From the tough streets of Louisville's Smoketown to corporate success, former college hoops standout and American Basketball Association pro George Tinsley's life is a testament to resilience and opportunity.    In his inspiring new memoir "Catch as Catch Can: Building a Legacy by Finding Opportunity in Every Obstacle," Tinsley shares his journey from poverty in the racially divided South to three-time (1966, '68 & '69) NCAA champion (Division II Kentucky Wesleyan Panthers), ABA player (Washington Caps, Kentucky Colonels & The Floridians), and successful business owner.   After transitioning from basketball, Tinsley built a restaurant empire from humble corporate training beginnings at Kentucky Fried Chicken (including regular promotional work with founder Colonel Halrland Sanders himself), overcoming setbacks like a devastating fire. Beyond business, Tinsley reflects on family, faith, and personal loss, offering a powerful message of determination and the ability to turn obstacles into opportunities.   + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   READ EARLY AND OFTEN: Catch as Catch Can: Building a Legacy by Finding Opportunity in Every Obstacle (2024): https://amzn.to/3B64yQK FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

Metroplex restauranteur and armchair football historian Mike Cobern (Wards of the League: The Untold Story of the First NFL Team in Dallas) joins for a deep dive into the mostly forgotten saga of the 1952 Dallas Texans, the one-year wonder that has nearly vanished from the annals of National Football League history.   Before the Cowboys became "America's Team," the NFL's Dallas Texans were nobody's team!   + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY   SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2     READ EARLY AND OFTEN: Wards of the League: The Untold Story of the First NFL Team in Dallas (2024): https://amzn.to/3XA3u03   FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

Syracuse University communications professor and former Emmy award-winning ESPN producer Dennis Deninger ("The Football Game That Changed America: How the NFL Created a National Holiday") joins the show to take us through the origin story and unlikely sociological trajectory of the Super Bowl - pro football's annual championship extravaganza that morphed from uncertain beginnings during the late 1960s AFL-NFL merger into one of America's dominant cultural touchstones.   From the book's dust jacket: The Super Bowl has changed what was just another wintry Sunday into America’s unofficial holiday. It’s the biggest entertainment event of the year. It’s the most important advertising event of the year. It is the biggest gambling event of the year. More Americans watch this game than vote in presidential elections. How did this all happen? In "The Football Game That Changed America," Dennis Deninger reveals how the Super Bowl went from almost being canceled after its first two years to becoming an ingrained part of American life. He tells the story of how this colossal event came to be—including the challenges, stumbles, and amusing surprises along the way—and details the game’s incredible impact well beyond the sports world, touching virtually every facet of life in the United States. + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   READ EARLY AND OFTEN: The Football Game That Changed America: How the NFL Created a National Holiday (2024): https://amzn.to/4cRKGhn   FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

The date: June 14, 1974   The place: Cleveland's venerable Municipal Stadium   The event: an evening regular-season game between MLB's Cleveland Indians & Texas Rangers   The added attraction: "Ten Cent Beer Night"   The result: one of baseball history's (and American sports') most notorious promotional fiascos   Cleveland native Scott Jarrett ("Ten Cent Beer Night: The Complete Guide to the Riot That Helped Save Baseball in Cleveland") joins the show this week to go deep into the night that changed baseball in The Forest City forever - and is still vividly remembered 50 years afterward with equal parts revulsion and amusement by those who were there (and many more who were not!).   + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 READ EARLY AND OFTEN: Ten Cent Beer Night: The Complete Guide to the Riot That Helped Save Baseball in Cleveland (2024): https://amzn.to/3MntQw5   FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

We raise our sports history IQ a few points this week with an enlightening conversation around the broader cultural importance and underlying social significance of the very venues in which our favorite games are played - with Columbia University professor Frank Guridy ("The Stadium: An American History of Politics, Protest, and Play").   The book's promotional intro sets it up best:   "What comes to mind when we think of stadiums in the United States? For most of us, it’s entertainment: football games, Taylor Swift concerts, monster truck rallies, and rodeos. But as historian Frank Guridy reveals in The Stadium, over the past 150 years, they have also been where people gather to wrestle over defining the soul of America.    "From the wooden ballparks of the 19th century to today’s glass and steel mega-stadiums, these buildings have been the public squares where Americans push and pull over issues of race, class, gender, and sexual inequalities. In The Stadium, Guridy writes of its remarkable role as a space of protest and politics—not just play—and tells the dramatic people’s history of American life."   This discussion will make you think differently about the places where big time sports are played - both in terms of what they have represented in the past, as well as what they may portend for the future.   + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2   READ EARLY AND OFTEN: The Stadium: An American History of Politics, Protest, and Play (2024): https://amzn.to/3YTdBOH FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

Buckle up for a wild ride through some of the most forgotten franchises in recent minor league hockey history - with a colorful lifer who literally fought his way to becoming the NHL's oldest (32) opening-day rookie (with the Boston Bruins), only to see it all fall apart to a concussion after just three games.   This is the raw and savage story of Bobby Robins ("Sex, Drugs, Pucks, and Souls: A Savage Memoir"), whose decade-long odyssey across minor league outposts in places like Binghamton, NY (AHL Senators); Jesenice, Slovenia (HK Acroni); Bakersfield, CA (ECHL Condors); Hoffman Estates, IL (ECHL Chicago Express); and most notably, the Bruins' AHL affiliate in Providence - reveals a troubled, often tortured, personal journey that threatened to derail not only a promising career on the ice, but also his life off of it.   + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable   SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2     READ EARLY AND OFTEN: Sex, Drugs, Pucks, and Souls: A Savage Memoir (2024): https://amzn.to/3WZ6lPP   FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

We head back to the diamond this week for a look into the "extraordinarily ordinary" baseball life of 1950s-era infielder Danny O'Connell with biographer Steve Wiegand ("The Uncommon Life of Danny O'Connell: A Tale of Baseball Cards, "Average Players," and the True Value of America's Game"). Wiegand's story is a rich exploration of a player often overlooked in history due to his status as a "common" card in the world of sports memorabilia. However, the book delves far deeper than his on-field statistics, offering a comprehensive look at his life and contributions. O'Connell's story spans from his upbringing in Paterson, NJ, through his professional baseball career during the sport's "Golden Era" - including notable stops with forgotten franchises like the Milwaukee version of the Braves, the New York Giants (including the franchise's move to San Francisco in 1958), the first two seasons of the second version of the Washington Senators (now today's Texas Rangers), and even a 1963 managerial stint with the long-forgotten minor league York (PA) White Roses - to his varied endeavors beyond the field, including singing, shuffleboard, and public speaking. Wiegand paints a vivid picture of O'Connell's life, contextualizing it within the broader landscape of post-war America and the evolution of baseball card collecting. The narrative challenges the notion of what it means to be "average" - highlighting O'Connell's "ordinary" baseball achievements and the human spirit embodied in his journey. It critiques the reduction of lives to mere statistics or collectible items and celebrates the overlooked heroes of baseball, urging readers to reevaluate what makes a life truly extraordinary​. + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable   SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   READ EARLY AND OFTEN: The Uncommon Life of Danny O'Connell: A Tale of Baseball Cards, "Average Players," and the True Value of America's Game (2024): https://amzn.to/3WNrtIO   FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

New York sports broadcast veterans Scott Orgera and Howie Karpin ("976-1313: How Sports Phone Launched Careers and Broke New Ground") join to help us wax nostalgic about the ground-breaking 1970s telephone service Sports Phone.   From the dust jacket of "976-1313": "Sports Phone set out to change the way scores and breaking news were consumed, and in turn ended up setting the tone for the up-to-the-second updates we take for granted today. Found among those who called the service home are some of the most well-known broadcasters, reporters, public address announcers, and other prominent media figures — as well as several who’ve been successful in Hollywood and the music industry. A veritable breeding ground for these now-polished professionals, the dial-up platform that once handled 50 million calls in a year churned out talent at a level likely not seen before or since. "Brought to you by media veterans Scott Orgera and Sports Phone alum Howie Karpin, "976-1313: How Sports Phone Launched Careers and Broke New Ground" features never-before-told tales of triumph and tragedy, a mix of hilarity, inspiration, and regret from the broadcasting hopefuls and sports junkies that comprised the brains and voices behind the pioneering operation. If you were assembling an All-Star team of media personnel, you’d only have to look as far as Sports Phone’s ranks. "As colorful as that cast of characters was, those who dialed 976-1313 regularly had their own yarns to spin. They form a tapestry of hardcore fans, award-winning actors, well-known comedians, impulsive gamblers, Broadway singers, and infamous mobsters, each with captivating stories told within these pages." + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable   SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   READ EARLY AND OFTEN: 976-1313: How Sports Phone Launched Careers and Broke New Ground (2024): https://amzn.to/4dlrtp6   FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

[One last dip into the vault before a flood of new episodes beginning next week; from 2020, our revealing conversation with a pro hockey great - and Atlanta Flames original!} For 1970s-era NHL hockey fans who remember the eight-year adventure known as the Atlanta Flames, few are likely to forget Dan Bouchard.  A tenacious, slightly eccentric and occasionally fight-prone French-Canadian goalie, “Bouch” was an immediate standout between the pipes for the NHL’s first-ever Deep South franchise (platooning with fellow Quebecois & expansion draftee Phil Myre during the club’s first five seasons) – and a survivor in a league where hard-nosed hockey was the norm and where good goalies were at a premium. Bouchard’s big-league call-up to the Flames in 1972 came amidst a frantic period of NHL franchise expansion and relocation driven in large part by the arrival of the challenger World Hockey Association – which debuted alongside Atlanta (and the NY Islanders) that season.  And while the collective memory of the original Flames remains muddied by a woeful post-season record (reliably exiting the playoffs in the first round, despite qualifying six out of their eight seasons), as well as a then (and still?) persistent narrative of Southerners’ native distaste for ice hockey – Bouchard and Atlanta were actually more competitive and popular than many of the NHL’s other 1970s forays in places like Kansas City, Oakland, Denver, and Cleveland. When Nelson Skalbania bought the Flames and moved them to Calgary in 1980, most in Atlanta and around the league assumed that the well-publicized financial struggles of the team and owner Tom Cousins (who also controlled the Omni arena and the NBA Hawks) were to blame. But as Bouchard outlines in this revealing conversation, an explosive league-wide issue was festering behind the scenes – of which he was uniquely aware and determined to address – regardless of the potential consequences to his playing career. Bouch walks us through an eye-opening story that wends its way through the defunct Quebec Nordiques (including the infamous “Good Friday Massacre” vs. the Montreal Canadiens in 1984), the original Winnipeg Jets, the scandalous downfall of a pro hockey Hall of Famer, and fighting for legendary player/coach Bernie “Boom Boom” Geoffrion both on – and off – the ice. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY SPONSOR THANKS Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   FIND & FOLLOW Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

[By popular request, an archive re-release from August 2018, featuring our extraordinary conversation with one of the central figures of the original North American Soccer League - from its chaotic formation in 1968 to its untimely demise in 1985.] + + + Soccer America columnist (and Episode #6 guest) Paul Gardner summed up this week's National Soccer Hall of Fame guest in his May 2015 commentary: “The debt owed by American soccer to Clive Toye is a vast one. It is not too much of an exaggeration to say, flatly, that without Toye’s blind faith in the sport in the 1970s, pro soccer in the USA would have withered and died. Yes, Phil Woosnam and Lamar Hunt and Bob Hermann were there too. But in those unpromising years it was Toye’s voice -- it came in a steady flow of ridiculously optimistic press releases and grandiose plans for a future that few others even dared to ponder -- that called loudest. “The New York Cosmos general manager credited with turning that league’s fortunes around when he signed Pele to a contract in 1975. Toye, who was born in England and came to the United States in 1967 at the age of 33, was president of three North American Soccer League teams – the Cosmos, Chicago Sting and Toronto Blizzard – and general manager of the [original National Professional Soccer League and subsequent NASL] Baltimore Bays.  [He] was an official of the NASL in helping it through its crisis year of 1969 and in its final months in 1985 – and helped to found the third American Soccer League in 1988. “There has always been the spirit of a showman in Toye, and surely it was that spirit that enabled Toye to overlook the virtual collapse of the old North American Soccer League and to see instead a glittering future for the sport in the USA, even to declare to anyone who was listening -- and not many were in those days -- the preposterous notion that the USA should begin preparing to stage the World Cup. “And when the NASL, by the skin of its teeth and by the mad devotion of Toye et al., did survive, it was Toye who gave the reborn league its glittering image with his invention of the Cosmos, with his canny maneuvering and dealing, who brought Pele and Beckenbauer to New York.  Showmanship indeed.” Toye (A Kick in the Grass: The Slow Rise and Quick Demise of the NASL; Anywhere in the World) joins host Tim Hanlon for a lyrical and anecdote-filled journey through the pro league that he helped create, later put to rest, and which ultimately shored up the long-term foundation of the “beautiful game” in America. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN:  A Kick in the Grass: The Slow Rise and Quick Demise of the NASL (2006): https://amzn.to/3Ln1KAtAnywhere in the World (2015): https://amzn.to/3Y3TD3A SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

[An archive re-release favorite from September 2017, featuring one of professional baseball's most enigmatic leagues!] Inc. Editor-at-Large David Whitford (Extra Innings: A Season in the Senior League) joins host Tim Hanlon to retrace his journalistic odyssey covering the inaugural season of the short-lived, Florida-based Senior Professional Baseball Association (SPBA) in the winter of 1989-90.  Whitford recalls the early-career events leading up to his plum writing assignment, and the process by which he went about chronicling this unique, but ultimately ill-fated eight-team circuit for former pro players over the age of 35 (32 for catchers).  Despite half the franchises folding after the first 72-game season (and the rest of the league mid-way through the second), the Senior League afforded dozens of former big-league players and managers what Whitford dubbed a "life-after-death fantasy" – one that attracted both stars and journeymen alike for a chance to either stay fresh for one last shot in the Show, recapture past on-field glories, or simply earn some needed money.  Whitford highlights a wide array of characters he met while covering the SBPA, including: Founder Jim Morley, the thirty-something hustler who erroneously believed a senior league could generate cash flow sufficient to sustain his debt-ridden real-estate empire;Commissioner Curt Flood, the indefatigable player’s union representative  who broke Major League Baseball’s reserve clause, but sacrificed his career in the process; Pitcher Wayne Garland, the former Cleveland ace and early free-agent beneficiary who risked permanent shoulder damage by coming back to play pro ball after a five-year layoff;Ex-Padres/Astros fastballer (and pioneer descendant) Danny Boone, who reinvented himself into a knuckleball specialist, and improbably made it back to the bigs with Baltimore in 1990 following the SPBA season; AND A veritable who’s who of former big-name major league stars – each with their own personal reasons for returning to the diamonds:  Bobby Bonds, Joaquin Andujar, Vida Blue, Rollie Fingers, Ferguson Jenkins, Dave Kingman, Bill “Spaceman” Lee, Graig Nettles, Mickey Rivers, and even manager Earl Weaver – just to name a few. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable   SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN:  Extra Innings: A Season in the Senior League (2024): https://amzn.to/4cfkRbs   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

Most US and Canadian domestic soccer fans are certain that the second incarnation of the North American Soccer League (2011-17) officially met its untimely demise in early 2018, just a few months after the first-year San Francisco Deltas beat the New York Cosmos in the 2017 Soccer Bowl - and amidst a seemingly desperate/last-minute antitrust lawsuit alleging collusion between US Soccer and Major League Soccer to keep the league down.   While the NASL hasn't played another game since, the lawsuit - largely ideated and funded by spurned billionaire/Cosmos owner Rocco Commisso - is still very much alive, and now officially headed to trial beginning January 6th of next year.    At issue: whether the governing body of soccer in the US and/or its officially designated top-tier professional league conspired to exclude the NASL from Division I-sanctioned play, and schemed to monopolize the market for men’s pro soccer.   At stake: the future direction, competitive landscape and legal structure of American professional soccer.   We get a full primer on the history, rationale and likely outcomes of this stealthily persistent case, with UCLA law school professor, sports/soccer legal expert (and 1970s-era ASL Cleveland Cobras fan) Steven Bank - whose influential Twitter/X feed is an essential follow on all things law + soccer.    + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable   SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

We celebrate the legendary career and outsized influence of one of baseball's most recognized voices, with veteran LA sportswriter Tom Hoffarth (Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully). From the "Early Days" dustjacket:   "When Vin Scully passed away in 2022, the city of Los Angeles lost its soundtrack. If you were able to deliver a eulogy for him, what might it include? What impact did he have on you? What do you carry forward from his legacy?    "Sixty-seven essayists—one representing each season of his career calling games for the Los Angeles Dodgers, from 1950 through 2016—reflect on the ways his professional and private life influenced them. The contributions include a range of stories and remembrances from those who knew and followed him. The consensus of the contributions is that Scully’s actions spoke louder than his well-recognized words. "This collection includes fellow broadcasters as well as historians, players, journalists, celebrities, and others connected to the game of baseball, with each piece introduced by sports journalist Tom Hoffarth. Readers can consider Scully’s life through common themes: his sincerity, his humility, his professionalism, his passion for his faith, his devotion to his family, his insistence on remembering and giving context to important moments in the history of not just the game but the world in general, all wrapped up in a gift for weaving storytelling with accurate reporting, fellowship with performance art, humor, and connection."   [P.S. - As mentioned in this week's episode, check out this amazing 2016 conversation between Scully and the late Willie Mays, who passed away last week at the age of 93.]   + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable   SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN:  Perfect Eloquence: An Appreciation of Vin Scully (2024): https://amzn.to/4cfkRbs   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

It's time to fire up the old Jerrold cable box for a trip back to the pre-launch and early first on-air days of cable TV's pioneering Entertainment and Sports Programming Network - better known as ESPN - with founding producer and channel memoirist Peter Fox ("The Early Days of ESPN: 300 Daydreams and Nightmares"). From the "Early Days" dustjacket: "The tales of early ESPN people who gambled their careers while critics carped that “all-sports television will never work” are full of guile, luck, fear, fun, and unbridled optimism. As ESPN’s founding executive producer, Peter Fox was privy to some spectacular professional efforts by a cadre of Connecticut locals who made the dream real.  "The first 300 days of the fledgling network were filled with mayhem, on-air gaffes, and the slowest instant replay in television. What started as a humble idea in the late spring of 1978 to capitalize on the brand-new mania for UConn men’s basketball soon morphed into ESPN and a plan to begin airing a series of “test broadcasts” in the fall.  "This is the story of the early days at ESPN, told by one on the network's launching pad, and how a conversation over a couple of martinis in 1978 led to the creation of a broadcast juggernaut. + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable   SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2   BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN: The Early Days of ESPN: 300 Daydreams and Nightmares (2024): https://amzn.to/3xalQdX   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

First-time sports historians Tom Delise and Jay Seaborg ("Foxy Ned Hanlon: The Baseball Life of a Hall of Fame Manager") join the podcast for a biographical look at one of baseball's most innovative managerial minds - and who just may be related to your humble host! "Foxy" Ned Hanlon was one of the major leagues' earliest tactical visionaries, who recognized the value of speed and strategy in generating runs long before the term “small ball” became popular.  Starting as a fine outfielder, Hanlon played 13 professional seasons with the Cleveland Blues, Detroit Wolverines, the Federal League's one-year Pittsburgh Burghers, Pittsburgh Pirates (neé Alleghenys), and (original American Association-then-National League) Baltimore Orioles - stealing 329 bases after stolen bases were first recorded in 1886.  Despite a modest .260 batting average, Hanlon was renowned for his speed and daring on the bases, as well as his defensive prowess, leading the National League in putouts in 1882 and 1884. Hanlon’s managerial career began after participating in A.G. Spalding’s “Around The World Baseball Tour” in the winter of 1888.  He became the player-manager of the Pittsburgh Alleghenys in 1889 and supported the short-lived Players’ League in 1890, where he posted a .383 on-base percentage.  Returning to the Alleghenys, Hanlon inadvertently contributed to the team’s name change to Pirates due to his aggressive player acquisition tactics. In 1892, Hanlon took over the Baltimore Orioles and revolutionized the game with his “Inside Baseball” philosophy.  He emphasized teamwork, speed, and innovative plays like the hit-and-run, sacrifice bunt, and double steal. Hanlon also introduced the "Baltimore Chop" and was among the first to use a platoon system based on pitcher handedness.  Under his leadership, the Orioles transformed from cellar dwellers to dominant forces, capturing five NL pennants from 1894 to 1900. Hanlon’s strategic genius earned him accolades from peers and successors. Hall of Fame manager Connie Mack regarded Hanlon as the greatest leader in baseball history, and in 1937, The Sporting News dubbed him “The Father of Modern Baseball.”  Ned Hanlon passed away on April 14, 1937, and was elected to the Hall of Fame in 1996, cementing his legacy as a pioneer of the sport. + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: "Good Seats" Show & Defunct Team Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable     SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2   BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN: Foxy Ned Hanlon: The Baseball Life of a Hall of Fame Manager (2024): https://amzn.to/3Vyge6v   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

Cultural historian and best-selling British author Kassia St. Clair ("The Secret Lives of Color"; "The Golden Thread: How Fabric Changed History")  joins the podcast for a look back at the fascinating, improbable and culturally paradigm-shifting 1907 Peking-to-Paris Motor Challenge - as featured in her new book "The Race to the Future: 8,000 Miles to Paris - The Adventure That Accelerated the Twentieth Century":   From the "Race to the Future" dust jacket:   "The rise of the automobile as told through its Rubicon moment―a sensational, high-risk race across two continents on the verge of revolution. "The racers―an Italian prince and his chauffeur, a French racing driver, a con man, and several rival journalists―battle over steep inclines, through narrow mountain passages, and across the arid Gobi Desert. Competitors endure torrential rain and choking dust. There are barely any roads, and petrol is almost impossible to find. A global audience of millions follows each twist and turn, devouring reports telegraphed from the course. "More than its many adventures, the Peking-to-Paris Motor Challenge took place on the precipice of a new world. As the twentieth century dawned, imperial regimes in China and Russia were crumbling, paving the way for the rise of communist ones. The electric telegraph was rapidly transforming modern communication, and with it, the news media, commerce, and politics. Suspended between the old and the new, the Peking-to-Paris, as best-selling historian Kassia St. Clair writes, became a critical tipping point. "A gripping, immersive narrative of the race, The Race to the Future sets the drivers’ derring-do (and occasional cheating) against the backdrop of a larger geopolitical and technological race to the future. Interweaving events from the fall of the Qing dynasty to the departure of the horse economy and the rise of gendered marketing, St. Clair shows how the Peking-to-Paris provided an impetus for profound social, cultural, and industrial change, while masterfully capturing the mounting tensions between nations and empires―all building up to the cataclysmic event that changed everything: the First World War."   + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Show Merch:  http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable   SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2   BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN: The Race to the Future: 8,000 Miles to Paris - The Adventure That Accelerated the Twentieth Century (2024): https://amzn.to/3VoxYB7   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

[An essential fan favorite from 2018 - with the dean of "forgotten sports" promotion!]  If someone ever decides to build an American sports promotion Hall of Fame, the inaugural class will undoubtedly be led by this week’s special guest, Doug Verb.  In a career spanning more than 40 years in professional sports management, Verb’s remarkable career has included spearheading marketing, promotion, publicity, and television for some of the most innovative and memorable leagues and franchises of the modern era.  One of the founding executives of both the pioneering Major Indoor Soccer League (along with sports entrepreneurs Earl Foreman, Ed Tepper, and previous podcast guest Dr. Joe Machnik), and the frenetic Arena Football League (with the sport’s inventor [and past two-part guest] Jim Foster), Verb additionally  served as president of pro soccer’s legendary Chicago Sting from 1982-86 – which, incredibly, drifted between playing in two separate leagues during his tenure (for one year, simultaneously) – the outdoor North American Soccer League and the indoor MISL.  In our longest and more anecdote-filled episode to date, Verb vividly recounts the highs and lows of launching new teams, leagues and even sports themselves from whole cloth – with nary an operational blueprint or career roadmap to be found.  Buckle up for a wild ride through the woeful 1976 NASL Philadelphia Atoms, the “Rocket Red” pinball-like MISL, soccer for all seasons in the Windy City, and birthing indoor football.  PLUS:  Kiddie City to the rescue; Earl Foreman’s “Brother-in-Law Effect;” getting paid in soybeans; and the curious one-game history of the Liberty Basketball Association!  + + +  SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Merch: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY   SPONSOR THANKS: Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

Baseball historian and Society for American Baseball Research (SABR) contributor Eric Vickrey ("Season of Shattered Dreams: Postwar Baseball, the Spokane Indians, and a Tragic Bus Crash That Changed Everything") joins the podcast for a look back at one of the worst tragedies in the history of US pro sports.   From the dust jacket of Vickrey's new book: "On June 24, 1946, a bus carrying the Spokane Indians baseball team crashed to the bottom of a deep ravine in Washington state’s Cascade mountains, killing nine players. To this day, it remains the deadliest accident in the history of American professional sports. "In Season of Shattered Dreams: Postwar Baseball, the Spokane Indians, and a Tragic Bus Crash That Changed Everything, Eric Vickrey details the series of events that occurred before, during, and after the heartbreaking accident. Vickrey chronicles the often-overlooked impact that the end of World War II had on the major and minor leagues, now crowded with players returning from military service. The Spokane Indians were no exception, with several top prospects and former big leaguers arriving that season. The journeys of three Spokane players in particular - Vic Picetti, Ben Geraghty, and Jack Lohrke - reveal the impact of the war on players’ lives, the struggles of a minor-league career, and the devastating impact of that catastrophic crash. "The Spokane Indians were not your average minor-league team, and though their story has been largely forgotten with time, it is one that deserves to be told. Featuring original interviews, as well as letters and photos from the personal collections of players and their families, Season of Shattered Dreams offers incredible insight into one of the most singular seasons in professional baseball."   + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Merch: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY     SPONSOR THANKS:   Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2 Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats     BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN: Season of Shattered Dreams: Postwar Baseball, the Spokane Indians, and a Tragic Bus Crash That Changed Everything  (2024): https://amzn.to/4bMLDar   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

We celebrate the 94th birthday of legendary Soccer America columnist Paul Gardner (The Simplest Game: The Intelligent Fan's Guide to the World of Soccer; Soccer Talk: Paul Gardner on Soccer) with this special archive re-release (and our 6th-ever episode!) from 2017. The universally acknowledged "dean" of American soccer writers waxes nostalgic on his unlikely journey from fledgling British pharmacist to the States' most persistently influential commentator on the "beautiful game."  Gardner: Recounts the chaotic formation of the modern professional game in the U.S. during the 1960s;Recalls how ambitious sports entrepreneurs like the International Soccer League’s Bill Cox, and greedy corporate owners like the United Soccer Association’s Madison Square Garden were quickly chagrined by the machinations of soccer’s international governing body;Describes how a complex Welsh-born, player-turned-NASL-commissioner curiously nudged him into national TV game commentating;Remembers when he first recognized pro soccer had finally “arrived” in America (ironically, while out of the country); andSuggests that a revised U.S. corporate tax code may have helped hasten the demise of an already-wobbly NASL as the 1980s beckoned. + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Merch: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY   SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2   BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN: The Simplest Game: The Intelligent Fan's Guide to the World of Soccer (1996): https://amzn.to/3yhjJFcSoccer Talk: Paul Gardner on Soccer (1999): https://amzn.to/44AoHsV   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable

During the late 1960s, Dean Tolson ("Power Forward: My Journey from Illiterate NBA Player to a Magna Cum Laude Master's Degree") emerged as a standout prep basketball talent during his junior and senior years at Central High School in Kansas City, Missouri. His prowess on the court attracted the attention of a bevy of college recruiters, leading him to accept a full scholarship offer from the nearby University of Arkansas. Despite literally not knowing how to read or write, Tolson defied significant odds, and became one of the most renowned players in Razorbacks history. In 1974, Tolson was drafted by both the NBA's Seattle Supersonics and the ABA's New York Nets - eventually joining the Sonics to play under the tutelage of the legendary Bill Russell in Seattle, and showcasing his talent on a national stage.  An 11-year journeyman career followed, with stops in the Eastern Basketball Association (Hazleton Bullets), the CBA (including a 1980 league championship with the Anchorage Northern Knights), and pro leagues in both Greece and the Philippines. After retiring from basketball, Tolson made the courageous decision to re-enroll at the University of Arkansas, determined to pursue his education authentically - repeating all four years of college and finally obtaining his degree through legitimate means. Remarkably, he returned to the university once again at age 52, earning a master's degree with magna cum laude honors. Tolson's journey, from his challenging upbringing in an orphanage to his remarkable academic achievements, serves as a powerful indictment of a system that often prioritizes athletic talent over educational accountability. His story sheds light on the pervasive issue of athletes being "passed along" without facing the academic rigor expected of their peers. Yet, amidst these challenges, Tolson's story is a beacon of inspiration - showcasing resilience and determination to overcome formidable odds to (eventually) achieve success.  + + +   SUPPORT THE SHOW: Buy Us a Coffee: https://ko-fi.com/goodseatsstillavailable "Good Seats" Merch: http://tee.pub/lic/RdiDZzQeHSY   SPONSOR THANKS: Old School Shirts.com (promo code: GOODSEATS) https://oldschoolshirts.com/goodseats Royal Retros (promo code: SEATS): https://www.503-sports.com?aff=2   BUY/READ EARLY & OFTEN: Power Forward: My Journey from Illiterate NBA Player to a Magna Cum Laude Master's Degree (2023): https://amzn.to/4btrTJ7   FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStillInstagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailableFacebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable