Good Seats Still Available

“Good Seats Still Available” is a curious little podcast devoted to the exploration of what used-to-be in professional sports. Each week, host Tim Hanlon interviews former players, owners, broadcasters, beat reporters, and surprisingly famous "super fans" of teams and leagues that have come and gone - in an attempt to unearth some of the most wild and woolly moments in (often forgotten) sports history.

454: Baseball's Most Misunderstood Commissioner - With Dave Bohmer 07/20/2026

453: The USFL's Memphis Showboats - With Keith Wood 07/13/2026

452: The USFL's San Antonio Gunslingers - With Greg Singleton 07/06/2026

451.5: The 1970s - With Michael MacCambridge [ARCHIVE RE-RELEASE] 06/29/2026

451: Baseball's History By Design - With Todd Radom 06/22/2026

450: NASCAR Champions - With Herb Branham & Holly Cain 06/15/2026

449: Nine World Cups, One Changing World - With Simon Kuper 06/07/2026

448: "A Life's Calling" - With Horse Racing Track Announcer Tom Durkin 06/01/2026

448: "A Life's Calling" - With Horse Racing Track Announcer Tom Durkin For more than four decades, Tom Durkin's voice was synonymous with the biggest moments in horse racing. From the Kentucky Derby and Belmont Stakes to the Breeders' Cup and Saratoga, his soaring calls helped transform great races into unforgettable theater. But as Durkin reveals in his new memoir, "," the story behind the microphone is every bit as compelling as the action on the track. In this wide-ranging conversation, Durkin reflects on an extraordinary journey that began as a horse-racing-obsessed kid riding Chicago's "L" train to Arlington Park and eventually led him to become the most recognizable race caller of his generation. Along the way, he recounts the unlikely lie that launched his career, the grind of the minor-league fair circuit, and the national breakthrough that put him on racing's biggest stages. But this episode goes beyond just racing history. Durkin offers a fascinating look inside the craft of live sports broadcasting, discussing the college theater training that shaped his style, the famous "Mayor Daley" notebook where he collected thousands of descriptive phrases, and the relentless preparation that fueled his success. He also speaks candidly about the fear of failure, self-doubt, and anxiety that shadowed his career — even at its highest peaks — and how those challenges ultimately became part of what drove him. Replete with stories about iconic races, vanished racetracks, broadcasting innovation, and a lifetime spent pursuing excellence, this conversation is both a celebration of one of sports' great voices and a revealing examination of the work, passion, and perseverance required to become one. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: ",": https://amzn.to/435AJus SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/41486430

447: The US Men's National Team's Rise to Soccer Relevance - With Leander Schaerlaeckens 05/25/2026

446: The People's Team: The Strange History of New York's Mets - With Andy Gittlitz 05/18/2026

445: "Dos a Cero" & The US/Mexico Soccer "Sibling Rivalry" - With Hal Phillips 05/11/2026

445: "Dos a Cero" & The US/Mexico Soccer "Sibling Rivalry" - With Hal Phillips Next month, the FIFA World Cup returns to North American soil, marking a transformative moment for the sport of soccer on this continent. But to understand the current state of the US Men’s National Team as they prepare to host the world, one must first examine their complex and often turbulent relationship with their greatest rival: Mexico. In this episode, we welcome back soccer journalist, historian and Hal Phillips, author of the definitive new book, "." Phillips’ work frames the rivalry with El Tri not just as a series of games, but as a "co-dependent feud" that has fundamentally shaped the national identities of both countries. We trace the narrative arc from the Americans' 1934 World Cup qualifier success in Rome through the grueling 46-year "dark age" where the US failed to secure a single victory against their neighbors. Phillips takes us through the pivotal shifts of the 1990s and the birth of the "Dos a Cero" era, explaining how the professionalization of the American game turned a lopsided regional dominance into an ever-escalating athletic confrontation of equals. Beyond the tactics on the pitch, we discuss the deeper cultural and geopolitical baggage that makes this rivalry unique. From the personal stories of dual-national stars caught between two flags to the economic realities of the "Border War," Phillips explains why this rivalry was the necessary forge for American soccer’s survival. As this year's World Cup beckons, we explore whether these two "siblings" are finally ready to step out of each other's shadows and challenge the global elite. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": https://amzn.to/3PxRbjK SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/41240390

444.5: John Sterling [ARCHIVE RE-RELEASE] 05/04/2026

444: Baseball's Pioneering Nashua Dodgers - With Bill Ranauro 05/04/2026

443: The Tri-Cities Blackhawks - With Don Doxsie 04/27/2026

443: The Tri-Cities Blackhawks - With Don Doxsie In the early years of professional basketball, before the bright lights and global reach of today’s NBA, the game was held together by grit, geography, and a patchwork of teams fighting to survive. Few franchises capture that fragile, formative moment better than the Tri-Cities Blackhawks — a team that didn’t just represent one city, but an entire region straddling the Mississippi River. In this episode, we’re joined by author Don Doxsie, whose book "" serves as both our guide and our lens into this overlooked chapter of basketball history. Based in Moline, Rock Island, and Davenport, the Blackhawks were a product of the industrial Midwest and the now-defunct National Basketball League. They played a bruising, defense-first style, developed standout players, and, for a brief moment, stood toe-to-toe with the best teams of their era. But as pro basketball rapidly evolved — culminating in the 1949 merger that created the modern NBA — the realities of a small, fragmented market began to close in. Through Doxsie’s reporting and perspective, we explore the team’s promising early seasons, its mounting financial and competitive pressures, and the instability that ultimately led to its relocation. It’s a story of reinvention as much as decline — one that would eventually see the franchise evolve into today’s Atlanta Hawks, but only after leaving the Tri-Cities behind. Along the way, Doxsie brings to life the personalities, league politics, and day-to-day realities of running a team on the margins of a sport still struggling to define itself. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": https://amzn.to/42x6Cvm SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/41017420

442: "Baseball's Outcast: The Story of Ron LeFlore" - With Adam Henig 04/20/2026

442: "Baseball's Outcast: The Story of Ron LeFlore" - With Adam Henig Ron LeFlore’s trajectory from a maximum-security prison cell to starting in Major League Baseball's All-Star Game is a narrative of improbable survival and self-inflicted exile. In this episode, we sit down with Adam Henig, author of "", to unpack the gritty, unvarnished reality of a man who was as much a product of Detroit’s turbulent East Side as he was a victim of his own choices. We explore LeFlore’s early years in a one-bedroom apartment plagued by poverty , the formative trauma of losing his brother Harry — an Olympic boxer — to a ring injury, and the heroin addiction that led to the armed robbery that defined his youth. Henig takes us through the high-stakes process of documenting a life that feels more like a crime thriller than a sports biography. We discuss the "76-year-old jigsaw puzzle" Henig spent over four years piecing together through dozens of phone calls with LeFlore, despite the two never meeting in person. Henig also reveals the shadowy figures who facilitated LeFlore’s rise, including Mafia associate Jimmy Karalla, who used his connections at the legendary Lindell AC bar to secure LeFlore a prison furlough for a Tiger Stadium tryout. Beyond the 30-game hitting streak and the stolen-base titles, we examine the dark side of celebrity that LeFlore could never quite outrun. Henig sheds light on LeFlore’s dangerous proximity to Frank Usher and the "Murder Row" crime family, a connection that ultimately eroded the trust of the baseball establishment. Finally, we look at the sobering post-career years, from working as an airport skycap to facing the health crises that cost him his leg. This conversation offers an essential look at the heavy price of a second chance and the complicated legacy of a man who reached the heights of the game only to find himself an outcast. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): (10% off promo code: SEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40924505

441: The NASL's Detroit Express (& More!) - With Roger Faulkner 04/13/2026

441: The NASL's Detroit Express (& More!) - With Roger Faulkner From wartime England to the rise — and fall — of pro soccer’s first big American boom, Roger Faulkner has seen it all — and now, he’s telling that story in his new memoir, "." In this episode, we sit down with the Detroit Express co-founder to trace an unlikely journey: from growing up in Derby to helping bring top-flight international soccer to the Midwest at the height of the original North American Soccer League. Alongside high-profile partner/soccer impresario Jimmy Hill, Faulkner helped build a franchise that aimed to blend global star power with big-event American sports presentation — highlighted by marquee signings like Trevor Francis and matches staged inside a cavernous new Pontiac Silverdome. Faulkner offers a candid, behind-the-scenes look at what it actually took to launch and operate an NASL club — where ambition often outpaced economics, and where the line between visionary and unsustainable was razor-thin. He reflects on the league’s rapid ascent, its structural fragility, and the lessons learned as the Express hastily relocated amid the NASL’s broader unraveling. Just as compelling, Faulkner shares how he stayed in the game — helping build the foundation for soccer’s next chapter in the U.S., including an instrumental role in bringing the 1994 World Cup to Detroit. It’s a revealing conversation — and a fitting companion to his hoot of a memoir — with one of American soccer’s most underappreciated builders, who lived both the dream and the reality of the sport’s first modern era. PLUS: Our trivia contest is back - this time for a chance to win a copy of ""! + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": https://amzn.to/423VyFO SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40821660

440: "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN" - With Greg DeHart & Mike Soltys 04/06/2026

440: "Sports Heaven: The Birth of ESPN" - With Greg DeHart & Mike Soltys ESPN didn’t begin as a media giant — it started as a gamble. In 1979, a cash-strapped startup bet on an unproven proposition: a 24-hour sports cable TV network delivered by satellite, built largely on programming no one else wanted and live coverage that barely existed. By any conventional measure, it was an absurd idea. It also changed sports media forever. This week, we revisit that origin story through a new lens: "," premiering April 6th on (where else?) ESPN. The documentary traces how founders Bill Rasmussen, his son Scott, and an unlikely group of partners pushed past industry skepticism, financial instability, and the daunting challenge of programming an "always-on" sports network — laying the groundwork for what would become a global media powerhouse. Joining us are director Greg DeHart and producer Mike Soltys, ESPN’s longtime institutional historian, to explore both the story itself and the challenge of telling it. Drawing on archival footage and interviews with the Rasmussens, along with early executives and production pioneers, the film captures the improvisational, high-risk reality of ESPN’s earliest days. We discuss what the filmmakers uncovered that even seasoned observers may not know, how they balanced nostalgia with clear-eyed storytelling, and why ESPN’s startup DNA — equal parts technological leap, programming opportunism, and entrepreneurial persistence — still resonates in today’s fractured sports media landscape. " premieres April 6th at 8:30pm ET on ESPN. The is also available now, with a hardcover book to be released in May. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": https://amzn.to/3PRz1cC SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): (10% off promo code: SEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40731585

439: "Moses and the Doctor" - With Luke Epplin 03/30/2026

438: From Bleacher Seats to Luxury Suites - With Seth Tannenbaum 03/23/2026

437: World Cup History & What's Ahead - With Clemente Lisi 03/15/2026

437: World Cup History & What's Ahead - With Clemente Lisi This week, we dive into the remarkable history — and uncertain future — of soccer’s greatest spectacle: the FIFA World Cup. Our guest is veteran journalist and soccer author Clemente Lisi, whose newly updated (and eminently essential!) book, "," chronicles the tournament’s extraordinary evolution from its modest beginnings in 1930 to the globe-spanning mega-event it is today. Drawing on decades of reporting and interviews, Lisi revisits some of the competition’s most iconic matches, legendary players, and defining moments — from Pelé and Diego Maradona to the modern era of global superstars — that helped transform the World Cup into the most widely watched sporting event on the planet. But the conversation doesn’t stop with history. With the 2026 edition — expanded to 48 teams for the first time — set to be hosted across the United States, Canada, and Mexico, we also explore whether the tournament could face unexpected headwinds. Sky-high ticket prices have already sparked backlash from fans and even US lawmakers -- while debates over immigration policy, visa access for international supporters, and rising infrastructure costs for host cities could complicate what should be a global celebration. Will the largest World Cup ever staged ignite a new era for soccer in North America — or expose the growing tensions between the sport’s worldwide popularity and the economics of modern mega-events? We explore the past, present, and future scenarios of the World Cup in a wide-ranging conversation with one of the sport’s most thoughtful chroniclers. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": https://amzn.to/47LYKsV SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40484575

436: "Court Queens" - With Emma Baccellieri & Jordan Robinson 03/09/2026

436: "Court Queens" - With Emma Baccellieri & Jordan Robinson Women’s basketball is enjoying a remarkable surge in popularity — but it also stands at a pivotal moment. As the Women's National Basketball Association and the WNBA Players Association remain locked in difficult negotiations over a new collective bargaining agreement, the sport faces a paradox: unprecedented visibility and momentum, yet uncertainty just weeks before the next season. In many ways, the tension reflects the league’s maturation—and serves as a reminder of the decades-long struggle that built the modern women’s game. This week, we explore that history with and , authors of the sweeping new book "." Baccellieri, a staff writer at , and Robinson — who covers women’s basketball across multiple outlets, including Audacy’s podcast — have created a richly researched and visually stunning chronicle of the sport’s evolution: from 1892, when Senda Berenson introduced basketball to women at Smith College, through the collegiate era of the AIAW and the rise of the NCAA tournament, early pro experiments like the late-1970s Women's Professional Basketball League (WBL) and the 1990s American Basketball League (ABL), and ultimately the launch — and staying power — of the WNBA. Packed with hundreds of photos, memorabilia, and vivid storytelling, celebrates the pioneers, iconic teams, unforgettable games, and overlooked trailblazers who fought for opportunity across more than 130 years of basketball history. Our conversation explores those stories — and why understanding that long arc of progress makes today’s moment for women’s basketball feel both thrilling and consequential. PLUS: your chance to win a copy of in our vaunted trivia contest! + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOKS: "": https://amzn.to/4bg6Jj4 SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): (10% off promo code: SEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40352110

435: Death in the Strike Zone: Baseball’s First Superstar - With Tom Gilbert 03/02/2026

435: Death in the Strike Zone: Baseball’s First Superstar - With Tom Gilbert Before Cy Young, before Babe Ruth, before baseball even had a strike zone, there was Jim Creighton — a 21-year-old phenom whose brilliance and tragic death helped create the modern game. This week, we explore the extraordinary life, myth, and enduring legacy of baseball’s first true superstar through a revealing conversation with historian Tom Gilbert, author of the new biography "." In the late 1850s and early 1860s, baseball was still a recreational pastime dominated by offense. Pitchers merely delivered the ball gently, and games could spiral into chaotic, high-scoring affairs. Creighton changed everything. Pitching for Brooklyn’s powerhouse Excelsior club, he pioneered speed, movement, and deception — transforming pitching into a weapon rather than a formality. His dominance forced opponents to rethink strategy, and ultimately pushed baseball’s rulemakers to introduce called strikes and formalize the strike zone, forever reshaping the sport’s competitive balance. Yet Creighton’s meteoric rise was as brief as it was influential. In 1862, at the height of his fame, he suffered a catastrophic abdominal injury — likely worsened by the extreme physical demands of his revolutionary pitching style — and died just days later at age 21. His death stunned the sporting world and elevated him into baseball’s first martyr-figure, a symbol of both the promise and peril of a game still inventing itself. Gilbert, whose award-winning 2020 book "" reframed the chaotic, colorful origins of America’s pastime, explains how Creighton’s innovations accelerated baseball’s evolution from amateur hobby to organized spectacle — and how myth, memory, and historical detective work have shaped Creighton’s legend (yet not enshrinement in the National Baseball Hall of Fame) ever since. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOKS: "": https://amzn.to/4aYCWvc "": https://amzn.to/4rKhoJX SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40267835

434: US Soccer World Cups, National Teams & Pro Leagues - With Alan Rothenberg 02/23/2026

434: US Soccer World Cups, National Teams & Pro Leagues - With Alan Rothenberg Few figures have shaped modern American soccer more profoundly than Alan Rothenberg ("") — and in this revelatory conversation, he tells the story in his own words. Best known as the founding architect of Major League Soccer and the driving force behind the record-breaking 1994 FIFA World Cup, Rothenberg’s influence on the game in the United States stretches back decades earlier than most fans realize. Long before MLS kicked off in 1996, he was immersed in the sport’s early, fragile professional era. In the late 1960s, Rothenberg worked alongside Jack Kent Cooke in the United Soccer Association, helping operate the Los Angeles Wolves — an ambitious effort to import top international clubs to American audiences. He later held a brief ownership stake in the Los Angeles Aztecs of the North American Soccer League, gaining firsthand insight into the promise and ultimate collapse of pro soccer’s first boom-and-bust cycle in the U.S. A pivotal turning point came when Rothenberg ran the soccer competition for the 1984 Summer Olympics. At a time when many doubted the American market, the tournament drew unexpectedly strong crowds — helping persuade FIFA that the United States could successfully host a World Cup. As president of the United States Soccer Federation from 1990 to 1998, Rothenberg delivered on that promise. The 1994 World Cup became the most financially successful in history to that point, and he fulfilled the bid commitment to launch MLS — creating the stable Division I league that had eluded the country for generations. He also chaired the 1999 Women’s World Cup, another watershed moment. In this candid interview, Rothenberg reflects on risk, resistance, political maneuvering, and the long game of institution-building — offering rare, behind-the-scenes insight into how American soccer finally found its footing. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": https://amzn.to/4kSgacQ SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): (10% off promo code: SEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40190085

433: Sports, Marketing & Mayhem - With Bob Wilber 02/16/2026

433: Sports, Marketing & Mayhem - With Bob Wilber Sports lifer. Road warrior. Straight shooter. In this no‑holds‑barred conversation, veteran sports marketer, former minor‑league ballplayer, and acclaimed author Bob Wilber opens up about a wildly unconventional career that somehow connects the Detroit Tigers minor-league system, Converse sneaker deals, indoor soccer barns, and nitro Funny Car mayhem. Wilber takes us inside a childhood spent in dugouts and press boxes as the son of longtime Major League catcher, coach, and scout Del Wilber, and a trailblazing mother who broke barriers in the St. Louis Cardinals’ front office. From there, we follow him onto college diamonds and through the harsh realities of chasing – and losing – the big‑league dream. The story hardly slows down. Wilber walks through his pivot into sports marketing and front‑office life, selling corporate America on emerging properties and trying to keep the MISL's St. Louis Storm, NPSL's Kansas City Attack, and CISL's Indianapolis Twisters alive in the boom‑and‑bust world of indoor soccer. Then he details his second (third?) act in motorsports, running NHRA Funny Car teams and becoming one of drag racing’s most distinctive PR voices and storytellers. Along the way, Wilber talks candidly about burnout, constant travel, reinvention, and why he finally stepped away to write his autobiographical “ ". If you care about the business behind the games – the hustle, the politics, the strain on real life – this conversation is a masterclass in how sports really work once the lights go off and the fans go home! + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: " ": https://amzn.to/3Myak3F SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40112625

432: World Team Tennis & The Boston Lobsters - With John Schwarz 02/09/2026

432: World Team Tennis & The Boston Lobsters - With John Schwarz In the spring of 1974, a bold experiment arrived on the American sports scene: World Team Tennis (WTT) — a mixed-gender professional league co-founded and championed by Billie Jean King, who envisioned a more inclusive, fan-friendly, and forward-looking version of the sport. WTT challenged tennis tradition and reimagined how the game could be played, packaged, and consumed. With innovative scoring, raucous arena atmospheres, and genuine star power, the league aimed to pull tennis out of the country club and into the mainstream. Men and women competed side-by-side, fans were encouraged to cheer, and matches moved at a faster, television-friendly pace. It was daring, disruptive, and unmistakably ahead of its time. The original incarnation of WTT lasted just five seasons, folding in 1978 amid financial losses, franchise instability, and the realities of building a national sports league before modern media economics took hold. Yet its influence — on tennis, sports marketing, and gender equity — continues to echo decades later. John Schwarz, author of"", joins the pod this week for a revealing conversation that brings rare firsthand perspective to the original circuit's remarkable story. Schwarz is uniquely positioned to tell it: during WTT’s initial 1974-78 run, he separately served in the front offices of both the league itself, and then for one of its most emblematic franchises — the Robert Kraft-owned Boston Lobsters. In many respects, the Lobsters were a lens into WTT itself — a franchise that embodied the league’s ambition, creativity, and community appeal, while also confronting the harsh economic truths that ultimately doomed many teams. Despite its short existence, Schwarz explains why WTT mattered, why it struggled, and why its lessons still resonate in today’s evolving sports landscape. ALSO: Your chance to win a pristine vintage 1978 Boston Lobsters full-color poster in this week's trivia contest! + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": https://amzn.to/3Md4kgE SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): (10% off promo code: SEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/40029315

431: "Return of the King" - With Tom Aiello 02/02/2026

431: "Return of the King" - With Tom Aiello Valdosta State University history professor (and Episodes and guest) Tom Aiello is back — this time for an intriguing look at one of the most politically and culturally charged nights in American sports history: Muhammad Ali’s comeback fight against Jerry Quarry on October 26, 1970, in Atlanta. After nearly three and a half years in professional exile, Ali returned to the ring having lost far more than his world heavyweight title. His refusal to be drafted into the Vietnam War had stripped him of his license to box, cost him his prime athletic years, and turned him into one of the most polarizing figures in the country. By 1970, however, the nation had changed. Public opinion about the war had shifted, Ali’s moral stance looked increasingly prescient, and the question was no longer if he would return — but where and on whose terms. Atlanta provided the answer. The fight was as much a civic and cultural event as a sporting one, staged before an audience that reflected the city’s rising Black political, economic, and social leadership. Civil rights figures, elected officials, entertainers, and power brokers filled the arena, transforming the evening into a declaration of legitimacy and self-determination. Ali’s presence — confident, defiant, unapologetic — symbolized a broader shift in who held cultural authority in America. Quarry, a skilled and respected heavyweight contender, became the necessary counterpart in Ali’s rebirth. The fight itself ended swiftly, with Ali winning by third-round stoppage, but its significance far outlasted the final bell. Drawing from his new book "Ali," Aiello helps us understand how this night fused boxing, politics, and spectacle — how Atlanta became the stage for Ali’s return, and how the event marked a turning point not just in his career, but in the public embrace of a new, unapologetic vision of Black power and identity. ALSO: A computer pits Ali vs. Rocky Marciano in ""; the curious ringside inspiration for ""; and the notorious tale of Gordon 'Chicken Man' Williams, as fictionalized in 2024's "". PLUS: Your chance to win a copy of "" in this week's trivia contest! + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "": https://amzn.to/4ket0BY SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/39952635

430: "Everybody Loses" - With Danny Funt 01/26/2026

429: The Negro Leagues' Memphis Red Sox - With Keith Wood 01/19/2026

428: "Stadium City" - With Helen Morgan Parmett 01/12/2026

428: "Stadium City" - With Helen Morgan Parmett Sports stadiums are often framed as engines of civic pride, economic development, and shared spectacle. But what if they are something more consequential — and more complicated — than that? In this episode, we’re joined by University of Vermont professor Helen Morgan Parmett, author of , for a wide-ranging conversation that rethinks stadiums not merely as venues for games, but as powerful urban media infrastructures shaping how cities function, govern, and imagine themselves. Drawing on case studies from Atlanta, Seattle, and Minneapolis, Parmett explores how modern stadiums operate as connective nodes linking sports, media systems, urban planning, political power, and civic identity. We discuss her concept of the “sportification of place” — the idea that cities increasingly organize space, culture, and public investment around sports and spectacle — and how broadcast media, branding, and digital platforms amplify the influence of these massive projects far beyond game day. Our conversation examines what stadium development reveals about who cities are built for, how public resources and attention are allocated, and how issues of race, class, governance, and belonging are deeply embedded in sports infrastructure. We also explore how everyday civic voices — not just those of team owners and politicians — surface tensions over access, identity, and urban priorities. This episode offers a deeper look at stadiums as contested civic spaces — where entertainment, media power, and urban life collide — and considers what their rise reveals about the modern American city. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOK: "" : https://amzn.to/3Z3PuvA SPONSOR THANKS: (10% off promo code: SEATS): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/39689105

427: "Baseball in the Roaring Twenties" - With Thomas Wolf 01/05/2026

427: "Baseball in the Roaring Twenties" - With Thomas Wolf Baseball's 1926 World Series was more than just a championship showdown — it was emblematic of America in a decade defined by financial excess, social rebellion, and societal reinvention. We explore that dramatic showdown through "," a riveting new book by historian and author Thomas Wolf. Wolf takes us beyond the box scores of this unforgettable seven-game clash between Babe Ruth’s New York Yankees and Rogers Hornsby’s St. Louis Cardinals. He traces Ruth’s improbable resurgence from a disastrous 1925 season — a comeback that reignited the public imagination—and revisits the iconic moments that still echo through baseball history, from Grover Cleveland Alexander’s legendary Game 7 performance to Ruth’s controversial, series-ending stolen base attempt. But the story extends well beyond the field. Wolf situates the Series within the broader cultural currents of the Jazz Age: Prohibition-era speakeasies, a rapidly modernizing society, and the parallel world of the Negro Leagues, where Rube Foster’s bold vision flourished even as hopes for integration faced overwhelming resistance. The conversation also uncovers lesser-known (and darker) chapters, including the game-fixing scandal involving Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker that surfaced during the Series, and Commissioner Judge Landis’s unexpectedly lenient response. A historian and lifelong baseball devotee, Wolf has long examined baseball’s cultural meaning. "Baseball in the Roaring Twenties" is his most ambitious work yet — using one remarkable season to probe the contradictions, triumphs, and tensions at the heart of 1920s America. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: : : BUY THE BOOKS (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): "" SPONSOR THANKS (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): (10% off promo code: GOODSEATS): (10% off promo code: SEATS): FIND AND FOLLOW: Linktree: Web: Bluesky: X/Twitter: YouTube: Threads: Instagram: Facebook: LinkedIn: /episode/index/show/goodseatsstillavailable/id/39609000

Good Seats Still Available

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