

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This week, we're thrilled to welcome a true legend of grit and perseverance — former NFL quarterback Dan Pastorini (). Born and raised in the Bay Area, Pastorini made his mark early at Bellarmine College Prep before starring at nearby Santa Clara University, where he etched his name into the school’s record books and shined as the Most Outstanding Player of the 1971 East-West Shrine Game. Drafted third overall by the Houston Oilers during the famed "Year of the Quarterback" in 1971, Pastorini became a symbol of toughness and innovation — famously pioneering the use of the flak...

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Renowned Presidential speechwriter-turned-sports-historian Curt Smith joins the podcast this week for an erudite look at the not-so-obvious concentricity between the story of baseball in America with both the growth of broadcasting and the evolution of electoral politics.
 
Drawing from some of his most seminal works on baseball history - most notably 1987's iconic Voices of the Game, the anthological Memories from the Microphone, and the newly updated-in-paperback The Presidents and the Pastime - Smith helps put the game into richer cultural perspective, with astute observations of its unmistakable intertwinement with media and government.

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