The Packaged Tourist Show

Tonight’s guest is author David Vilhauer. Dave lives in South Dakota and when he is not working as President of Baseline Publishing LLC he is also the creator and owner of SD SportScene. In 2019 Dave published his first book “The Parent Trapped Within (A Guide to Sports Parenting) and that is what we will be discussing for tonight’s show.

Tonight’s guest is author Jeff Kisseloff. Jeff lives today in Arizona but was born and raised in East Meadow, NY. For decades Jeff has blessed the literary world with three stunning oral histories dealing with Manhattan from the 1890s to World War Two; the creation and rise of television from 1929 to 1961; and an oral history of the protest movements of the 1960s.

Jeff Kisseloff is also a devoted baseball fan and has released two books devoted to baseball: “Who is Baseball’s Greatest Hitter” and “Who is Baseball’s Greatest Pitcher”.

This week we are commemorating the 160th anniversary of the Civil War battle of Chancellorsville one of the greatest battles in Civil War History and Robert E. Lee’s greatest moment as a general. And to help me mark this anniversary is a renowned and well-respected expert on the battle: Dr. Christian Keller. Christian Keller is a professor of history at the U.S. Army War College in Carlisle, PA, a post he has occupied since 2011. He also is the owner of Keller Enterprises where he buys, sells, and trades military toys. He has also published six books since 2004 including two books which discuss Chancellorsville: “Chancellorsville and the Germans” which discusses the role German-American troops played in the battle and “The Great Partnership: Robert E. Lee and Stonewall Jackson, and the Fate of the Confederacy” which discusses the great partnership between Lee and Jackson.

Tonight’s guest is a dear friend and fellow historian Dr. Eugene Betit. Gene comes from a military background. He served for 20 years in the U.S. Army as a military intelligence analyst and a German and Russian linguist. He was selected for the Soviet Foreign Area officer’s program and, later, went on to study Russian at Universities in California, Germany, and, finally, at Georgetown University where he finished with a Masters Degree and a Ph.D.

He published his first book in 2017 (a chronicle of his Walloonian ancestors) before releasing his second book Collective Amnesia in 2019.

Tonight, we will be discussing his latest book released last March “Unsung Patriots: African-Americans in America’s Wars” which examines the relatively unexamined role played African-Americans have played in America’s wars.

Tonight’s guest is science fiction author S. Evan Townsend. Evan has been called “America’s Unique Speculative Fiction Voice” and writes novels that cause thrills and rapid page-turning. Evan hales from the Pacific Northwest and served four years in the Army in the Intelligence field. After ending his military service, he got a B.S. from the University of Washington in Forest Resources. He presently enjoys life in Washington State with his wife, three sons, and his grandson. Evan has published 16 books since 2010. His latest work is “Death to the Emperor” which was released last December.

Tonight’s guest is author David Wilson. David has had a full career in education as a teacher and high school principal, but he has also been a journalist, director of communications, and author. He currently teaches online master degree coursework and holds local political office in a legislative role on the quorum court in Washington County Arkansas (located in the northwest part of the State).

Dr. Wilson’s latest book is called “I Grew Up in A Small Town”, about Corning, Arkansas, where he grew up in Northeast Arkansas. The town turns 150 years old this year and the book was written, in part, to help commemorate that event.

Tonight’s guest is author David Sumner. David lives in Indiana and was a former professor of Journalism at Ball State University for 25 years.

Exactly 60 years ago on this day in 1963 the now defunct Saturday Evening Post ran an expose accusing University of Alabama football coach Bear Bryant of conspiring with former University of Georgia Bulldogs football coach Wally Butts to fix a 1962 game between the two schools which Georgia lost 35-0.

In 2018 David Sumner wrote his first book on college football titled “Fumbled Call” which deals with mysterious Bear Bryant-Wally Butts football scandal which took place during the early 1960s which led to trials in the Federal Courts that influenced libel laws regarding celebrities.

Tonight’s guest is author and Hockey and Pro Wrestling historian Greg Oliver. Greg lives in Toronto, Canada and has written 19 books (with more to come) since 2003. He co-authored five books in the Pro Wrestling Hall of Fame quintet. Tonight, we will be discussing his two upcoming releases which he co-authored with their subjects: “The Woman who would be King: the Madusa Story” a bio on female pro wrestler Debrah “Madusa” Miceli and “Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer” a bio on former Toronto Blue Jays manager John Gibbons.

Tonight’s guest making a record fifth appearance on my show is author and Civil War historian William Connery.

William lives in the greater Baltimore-Washington DC area and for over ten years has been a writer for the Civil War Courier monthly magazine and a guest speaker giving talks on the Civil War. William has also worked for the Washington Times newspaper and once did weekend docent work at the Mosby Museum in Warrenton, Virginia.

In 2011 William published his first book “Civil War Northern Virginia 1861” and tonight we will be discussing the life and exploits of the subject of his second book which was published in 2013 titled “Mosby’s raids in Civil War Northern Virginia”, a biography of Confederate Colonel John Singleton Mosby.

Tonight’s guest is author Sheridan Barringer. Sheridan lives in Newport News, VA and worked for NASA for 37 years as a mechanical engineer and project manager. When Sheridan wasn’t working for NASA, he was pursuing his great love of researching the lives of Confederate cavalry commanders.

In 2016 he released his first book “Fighting for General Lee: General Rufus Barringer and the North Carolina Cavalry brigade”.

In 2019 Sheridan released his second book “Custer’s Rival: The Life of Confederate Major General Thomas L. Rosser”.

Last year he released his third book “Unhonored Service: The Life of Lee’s Senior Cavalry Commander, Colonel Thomas Taylor Munford, CSA”.

Tonight’s guest is author Bob Sampson. Bob lives in Southern Illinois and has written two books. His first, a biography of John L. O’Sullivan (a 19th century journalist, diplomat, and advocate for lost causes) came out in 2003.

His second book Ballists, Dead Beats, and Muffins: Inside Early Baseball in Illinoiswill be released on May 2 of this year. The book discusses how baseball swept through Illinois in the years following the end of the Civil War in 1865.

Tonight’s guest is author Edward Achorn. Ed lives in Massachusetts and is a Pulitzer Prize finalist (for his book Every Drop of Blood: The Momentous Second Inauguration of Abraham Lincoln). When he is not writing books about Abraham Lincoln he has also published two excellent books on 19thcentury baseball Fifty-Nine in ’84 and The Summer of Beer and Whiskey.

Yesterday Ed released his fourth book the highly anticipated The Lincoln Miracle: Inside the Republican Convention that Changed History

Tonight’s guest is hockey author Jim Genac. Jim hales from British Columbia in Canada and is a former amateur hockey coach.

Tonight, we will be discussing his first book “Path to the Summit: Anatoli Tarasov and the History of Soviet Hockey part 1 (1946-1956) a masterful history of the origins of Soviet hockey.

Tonight’s guest is novelist Donny Hunt. Donny hales from Texas and has worked for various newspapers and radio stations while contributing to sports websites.

During the past five years he has written and published five novels. His first “Blessed Poison” was released in 2016. In 2017 he released “The Quest for Aranwa” and “Angel of Death”. In 2020 he released his fourth “Already Fallen” a sequel to his first novel “Blessed Poison”. And in 2022 Donny’s fifth novel “Reckless Passions” a sequel to “Already Fallen” and “Blessed Poison” was unleashed upon the world.

But when he isn’t writing novels Donny Hunt also indulges in his other passion: being a lifelong Dallas Cowboys fan. Tonight, marks a special occasion for Cowboys fans. This is the 30th anniversary of Dallas winning Super Bowl XXVII against the Buffalo Bills. It was Dallas’ first Super Bowl victory in 15 years and tonight Donny and I will pay tribute to that great team.

Tonight’s guest is sports author Ian Kahanowitz. Ian S. Kahanowitz was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York. After moving to Massachusetts in 1993 to attend law school, he has practiced law for the last twenty-two years. Ian is also a historian, whose major focus is on 20th Century history. Ian's love for baseball, combined with his love for the law and history has influenced him to publish his first bookin 2019: Baseball Gods In Scandal: Ty Cobb, Tris Speaker, and The Dutch Leonard Affair.

In 2021 he published his second book “NFL 1970: the Inaugural Season of the New NFL”.

Ian has published many articles on baseball and has a sports/ entertainment podcast called Genesis. The podcasts can be downloaded at YouTube.

He currently resides in North Attleboro, Massachusetts with his wife and two sons.

Tonight’s guest is author Roger Meyer. In 2000 Roger published his book “The First Mr. Basketball: The Legend of Bobby McDermott”, a bio of one of the greatest pro basketball players of the 1930s and the 1940s and inducted into the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in 1988.

Tonight’s guest is author Brian “Chip” Martin.  Brian is a native of London, Ontario in Canada and has been a lifelong fan of baseball and is a member of the Society of American Baseball Researchers and has written many articles devoted to Canadians who have played Major League baseball.

Since 2013 Chip has released four books dealing with baseball but tonight, we will be discussing his latest book released last October “From Underground Railroad to Rebel Refuge: Canada and the Civil War” a compelling examination of Canada’s role in the Civil War as a haven for escaped slaves, Confederate spies, Klansmen, and post-bellum rebel generals and slave owners.

Tonight begins the Fourth Season of the Packaged Tourist and tonight’s guest making his record fourth appearance on my show is author and novelist Neil Perry Gordon. Neil lives in New York and during the past four years Neil has released nine books: A Cobbler’s Tale, Moon Flower, The Righteous One, The Bomb Squad, Hope City, Sadie’s Sin, Cape Nome, Otzi’s Odyssey, and the last volume of his Goldfield Trilogy, Denali.

Tonight, we will discuss two future books projects Neil is working on: “Thunder Falls: the education of Leopold Red Wolf” and "The Nazirite: the untold story of Samson and Delilah”.

Tonight’s guest is Baseball historian and author Bruce Markusen. Bruce has that dream job which all baseball fanatics lust for all their lives. He has worked as the Manager of Digital and Outreach Learning at the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, NY since 2013.

He has also been a columnist for the Hardball Times since 2009 and he is also a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.

He has published several books (mostly about baseball) but for tonight we will discuss a specific topic. This coming Saturday New Year’s Eve will mark the 50thanniversary of the tragic death of baseball immortal Roberto Clemente who perished while leading a mission of mercy to aid victims of a massive earthquake in Nicarauga.

Bruce Markusen is uniquely qualified to discuss Clemente’s career because in 2014 he published the book “Roberto Clemente: The Great One”.

Tonight’s guest is author David Sumner. David lives in Anderson, Indiana and was a former professor of Journalism at Ball State University (located in Muncie, IN) for 25 years.

He released his first book “Feature and Magazine Writing” in 2012 followed in 2017 by a biography of Georgia politician John Thraser.

In 2018 he wrote his first book on college football titled “Fumbled Call” which deals with mysterious Bear Bryant-Wally Butts football scandal which took place during the early 1960s and in 2021 ago he released “Amos Alonzo Stagg: College Football’s Greatest Pioneer” which is available in kindle and paperback at Amazon.

Tonight we will be discussing his new release "Magazine Century".

Tonight’s guest is esteemed football author Tom Danyluk. Tom hales from Oak Park, Illinois and has worked as a football writer for the past 30 years and has been a member of the Pro Football Writers Association since 1987 and has been writing for Pro Football Weekly since 2004.

His work has earned enormous and well deserved praise from his peers in the profession. Legendary football writer Paul Zimmerman declared in 2007 that, “Day in, day out football writing, I think the most knowledgeable person covering the game is Tom Danyluk.”

His first book “The Lost Super Bowls” was released in 2017. His second book “None Yards: 30 years of John Madden in the broadcast booth” a verbal history of the late John Madden was released in 2018. His third book “The Super 70s” a brilliant history of the NFL in the 1970s was released in 2019.

And his latest book “Majesty and Mayhem: Pro Football in the 1980s” was released last February and is already earning rave reviews among football literary critics.

Tonight’s guest making his fourth appearance on my show is author and Civil War historian William Connery.

William lives in the greater Baltimore-Washington DC area and for over ten years has been a writer for the Civil War Courier monthly magazine and a guest speaker giving talks on the Civil War. William has also worked for the Washington Times newspaper and once did weekend docent work at the Mosby Museum in Warrenton, Virginia.

In 2011 William published his first book “Civil War Northern Virginia 1861” and in 2013 he published his second book “Mosby’s raids in Civil War Northern Virginia”.

Tonight we will be discussing the Civil War Battle of Fredericksburg on the 160thanniversary of the battle.

Tonight’s guest is author Sharon K. Connell. Sharon was born in Wisconsin but lived most of her adult life in Chicago and Florida. She now resides in Houston, Texas. Although she defines her genre of writing as Christian Romance Suspense she has also published a cookbook and a multi-genre collection of short stories.

Sharon has also devoted her life to her Christian faith and has spent most of her life studying the Bible and graduated from the Pensacola Bible Institute.

Tonight we will be discussing her latest release “Tall Pines Sanctuary” which was published last August.

Tonight we have two special return guests: husband and wife writing duo Thomas Wolf and Patricia Bryan. Tom and Patricia reside in North Carolina. Tom has published books on his own dealing with baseball but in 2005 he collaborated with Patricia on their first joint release “Midnight Assassin” that examine a real life 1900 murder mystery that took place in Iowa.

Tonight, we will discuss their second joint book release “The Plea: The True Story of Young Wesley Elkins and his struggle for Redemption”. This book discusses the 1889 murder of an Iowa farmer and his young wife, the investigation and how the aftermath of that murder affected their young, frail son.

Tonight we have a special guest: Pro Football Historian and author Terrence “T.J.” Troup. T.J. is one of the foremost historians of professional football. He has written numerous articles for “American Football Coaches Monthly” and was the football coordinator/consultant for the 2008 George Clooney film “Leatherheads” and also the 2021 film “12 Mighty Orphans”. He wrote his first book in 2009 titled “This Day in Football” and in 2014 he wrote the “The Birth of Football’s Modern 4-3 Defense” a splendidly detailed tactical analysis of how NFL teams played defense during the 1950s and a must read for all serious pro football researchers.

Tonight Coach Troup and I will be revisiting the most famous Thanksgiving Day matchup in the history of the Packers-Lions Rivalry, the 1962 Thanksgiving Day game on its 60th anniversary.

Tonight’s guest is teacher and author Andrew Noone. Andrew hales from Green Hill Park, MA and has been a music teacher and specialist for the Worcester Public School system for the past 22 years.

In March 2021 Andrew published his first book “Bathsheba Spooner: A Revolutionary Murder Conspiracy”.

It is a story about an 18th century murder plot set in American Revolution involving people from both the British and the American sides of the struggle.

Tonight’s guest is freelance journalist and author Tom Dunkel. Tom has been a regular contributor to the Washington Post Magazine for the past 20 years and has also contributed articles for the New York Times magazine, Sports Illustrated, and Smithsonian to name a few.

In 2013 Tom published his first book “Color Blind: The Forgotten Team that broke Baseball’s Color Line” which drew rave reviews from many of America’s most prestigious newspapers and book reviewers.

Three weeks ago Tom released his latest book “White Knights in the Black Orchestra: the extraordinary story of the Germans who resisted Hitler” which, also, is drawing rave reviews from America’s most elite book reviewers and newspapers.

Tonight’s guest is journalist and hockey author Geoff Kirbyson. Geoff hales from Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada and has been a writer for the Winnipeg Free Press for decades while also contributing columns for Canadian Business Magazine.

In 2016 he published his first book “The Hot Line: How the Legendary Trio of Hull, Hedberg and Nilsson transformed hockey and led the Winnipeg Jets to greatness” a brilliant account of the one of the greatest scoring lines in hockey history and how their style of play altered hockey tactics forever.

In 2021 Geoff released his second book “Broken Ribs and Popcorn: how the Winnipeg Jets became the best team in the NHL’s most offensive era not to win the Stanley Cup”, an account of how the Jets rebuilt themselves during the 1980s after merging with the NHL in 1979.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of when the Winnipeg Jets were formed and became the flagship franchise in the World Hockey Association.

Tonight’s guest is Benoit Clairoux. Benoit lives in Verdun in Quebec and is a member of the Society of International Hockey Researchers. He is maintains the website histoirenordiques.ca devoted to the history of the Quebec Nordiques.

The Quebec Nordiques were one of the solid franchises in the WHA and competed in two AVCO Cup finals in 1975 and 1977. They merged with the NHL in 1979 and continued until the team moved to Colorado in 1995 where they became the Colorado Avalanche.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Quebec Nordiques.

Tonight we have a special guest: Pro Football Historian and author Terrence “T.J.” Troup. T.J. is one of the foremost historians of professional football. He has written numerous articles for “American Football Coaches Monthly” and was the football coordinator/consultant for the 2008 George Clooney film “Leatherheads” and also the 2021 film “12 Mighty Orphans”. He wrote his first book in 2009 titled “This Day in Football” and in 2014 he wrote the “The Birth of Football’s Modern 4-3 Defense” a splendidly detailed tactical analysis of how NFL teams played defense during the 1950s and a must read for all serious pro football researchers.

Tonight Coach Troup and I will be going down memory lane and paying tribute to the Over the Hill Gang, the 1972 Washington Redskins led by George Allen.

Tonight’s guest is author Christopher Kolakowski. Chris in addition to being a five-time author is also the director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. During his lifetime he also served brilliantly at other distinguished historical museums such as the Douglas MacArthur memorial in Norfolk, VA, and the General George Patton Museum and Center for Leadership at Fort Knox, KY and was the Director of the Perryville Battlefield Preservation Association.

This Saturday October 8 will mark the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Perryville, the largest battle that took place in the State of Kentucky. Tonight Chris and I will discuss the highlights and key historical aspects of that battle.

Chris Kolakowski is eminently qualified to discuss the significance of the Battle of Perryville because in 2009 he released his book “The Civil War at Perryville: Battling for the Bluegrass” discusses this battle.

Tonight’s guest is Chuck Swanlund. Chuck hales from Bryan, Texas and has been a Professor of History at Blinn College since 2004.

When he is not teaching history Chuck indulges in his love for hockey history. He is a member of the Society of International Hockey Researchers and his favorite hockey topic happens to be the old Houston Aeros from the now defunct World Hockey Association.

The Houston Aeros were one of the most powerful franchise in the WHA and competed in three consecutive Avco Cups finals during the 1970s.

This month marks the 50th anniversary of the founding of the Houston Aeros.

Tonight’s guest is author Richard Bendell. Richard lives near Niagara Falls in Canada and works as a certified management accountant and certified public accountant. But when he wasn’t working as a CMA Richard indulges in his love for hockey history.

Ten years ago he (along with Paul Patskou and Robert MacAskill) co-wrote the book “(1972 The Summit Series: Canada vs. USSR, Stats, Lies, and Videotape, the Untold Story of Hockey’s Series of the Century”.

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the final game of the 1972 Summit Series which resulted in a Canadian victory of 4-3-1 against the Soviet National Hockey Team. The Summit Series remains one of the most historic moments in hockey history. It altered not only NHL hockey but also international hockey as well.

Tonight Richard and I will discuss these changes and the untold stories that took place during the 1972 Summit Series.

Tonight’s guest is author Christopher Kolakowski. Chris in addition to being a five-time author is also the director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. During his lifetime he also served brilliantly at other distinguished historical museums such as the Douglas MacArthur memorial in Norfolk, VA, and the General George Patton Museum and Center for Leadership at Fort Knox, KY.

Last Saturday September 17th marked the 160th anniversary of the Battle of Antietam, one of the bloodiest battles in the Civil War. Tonight Chris and I will discuss the highlights and key historical aspects of that battle.

Chris Kolakowski is eminently qualified to discuss the significance of the Battle of Antietam because in 2016 he released his book “The Union’s Great Crisis: the Fall of 1862” which discusses this battle.

Tonight we have a special guest: Pro Football Historian and author Terrence “T.J.” Troup. T.J. is one of the foremost historians of professional football. He has written numerous articles for “American Football Coaches Monthly” and was the football coordinator/consultant for the 2008 George Clooney film “Leatherheads” and also the 2021 film “12 Mighty Orphans”. He wrote his first book in 2009 titled “This Day in Football” and in 2014 he wrote the “The Birth of Football’s Modern 4-3 Defense” a splendidly detailed tactical analysis of how NFL teams played defense during the 1950s and a must read for all serious pro football researchers.

Tonight Coach Troup is going to discuss the expansion and evolution of the Pro Football passing game from 1947 to 1952.

Tonight’s guest making his third appearance on my show is author and Civil War historian William Connery.

William lives in the greater Baltimore-Washington DC area and for over ten years has been a writer for the Civil War Courier monthly magazine and a guest speaker giving talks on the Civil War. William has also worked for the Washington Times newspaper and once did weekend docent work at the Mosby Museum in Warrenton, Virginia.

In 2011 William published his first book “Civil War Northern Virginia 1861” and in 2013 he published his second book “Mosby’s raids in Civil War Northern Virginia”.

Tonight we will be discussing the Second Battle of the Manassas which took place on August 28 to August 30, 1862 where the Union Army of Virginia (led by John Pope) and elements of the Union Army of the Potomac were routed by the Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia.

Tonight, our featured guest is author Sean Mitton. Sean hales from Cary, North Carolina and works as a Business Development Manager and Professional Speaker but in his free time he is also an author who published his first book “The Goal That United Canada” in 2012, a collection of stories told by 72 Canadians who describe their experiences to Sean and co-author Jim Prime of when Paul Henderson scored the game-winning goal that clinched the 1972 Summit Series between Team Canada and the Soviet National Hockey Team.

Very soon Sean along with legendary Canadian hockey Film Archivist and author Paul Patskou will release a new book “When Canada Shut Down” where Sean and Paul tell 72 untold stories from the Canadian and Russian perspectives on the 50th anniversary of the 1972 Summit Series. This book will accompany a splendid documentary that discusses one of the most transcendental moments in hockey history.

Tonight, our featured guest is author David Wilson. David was born and raised in Arkansas and he presently works at the University of Arkansas but he also spent nearly three decades of his life in Missouri where he worked as a journalist, teacher, and school principal while obtaining his PHD at the University of Missouri.

David published his first book “Learning Every Day” in 2017. In 2020 he released two more books, “Growing Up with Pro Football” and “If you can deal with parking, you can deal with anything” and last month he released his fourth book “Learning More Every Day” a compendium of David Wilson’s columns where he discusses education, history, sports, and personal insights on faith and personal growth.

But tonight we will be discussing a subject close to David’s heart: his memories and insights of the late Frank Broyles, the legendary coach of the University of Arkansas Razorbacks football team from 1958 to 1976. Last Sunday August 14 marked the 5th anniversary of Broyles’ death at the age of 92.

Tonight’s guest is baseball historian Bill Nowlin who is uniquely qualified to discuss Ted William’s career because Bill has been a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan and was one of the first fans to mob pitcher Jim Lonborg when he pitched the final out of the game that clinched the 1967 pennant for the Red Sox. Bill was elected Vice President of SABR in 2004 and served five terms in that capacity before becoming director in 2016.

Last April Bill Nowlin released his latest book “The Kid Blasts a Winner: Ted Williams' 110 Game-Deciding Home Runs”. This book is a labor of love for Nowlin where he painstakingly chronicles every game-winning home run in the Splendid Splinter’s immortal baseball career.

If you are a Red Sox fan and a Ted Williams fan then this book is a must-read.

Tonight’s guest is Historian Holley Snaith. Holley was born in Florida and developed a love of history as a young girl. After graduating from the University of Florida she worked as an intern at the Franklin D. Roosevelt Presidential Library and Museum. After finishing her internship she then worked for the National Park Service at Val-Kill (Eleanor Roosevelt’s private home).

In 2015 Holley worked at Eleanor Roosevelt Center as a program assistant; then later, she worked another internship with the Richard Nixon Foundation. After she earned her Master’s Degree at the University of West Florida, she now works as an independent contractor. She has written biographical ebooks on Harry Truman, Frank Sinatra to name a few and articles on Marilyn Monroe and John F. Kennedy for on-line publications and American Heritage.

Tonight’s guest is novelist Donny Hunt. Donny hales from Texas and has worked for various newspapers and radio stations while contributing to sports websites.

During the past five years he has written and published four novels. His first “Blessed Poison” was released in 2016. In 2017 he released “The Quest for Aranwa” and “Angel of Death”.

In 2020 he released his fourth “Already Fallen” a sequel to his first novel “Blessed Poison”.

And two weeks from today Donny’s fifth novel “Reckless Passions” will be unleashed upon the world.

Tonight’s guest is author Rich Shmelter. Rich lives in Ohio and for the past 23 years he has written books dealing with sports history, Hollywood History, and True Crime (dealing with the Prohibition era).

In 1999 he published his first book a history on the Cleveland Browns. He has written books dealing with the Los Angeles Lakers and the Raiders NFL franchise and USC Trojans football program.

Tonight we will be discussing his 2008 release “Chicago Assassin: The Life and Legend of Machine Gun Jack McGurn and the Chicago Beer wars of the Roaring Twenties” which tells the story of one of Al Capone’s most infamous gun men.

Tonight’s guest is writer, historian, and storyteller Robin K. Foster. Robin resides in Arlington, VA, and is a history instructor at George Mason University. Robin has worked as an exhibits curator at various museums in North Jersey and a history professor at Kean University before taking up her present position.

In 2016 she published her first book “The Age of Sail in the Age of Aquarius: The South Street Seaport and the crisis of the 1960s”, a history of how the South Street Seaport Museum was established during the socio-political-cultural upheavals during the late 1960s.

In 2018 she release her second book “Carl Van Doren: A Man of Ideas” a biography of Carl Van Doren, one of America’s premier literary critics.

Tonight’s guest is author and military historian Michael Stroud. Michael resides in Michigan. For years he worked as a team leader at Target Stores and Barnes & Noble as well but during his free time Michael was pursuing his love of military history, earning a degree in Military History at American Military University and then writing scholarly articles for various military publications since 2021 covering a wide variety of topics from World War I to the American Revolution to the Napoleonic Wars to the Civil War.

Today Michael Stroud is presently taking the next bold step as a historian. He is working on his first book tentatively titled “England’s Rise to Naval Supremacy: The Tudor Navy 1485-1603” which will be released in 2024.

Tonight’s guest is author Christopher Kolakowski. Chris in addition to being a three-time author is also the director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. During his lifetime he also served brilliantly at other distinguished historical museums such as the Douglas MacArthur memorial in Norfolk, VA, and the General George Patton Museum and Center for Leadership at Fort Knox, KY.

This week marks the 160th anniversary of the Seven Days Battles which took place during the Civil War from June 25, 1862 to July 1, 1862 between Robert E. Lee’s Army of Northern Virginia and General George McClellan’s Army of the Potomac. What was at stake was the safety of the Confederate capitol located in Richmond, Virginia.

Chris Kolakowski is eminently qualified to discuss the significance of the Seven Days Battles because in 2016 he released the book “The Virginia Campaigns March-August 1862” which discusses the Seven Days battles in excellent detail.

Tonight’s guest is author Pete Croatto. Pete resides in Ithaca, NY and before he published his first book in 2020, he worked as a movie critic and as a manager for Supplement Perspectives.

But in December 2020 he released his first book “From Hang Time to Prime Time” a brilliantly written chronicle about how the NBA escaped from the doldrums that threatened its status in the mid-1970s to become a present mega-billion dollar enterprise that touches the lives of the youth of the world with a never-ending stream of basketball talent.

Pete Croatto deals not solely with the great players but with the movers and shakers who operate behind the scenes in bringing NBA basketball to the entire world: the PR people, the video makers and producers, the sneaker companies, the people responsible for marketing NBA basketball, and most notably NBA commissioner David Stern who orchestrated the rise of NBA from being a small national sport to an international phenomenon.

Tonight’s guest is author and novelist Neil Perry Gordon. Neil lives in New York and during the past three years Neil has released nine books: A Cobbler’s Tale, Moon Flower, The Righteous One, The Bomb Squad, Hope City, Sadie’s Sin, Cape Nome, Otzi’s Odyssey, and three weeks ago his final volume in his Goldfield Trilogy, Denali.

Tonight we will discuss his latest book Denali where Neil will share with us the latest adventures of his hero from the Goldfield Trilogy, Percy Hope.

Tonight’s guest is award-winning author Lee Woodman. For the past 40 years Lee has been bringing the world of art and literary arts to America. Her television and radio production work with the Smithsonian Institution and the Library of Congress and her collaborations with Hollywood studios has earned her awards and acclaim.

In 2021 Lee won the Atlantic Review International Poetry contest merit award.

Last February Lee published her fourth book of poetry Artscapes, the latest in a quartet of poetic works.

Tonight’s guest is award-winning author Anneliese Dalaba. Anne writes in the Historical Christian Romance genre and has self-published three books in a series titled “The Arranged Marriage Series”.

Volume one “Reluctant to Wed” was published in 2017. Volume Two “The Marriage Maneuver” was released in 2018 and Volume Three “Ties that Bind” was released last February.

In 2019 Anne was awarded the Silver Medal award for Christian Historical Romance for her first book.

Tonight’s guest is songwriter and poet Mike Turner. Mike presently resides in Alabama however he was born and raised in Michigan and was a college graduate at Michigan State with a degree in criminal justice. Mike worked 27 years as a civilian special agent for the Department of Defense and for the U.S. Customs and Immigration and, later as a director for the Department of Commerce.

In 2012 Mike took up songwriting as a lark and has composed 160 songs (blues, folk, country, r & b and pop) which have been streamed and can be heard in the U.S., Europe, Australia, and the Armed Forces Network.

In 2019 Mike Turner took up poetry and has written 200 poems which have been published in numerous print and on-line journals.

Tonight’s guest is author, counselor, and trainer Evelyn Leite. Evelyn lives in South Dakota and for 35 years she has had experience in the treatment of addictions and mental health fields. She has achieve acclaim and recognition for her seminars in multi-cultural counseling and education.

She has designed and implemented multiple therapeutic programs to combat chemical dependency, domestic abuse, sexual, and spiritual abuse.

She has written eight books including her most recent works the Blood, Sex and Tears trilogy.

In 2008 she was inducted into the South Dakota Hall of Fame for her humanitarian work.

Tonight’s guest is renowned sports author Peter Golenbock. For the past 47 years Peter has been a dynamic, inspirational presence in the realm of sports literature. He has written seven New York Times best sellers which have covered a wide spectrum of topics from major league baseball to pro and college football to college basketball to auto racing to NHL Hockey with side ventures into True Crime, Hollywood (Peter helped the late actor Tony Curtis write his memoirs), and American Presidential politics (Peter co-authored a blistering expose on Donald Trump).

Last year Peter co-wrote a splendid biography of baseball manager Bobby Valentine.

Tonight we will be discussing his latest release “Whispers of the Gods” a 21stcentury sequel to Lawrence Ritter’s immortal classic “The Glory of their Times” where Peter awes readers with wonderful nuggets from baseball’s past where player who played the game from the 1930s up to the 1970s discuss their memories of the game.

Tonight’s guest is author Christopher Kolakowski. Chris in addition to being a three-time author is also the director of the Wisconsin Veterans Museum in Madison, Wisconsin. During his lifetime he also served brilliantly at other distinguished historical museums such as the Douglas MacArthur memorial in Norfolk, VA, and the General George Patton Museum and Center for Leadership at Fort Knox, KY.

In 2009, Chris released his first book “The Civil War at Perryville”. Two years later he released “The Stones River & Tullahoma Campaigns”. In 2016 he released two more books “The Virginia Campaigns March-August 1862” and “The Last Stand on Bataan: the Defense of the Philippines”. And in March this year he released his fifth book “Nations in the Balance: The India-Burma Campaigns, December 1943-August 1944”

Three days from now marks the 80th anniversary of when the American-Filipino garrison on Corregidor surrendered to the Japanese Army during World War Two. Tonight Chris and I will discuss the Bataan and Corregidor battles and their impact on American history.

Tonight’s guest is author Jeffrey D. Simon. Jeff lives in Santa Monica, CA and is an internationally recognized author, lecturer, and consultant on terrorism and political violence. He is the President of the Political Risk Assessment Company and is a visiting lecturer in the Political Science Department at UCLA.

Jeffrey has written three critically acclaimed works on terrorism “The Alphabet Bomber”, “Lone Wolf Terrorism”, and “The Terrorist Trap”.

Tonight we will be discussing his fourth book which will be released next month “America’s Forgotten Terrorists: the rise and fall of the Galleanists”.

Tonight’s guest is author and Police historian Sgt. Mike Simmons. Mike lives in Pensacola, Florida and has served as a police historian since 1994. Mike has compiled and researched historical information and has written articles about the Pensacola Police Department (one of the oldest police departments in American history). Last year in January, March, May, and November he released four books three of which discuss the history of the Pensacola Police Department: “Pensacola’s Finest In Pictures: a photographic history of the Pensacola Police Department”, “Pensacola’s Finest: The Story of the Pensacola Police Department”, and “Stories of Pensacola’s Finest: Fascinating Stories of one of the most historic police departments in the United States” while the fourth discusses an unsolved murder in Pensacola with links to the JFK Assassination.

Tonight’s guest is Investigative Journalist and author Sandra Peddie. Sandra lives on Long Island, New York and since 1993 she has worked for Newsdaywhere she has had a distinguished career as a journalist. She has won more than 75 awards for her journalistic work. She was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Public Service and worked on Newsday’s1995 Pulitzer Prize winning series on police disability fraud.

In 1997 she published her first book “The Repetitive Strain Injury Sourcebook” and she is about to release her second book “Sonny: The Last of the Old Time Mafia Bosses, John “Sonny” Franzese”, a biography of the legendary mafioso Sonny Franzese who was a member of the Profaci later to be renamed Colombo Crime Family of the American Cosa Nostra.

I had the honor and privilege of reading an advance copy of this great book and I must say that it is powerful, tragic and Sandra Peddie’s prose hits you right between the eyes like a bullet out of the barrel of Sonny Franzese’s gun.

Tonight’s guest is Author Jack Bales. Jack is a recently retired Reference and Humanities librarian at the University of Mary Washington located in Fredericksburg, VA. He also for the past 40 years has been a writer with eight books to his credit covering a wide variety of subjects from Horatio Alger, Jr. to Willie Morris to the Chicago Cubs.

He is also a member of the Society of American Baseball Researchers and has written numerous articles about his beloved Chicago Cubs for various publications.

Tonight we will be discussing his 2019 release “Before They Were Cubs: The Early Years of Chicago’s First Professional Team”

Tonight’s guest is novelist W. Scott Schneider. Scott, when he is not writing or speaking, is an attorney living on Long Island, New York.

He also once taught Political Science at Stony Brook University.

Last year in June Scott released his first book the novel “Diamond in the Rough”, a book that is not only about a baseball journey it also a compelling spiritual journey as well.

Tonight’s guest is author Tim Wendel. Tim was born and raised in Lockport, New York. He worked for the Buffalo Courier Express and USA Today; later on he has written articles for the New York Times, the Washington Post, GQ, and Esquire magazines.

Tim has published numerous critically acclaimed and award winning works: some dealing with sports like the 1980 U.S. Men’s Hockey Team which won the gold medal at Lake Placid; the 1968 Major League Baseball season, and NBA basketball. Tim has also written several novels, three of which deal with Cuba.

Today, Tim works as a writer in residence and lecturer at Johns Hopkins University in Maryland.

Tonight’s guest is author Mark Hinrich. Mark hales from Indiana and once lived abroad in Saudi Arabia until 1984.

In 2014 he published his first book “Cascade Caper” which is a fictionalized attempt at resolving the infamous 1971 D.B. Cooper hijacking case.

In 2016, Mark released his second book devoted to his great love: Hockey titled “The Legend of Taro Tsujimoto: The Unauthorized Fictional biography” which is fictionalized account of the NHL player who never was Taro Tsujimoto who in real life was the 183rd player selected in the 1974 NHL amateur draft by the Buffalo Sabres.

Tonight’s guest is author Gene Hutmaker. Gene lives in Monmouth Junction, NJ and once worked as a supervisor for the U.S. Postal Service for 25 years from 1980 to 2005.

Gene was also a war hero, serving a tour of duty in Vietnam in 1966 for the U.S. Army 196th Light Infantry Brigade.

Gene has been a lifelong baseball fan. He also played, coached, and even umpired baseball games and in 2006 he released his first book “Banned in the Bronx: The Yankee Hater Memoirs 1953-2005”, a loving chronicle of the author’s hatred of the New York Yankees which examines their failures and errors from 1953 to 2006 with all the passion and humor that a Yankee hater can summon.

Tonight’s guest is poet, writer, and podcaster Tricia DeJesus-Gutierrez. Tricia resides in the greater San Francisco area. She is the author of the Poetry Collection “Some Days, Here”. She also blogs at Medium.com

Tricia is also the host of the weekly show “The Poet’s Lighthouse” where she hosts poets from all over the world to discuss their works and the Podcast “Phynnecabulary” on the Anchor network.

Tonight’s guest is author and journalist Angie Mangino. Angie resides in Staten Island, NY, and was once an investigative reporter for the Staten Island Register newspaper. In addition to working as a reporter, Angie has published numerous articles, essays, and book reviews for publications like Woman’s Day and Writers Weekly.

In 1999 Angie was awarded a grant to research the history of Tottenville on Staten Island and since that time she has immersed herself into the life and lore of Tottenville. In February 2021 she published her latest work “17thCentury Tottenville History Comes Alive: Meet the People. Experience the Events”.

Tonight’s guest is sports author Rick Schabowski. Rick hales from St. Francis, Wisconsin and once worked as machinist for Harley-Davidson but presently works for Wisconsin Regional Training Partnership in its manufacturing program division. Rick is a baseball and basketball enthusiast. He is a member of the Society of American Baseball Researchers and is also a member of Hoops Historians.

He has written numerous biographies and articles for SABR and in 2019 Rick published his first book “From Coin Toss to Champions: 1971-the year of the Milwaukee Bucks".

This book is a definitive account of the 1970/71 season where the Milwaukee Bucks won their first NBA championship with a record breaking season.

Tonight’s guest is renowned Canadian author, sports journalist, and speaker Lisa Bowes. Lisa resides in the greater Calgary, Alberta area in Canada. She is a pioneer in Canadian sports media. She worked from 1999 to 2020 as a reporter, anchor, and producer for CTV, TSN, and the CBC. She has been nominated and awarded for her work for her writing and production work.

Today she continues her work as a consultant for Bowes Knows Sport Enterprises (which has been in existence since September 2000).

In 2015 Lisa released her first book in the “Lucy Tries Sports” series. Today there are five children’s novels that detail the exploits of a brave young girl named Lucy who tries her hand at five sports: luge, short track, soccer, hockey, and basketball.

Tonight’s guest is author William Stack. William resides in Portland, Oregon and when he isn’t writing books, he works as a historical consultant, researcher, and editor. In the past he did work at Portland State University and also did student teaching at Lewis & Clark College in Oregon.

In 2010 he released his first book “Historic Photos of Oregon” a photographic history of Oregon from 1860 to 1971.

In 2012 he contributed to the Oregon Encyclopedia Project when he wrote an article on George Flavel (a prominent Astoria sea captain who helped develop maritime trade in Astoria and Portland).

And in 2014 he wrote “King of the Road: Glenn Jackson and the Building of the Oregon Highway System, 1959-1979”.

Tonight’s guest is baseball author Brian “Chip” Martin.  Brian is a native of London, Ontario in Canada and has been a lifelong fan of baseball and is a member of the Society of American Baseball Researchers and has written many articles devoted to Canadians who have played Major League baseball.

In 2020 he released “The Man Who Made Babe Ruth” about  Brother Matthias, a Xavierian Brother who served in the St. Mary’s Industrial School in Baltimore that housed the young Babe Ruth.

Last August Brian released his latest work “Barney Dreyfuss: Pittsburgh’s Baseball Titan” is a ground-breaking biography of the man who made the Pittsburgh Pirates one of baseball’s greatest teams of the early 20th century.

Tonight’s guest is author Pauline Chakmakjian. Pauline is from Hawaii and works as an independent lecturer on a variety of subjects for Randall Travel as well as a Brand Ambassador for Nazani Tea.

In 2019 she in collaboration with illustrator Nilesh Mistry released her first book “The Sphinxing Rabbit: Her Sovereign Majesty” and last August she released her latest work “The Sphinxing Rabbit: Book of Hours”.

Yesterday marked the 80th anniversary of the birth of legendary boxer Muhammad Ali.

Tonight we will celebrate the life of Muhammad Ali and I cannot think of a better guest to discuss the greatest Heavyweight champion of all time than esteemed journalist and sports author Jonathan Eig. Jon hales from Chicago and, starting in the mid-1980s, he has worked as a journalist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Dallas Morning News, Chicago Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal.

In 2005 he published his first book The Luckiest Man: the life and death of Lou Gehrig which earned critical acclaim and won the Casey Award for the best baseball book released in 2005.

Since then he has released four more critically acclaimed books dealing with Jackie Robinson, Al Capone, the birth of the Pill, and his most recent book a biography of Muhammad Ali.

Tonight we commemorate the 50th anniversary of Super Bowl VI which took place on January 16, 1972 at New Orleans Tulane Stadium between the Dallas Cowboys and the Miami Dolphins.

Super Bowl VI is notable because it marked the first time the Cowboys won the Super Bowl. After enduring five straight years of playoff disappointments Dallas finally triumphed and began their journey towards becoming America’s Team.

To help me mark this anniversary is novelist (and devoted Dallas Cowboys fan) Donny Hunt. Donny hales from the Texas Panhandle and has worked for various newspapers and radio stations while contributing to sports websites. During the past six years he has written and published four novels. His first “Blessed Poison” was released in 2016. In 2017 he released “The Quest for Aranwa” and “Angel of Death”. Lastly in 2020 he released his fourth “Already Fallen” a sequel to his first novel “Blessed Poison”.

Tonight’s guest is author Sharon K. Connell. Sharon was born in Wisconsin, raised in Chicago, and lived most of her adult life in Florida and now in Houston, Texas (where she resides today). Although she defines her genre of writing as Christian Romance Suspense she has also published a cookbook and a multi-genre collection of short stories.

Sharon has also devoted her life to her Christian faith and spent most of her life studying the Bible and graduated from the Pensacola Bible Institute.

Tonight we kick off Season Three of my show and our first guest for Season Three is former videographer and Audio-Visual Technician Michael Ragsdale. Michael lives in the Seattle area but in the past he worked 12 years as a videographer for Columbia University from 1996 to 2009; and then from 2010 to 2013 he worked for C-Span as a camera crew director, camera operator and AV technician.

Tonight we are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1961 NFL Championship game where the Green Bay Packers played the New York Giants and to help us out we have special guest Pro Football Historian and author Terrence “T.J.” Troup. T.J. is one of the foremost historians of professional football.

He has written numerous articles for “American Football Coaches Monthly” and was the football coordinator/consultant for the 2008 George Clooney film “Leatherheads” and also the 2021 film “12 Mighty Orphans”.

He wrote his first book in 2009 titled “This Day in Football” and in 2014 he wrote the “The Birth of Football’s Modern 4-3 Defense” a splendidly detailed tactical analysis of how NFL teams played defense during the 1950s and a must read for all serious pro football researchers.

Tonight’s guest is author Patrick Pacalo. Patrick lives in Ocala, Florida and throughout his life worked in various capacities as an occupational health and safety specialist, a global data collection accounts manager, an adjunct professor of history and political science at Youngstown State University as well as doing substitute teaching. Patrick also served for 14 years in the Pennsylvania National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves from 1980 to 1994.

But also during his free time Patrick has pursued his love of writing, publishing 14 books since 1989 mostly dealing with the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. Patrick has earned over 23 awards for his writing.

Tonight we will be discussing his writing career and his latest book release, “Truman’s Kinda Sorta Cold War Laws: A Communique on the Presidency of One Harry S. [1945-1953]”.

Tonight’s guest is baseball writer Thom Henninger. Thom when he is not writing books serves as the editor of Baseball Digest. He hails from St. Paul, Minnesota and has been a lifelong Minnesota Twins fan. His work has appeared at ESPN insider and for seventeen years he wrote for Stats LLC where his column “Thom’s Take” ran on a weekly basis. He has authored player profiles for “Baseball America” and contributed to “Play it Again: Baseball Experts on What Might Have Been”.

In 2019 he published his first book “Tony Oliva: The Life and Times of a Minnesota Twins legend”.

Last May, Thom released his latest book “The Pride of Minnesota: The Twins in the Turbulent 1960s”, an affectionate history of how the Minnesota Twins became a power in the American League amidst the turmoil of the 1960s.

Tonight’s show will celebrate the 100th anniversary of the Buffalo All-Americans who came within an ace of winning the 1921 APFA title (the APFA was the predecessor of the NFL).

The Buffalo All-Americans were an early power in the salad days of pro football and the foundation of the NFL.

To help us commemorate this team is tonight’s guest is biographer Jeffrey Miller. Jeffrey is an esteemed author and football scholar who has written numerous football histories during the past 30 years, several of which I have read and enjoyed immensely.

In 2004 Jeffrey published the book “Buffalo’s Forgotten Champions: the Story of Buffalo’s first professional football team and the lost 1921 title”.

Tonight’s guest is renowned sports author Peter Golenbock. For the past 46 years Peter has been a dynamic, inspirational presence in the realm of sports literature. He has written at least seven New York Times best sellers which have covered a wide spectrum of topics from major league baseball to pro and college football to college basketball to auto racing to NHL Hockey with side ventures into True Crime, Hollywood (Peter helped the late actor Tony Curtis write his memoirs), and American Presidential politics (last year Peter co-wrote a hard-hitting expose of the crimes of Donald J. Trump in “American Nero”).

This week his latest opus “Valentine’s Way” a memoir of former baseball player and manager Bobby Valentine was just released and is available in all major stores and online.

Tonight’s guest is author and novelist Neil Perry Gordon. Neil lives in New York and during the past few years Neil has released multiple books: A Cobbler’s Tale, Moon Flower, The Righteous One, The Bomb Squad, Hope City, Sadie’s Sin; last March Cape Nome and in a few weeks Otzi's Odyssey.

Tonight we will discuss Cape Nome and his soon-to-be-released novel Otzi’s Odyssey, a new metaphysical release about a pre-historic caveman who is brought back to life in 1991 and encounters dangerous adventures both in the prehistoric past and in the 20th century.

Tonight’s guest is author Clayton Trutor. Clayton hales from Vermont and holds a Ph.D in U.S. History at Boston College. He presently teaches at Norwich University and is the state chairman of the Society of Baseball Research Vermont chapter. He has written several bios for SABR as well as articles and research topics for the society.

On February 1, next year his first book “Loserville: How Professional Sports remade Atlanta –and How Atlanta remade Professional Sports” will be released to the world. It is a chronicle of how the City Atlanta attracted first two sports franchises in Major League Baseball and NFL football; followed in the years to come by an NBA franchise and on two occasions an NHL hockey franchise. Trutor covers the ecstasies and the agonies these franchises brought to the capitol of the New South.

Tonight’s guest is renowned sports journalist, broadcaster, and author Sal Maiorana. Sal has been the dean of Buffalo sports writers for 32 years with the Rochester Democrat and Courier. He has covered the Buffalo Bills for over 27 years (which makes Sal the longest tenured beat writer in Bills franchise history.

Sal published his first book in 1992 and since then has published over 23 different books covering the full spectrum of North American sports and all of which receiving critical acclaim from his peers and the public.

Three weeks ago Sal released his latest work, “The Last Dynasty: Yankees 1996-2000: Unforgettable Moments, Games, and Performances that fueled Four World Championships”

Tonight’s guest is author David Sumner. David lives in Anderson, Indiana and was a former professor of Journalism at Ball State University (located in Muncie, IN) for 25 years.

He released his first book “Feature and Magazine Writing” in 2012; followed in 2017 by a biography of Georgia politician John Thraser. In 2018 he wrote his first book on college football titled “Fumbled Call” which deals with mysterious Bear Bryant-Wally Butts football scandal which took place during the early 1960s and three weeks ago he released his latest work “Amos Alonzo Stagg: College Football’s Greatest Pioneer” which is available in kindle and paperback at Amazon.

Tonight’s guest is author and novelist Joe Cvetich (Suh-vet-itch). Joe lives in Guelph, Ontario in Canada and works for the Waterloo Region District School Board. In August 2020 Joe released his first novel “Our Game”.

The book deals with the game of hockey; the role it plays in Canadian life and the Canadian psyche; and how its players deal with the external pressures and horrors of life which intrude in the locker rooms, team buses, and dorms and hotel rooms that all hockey players occupy. In all instances Joe Cvetich’s prose confronts the present day question of what does the game of hockey mean in a modern, changing world?

Tonight’s guest is Baseball historian and author Bruce Markusen. Bruce has that dream job which all baseball fanatics lust for all their lives. He has worked as the Manager of Digital and Outreach Learning at the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown, NY since 2013.

He has also been a columnist for the Hardball Times since 2009 and he is also a member of the Society for American Baseball Research.

He has published several books (mostly about baseball) but for tonight we will discuss a specific topic. Fifty years ago around this time the Pittsburgh Pirates faced the Baltimore Orioles in the 1971 World Series. It was Pittsburgh’s first World Series appearance since 1960 and it was in this World Series that Roberto Clemente dazzled the baseball world with his greatness as a baseball player.

Bruce Markusen is uniquely qualified to discuss this match-up because in 2009 he published a book titled “The Team That Changed Baseball: Roberto Clemente and the 1971 Pittsburgh Pirates”

Tonight, I will be interviewing Martin Dean, historical consultant for the as of yet unopened Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center located in Kiev in the Ukraine.

The Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center is dedicated to the study and commemoration of the greatest mass shooting by the Nazi Einsatzgruppen during World War Two.

Exactly 80 years ago today on September 28, 1941, Nazi German Einsatzgruppen and other units executed approximately 30,000 individuals (mostly Ukrainian Jews) at the Babyn Yar ravine. In the two years that followed thousands more innocent people were massacred there as well.

Martin Dean will discuss his role in the formation and future opening of the Babyn Yar Holocaust Memorial Center.

Tonight, I will be interviewing sports author Tommy Phillips on his brand new release “Penn State Bowl Games: A Complete History” which was released last May.

Mr. Phillips lives and works in Western Pennsylvania and is a very busy and prolific author. During the past three years he has published six books covering a wide variety of topics from pro football to college football to the Masters Tournament in golf.

Tonight’s guest is baseball historian Bill Nowlin who is uniquely qualified to discuss Ted William’s career because Bill has been a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan and was one of the first fans to mob pitcher Jim Lonborg when he pitched the final out of the game that clinched the 1967 pennant for the Red Sox. Bill was elected Vice President of SABR in 2004 and served five terms in that capacity before becoming director in 2016.

Yesterday August 30 was the 103rd anniversary of Ted William’s birth and 2021 marks the 80th anniversary of Ted William’s greatest legacy to baseball—when he became the last man ever to bat over .400% for an entire season. Right here and now Bill Nowlin and I will discuss Ted Williams’ immortal feat.

Tonight’s guest is sportswriter and author David Finoli. David hales from Monroeville, PA (a suburb of Pittsburgh) and during the daylight hours he has managed department stores since the late 1990s but when he isn’t busy managing department stores he pursues an even greater love: writing first rate sports histories which cover the full spectrum of sports activity in the greater Pittsburgh area. Since 2003 he has written about baseball; NFL and college football; college basketball and NHL hockey.

Tonight we will talking about David’s latest book which will be released on November 22nd titled “The 1976 National Champion Pitt Panthers: Miracle on Cardiac Hill” which chronicles the 1976 Pitt Panther football team’s quest for the College Football national championship.

Tonight’s guest is Boston Red Sox historian Herb Crehan. Herb has been a feature writer for Red Sox Magazine for the past 20 years (with over 100 stories to his credit).

He has authored or co-authored three books. His first “Red Sox Heroes of Yesteryear” was released in 2005. His second (which he co-authored with Tom Larwin and John Vorperian) “Red Sox Baseball in the days of Ike and Elvis: the Red Sox of the 1950s” was released in 2012. His third and latest book “”The Impossible Dream 1967 Red Sox: Birth of Red Sox Nation” was released in 2016.

Sunday August 22 will mark Boston Red Sox immortal Carl Yastzremski’s 82ndbirthday and this year 2021 marks the 60th anniversary of Carl Yastrzemski’s rookie season in 1961 and tonight Herb will discuss with us what Yaz gave to the Boston Red Sox and to baseball as a whole.

Tonight’s guest is author Patrick Pacalo. Patrick lives in Ocala, Florida and throughout his life worked in various capacities as an occupational health and safety specialist, a global data collection accounts manager, an adjunct professor of history and political science at Youngstown State University as well as doing substitute teaching. Patrick also served for 14 years in the Pennsylvania National Guard and U.S. Army Reserves from 1980 to 1994.

But also during his free time Patrick has pursued his love of writing, publishing 14 books since 1989 mostly dealing with the Cold War between the U.S. and Russia. Patrick has earned over 23 awards for his writing.

Tonight we will be discussing his writing career and his latest book release, “How the USIA and the National Guard won the Cold War: Soft vs. Hard Policy and Power”.

Tonight’s guest is author Graham MacLachlan. Graham hales from Calgary, Alberta in Canada and has worked as a business man engaged in international trade. He is also a relative of the late J.P. Bickell who was a corporate magnate who helped what are now the Toronto Maple Leafs remain in Toronto and also helped finance the construction of the famed Maple Leaf Gardens—one of NHL hockey’s most hallowed venues.

In 2017 Graham along with Kevin Shea and Jason Wilson wrote a biography of J.P. Bickell titled “J.P. Bickell: the Life, the Leafs, and the Legacy”.

Tonight’s guest is baseball author Erik Sherman. Erik was born and raised in New Jersey and became a journalist.

For the past nine years Erik has written seven highly acclaimed works on our National Pastime: co-authoring the memoirs of Pirate legend Steve Blass and managerial legend Davey Johnson and Glenn Burke (Major League Baseball’s first openly gay player) and Mets legend Mookie Wilson; while also writing accounts of the 1969 New York Mets, the 1986 Mets, and the 1986 World Series.

Tonight we will be discussing Erik’s latest book, “Two Sides of Glory: The Boston Red Sox in their own words” which was released last April.

Tonight’s guest making his second appearance on my show is author and Civil War historian William Connery.

William lives in the greater Baltimore-Washington DC area and for over ten years has been a writer for the Civil War Courier monthly magazine and a guest speaker giving talks on the Civil War. William has also worked for the Washington Times newspaper and still does weekend docent work at the Mosby Museum in Warrenton, Virginia.

In 2011 William published his first book “Civil War Northern Virginia 1861” and in 2013 he published his second book “Mosby’s raids in Civil War Northern Virginia”.

Tonight we will be discussing his first book “Civil War Northern Virginia 1861” because tomorrow is the 160th anniversary of the first Battle of Bull Run or the First Battle of Manassas (as the South called it) which took place on July 21, 1861.

Tonight’s guest is author Stephen Farnsworth. Stephen is a professor of political science and international affairs as well as being the director of the center for leadership and media studies at the University of Mary Washington at Fredericksburg, VA.

Since 2002 Stephen has published seven well-respected scholarly works on the Presidency, mass media, and public opinion and has appeared on C-Span as well.

Tonight we will be discussing his latest book “Late Night with Trump: Political Humor and the American Presidency" which he co-wrote with S. Robert Lichter which was released in December 2019.

Tonight’s guest is Author Jack Bales. Jack is a recently retired Reference and Humanities librarian at the University of Mary Washington located in Fredericksburg, VA. He also for the past 40 years has been a writer with eight books to his credit covering a wide variety of subjects from Horatio Alger, Jr. to Willie Morris to the Chicago Cubs.

He is also a member of the Society of American Baseball Researchers and has written numerous articles about his beloved Chicago Cubs for various publications.

Tonight we will be discussing Jack’s latest release “The Chicago Cub Shot for Love: A Showgirl’s Crime of Passion and the 1932 World Series” which was released last week on June 21.

The book tells the tale of Chicago Cubs Billy Jurges who was shot in 1932 by a woman named Violet Popovich with whom Jurges had been romantically involved and how his shooting set the stage for one of the most dramatic moments in World Series history

Tonight’s guest is hockey novelist Brad Burton. Brad is a lifelong hockey enthusiast who has spent the last 26 years of his life playing hockey at the AAA, Junior B, Junior C, Senior AA and at the Minor league levels; and coaching at the Bantam AA and Junior C levels while also venturing out on his own in running his own hockey player development camps.

Last summer he released his first book a novel titled “Making the Cut: Revolution Hockey Series”. The book tells the tale of a Junior A Hockey Club about to commence its first year of existence.

Tonight’s guest is former journalist and hockey author D’arcy Jenish. D’Arcy hales from Peterborough, Ontario, Canada and grew up playing midget, juvenile, and Junior B hockey. Later on he became a writer for the prestigious Maclean’s magazine.

Living by the maxim that a good book always makes money, though not necessarily for the author. D’arcy has written ten books dealing not only with hockey with the exploration of the North American West, the St. Lawrence Seaway, and late 20thcentury Canadian politics.

In 2009 D’Arcy wrote “The Montreal Canadiens: 100 years of Glory”, a critically acclaimed history of the Montreal Canadiens and, in my opinion, a sparkling, first-rate history of the NHL’s oldest franchise.

Tonight we will be discussing the 50th anniversary of the Montreal Canadiens 1971 Stanley Cup victory, a surprise victory which saw glorious final performances by veterans Jean Beliveau and John Ferguson combined with a surprising brilliantly goal-tending performance by rookie Ken Dryden.

Tonight’s guest is esteemed journalist and sports author Jonathan Eig. Jon hales from Chicago and, starting in the mid-1980s, he has worked as a journalist for the New Orleans Times-Picayune, the Dallas Morning News, Chicago Magazine, and the Wall Street Journal.

In 2005 he published his first book "The Luckiest Man: the life and death of Lou Gehrig" which earned critical acclaim and won the Casey Award for the best baseball book released in 2005.

Since then he has released four more critically acclaimed books dealing with Jackie Robinson, Al Capone, the birth of the Pill, and his most recent book a biography of Muhammad Ali.

Tonight we will be discussing his first book "The Luckiest Man" on the eve of the 80th anniversary of baseball legend Lou Gehrig’s death on June 2, 1941.

Tonight’s guest is author and Civil War historian William Connery. Williams lives in the greater Baltimore-Washington DC area and for over ten years has been a writer for the Civil War Courier monthly magazine and a guest speaker giving talks on the Civil War. William has also worked for the Washington Times newspaper and still does weekend docent work at the Mosby Museum in Warrenton, Virginia.

In 2011 William published his first book “Civil War Northern Virginia 1861” and in 2013 he published his second book “Mosby’s raids in Civil War Northern Virginia”.

Tonight we will be discussing his first book “Civil War Northern Virginia 1861” as we approach the 160th anniversary of when Alexandria Virginia was occupied by Union forces on May 24, 1861.

Tonight’s guest is sports author and San Francisco 49ers memorabilia collector Martin Jacobs. Martin has been a 49ers fan since he saw his first football game in 1952 when he was nine years. For almost 70 years he has lived, endured, suffered, and triumphed in concert with the fortunes of the San Francisco 49ers. He has seen the all-time greats from Hugh McElhenny to John Brodie to Joe Montana to Jerry Rice.

Martin published his first book in 2005 and since that time he has published four other books which mostly chronicle the history and adventures of his beloved San Francisco 49ers.

Tonight we will discuss his latest release “The King-Hugh McElhenny- a San Francisco 49ers legend” which was released last March. It is a biography and a photographic commemoration of one of the most exciting open field runners in NFL history.

Tonight’s guest is writer and historian Khadija Tauseef Razzaque. Khadija resides in Orlando, Florida but was educated in colleges and universities in Lahore, Pakistan. Five years ago she did school teaching for the Learning Alliance in Lahore.

Starting last year however Khadija has been working as a contributing author “Ancient Origins Magazine” which is based in Dublin, Ireland and provides an online platform for scholars like Khadija to educate readers about the ancient Earth history.

Khadija has penned many brilliant articles dealing with Indian History, Greek Mythology, and the history of the Mogul period in Indian history.

Tonight’s guest is journalist and hockey author Geoff Kirbyson. Geoff hales from Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada and has been a writer for the Winnipeg Free Press for decades while also contributing columns for Canadian Business Magazine.

In 2016 he published his first book “The Hot Line: How the Legendary Trio of Hull, Hedberg and Nilsson transformed hockey and led the Winnipeg Jets to greatness” a brilliant account of the one of the greatest scoring lines in hockey history and how their style of play altered hockey tactics forever.

Two months ago Geoff released his second book “Broken Ribs and Popcorn: how the Winnipeg Jets became the best team in the NHL’s most offensive era not to win the Stanley Cup”, an account of how the Jets rebuilt themselves during the 1980s after merging with the NHL in 1979.

Tonight we are commemorating the 70th anniversary of one of the most famous goals in Stanley Cup finals history. On April 21, 1951 Bill Barilko of the Toronto Maple Leafs scored the Cup-winning goal in game five of the Stanley Cup playoffs against the Montreal Canadiens.

Months after he scored that goal Barilko disappeared under mysterious circumstances and his remains would not be found until 11 years later in 1962.

Tonight’s guest is a legend in hockey literature Kevin Shea. Kevin lives in the greater Toronto area and has written 19 critically acclaimed volumes on hockey history, many of which have earned awards. When he is not writing Kevin also serves as the Editorial and Education Facilitator at the Hockey Hall of Fame in Toronto while also teaching hockey history courses at Seneca College. He has also been a tireless fund raiser for cancer research.

In 2005 Kevin wrote a biography of Bill Barilko titled “Barilko: Without A Trace”.

Tonight’s guest is baseball historian Thomas Gilbert. A Brooklyn native, Tom has been brilliantly chronicling baseball history for the past 30 years. His first book was published in 1991 and since then he has written books dealing with Roberto Clemente, Pete Rose, Negro League baseball; and books about baseball in the 19thcentury, the deadball era, the 1920s, the 1930s; and during the World War Two.

Last September, Tom’s latest book “How Baseball Happened: Outrageous Lies Exposed! The True Story Revealed” was published to rave reviews.

The Wall Street Journal stated that Tom’s volume is “delightful look at a young nation creating a pastime that was a love from the first crack of the bat.”

John Thorn, Major League Baseball’s official historian, calls the book, “a brilliant new approach to our game and its author tells a hundred stories you haven’t heard before.”

Tonight’s show will celebrate the 150th anniversary of the birth of legendary college football coach Glenn Scobey “Pop” Warner who was born on April 5, 1871 in New York State, played football for Cornell in the late 19thcentury and then began his illustrious coaching career in 1895.

He along with Amos Alonzo Stagg was one of the most inventive and visionary coaches of his time, developing the single wing and double wing formations and coaching two of the greatest college football players of his time: Jim Thorpe and Ernie Nevers.

To help us commemorate his life tonight’s guest is biographer Jeff Miller. Jeff is an esteemed author and football scholar who has written numerous football histories during the past 30 years, several of which I have read and enjoyed immensely.

In 2015 Jeff released his biography of Pop Warner titled “Pop Warner: a Life on the Gridiron”.

Tonight’s guest is legendary author Tony Castro. Tony is an award-winning columnist and political writer who has written for the Washington Post, the Los Angeles Times, the Dallas Morning News, and the Political Observer.

Since the mid-1970s Tony Castro has written several books that cover an amazingly wide variety of topics: from the emergence of Mexican-Americans in America culture to a bio of Ernest Hemingway; to splendid dual accounts of baseball legends Joe DiMaggio and Mickey Mantle, Lou Gehrig and Babe Ruth.

Twice he has written biographies of Mickey Mantle that have received enormous critical acclaim and praise from baseball experts nationwide.

We are two days away from Opening Day for baseball and 2021 marks the 70th anniversary of Joe DiMaggio’s final season and Mickey Mantle’s first season as major league baseball players. Five years ago Tony Castro wrote a dual account of DiMaggio and Mantle titled “DiMag & Mick: sibling rivals, Yankee Blood brothers”.

Tonight’s guest is author and screenwriter Tommy Tutalo. Tommy comes from West Orange, NJ and has vigorously pursued two passions in his life: soccer and the arts. Tommy was a top notch NCAA Division III soccer player for Richard Stockton College in NJ, leading his team to the Division III National Championship in 2001.

After he graduated in 2006 he pursued his other passion the arts: painting, photography, graphic designing, and, ultimately writing.

He began writing his novel Esperanza soon after he graduated and it was finally released in 2018. In 2019 he released his second book An Indie Author’s Way and last December he released his third book the Modest Marine, a non-fiction book about his grandfather who served in the Marines and fought at Iwo Jima in 1945.

Today Tommy is working earnestly in getting his novel Esperanza filmed for television.

Tonight’s guest is sports author Robert Jacobus. Robert is a Texas native and was a school teacher who taught history while coaching volleyball, basketball, tennis in public schools throughout the Lone Star State. During the last ten years of his teaching career he was teaching dual credit US history courses for the Wharton County Junior College at Foster High School in Richmond, Texas. Today Robert is an adjunct professor at Stephen E. Austin State University.

In 2015 Robert published his first book “Houston Cougars in the 1960s” a splendid history of the growth of the University of Houston Cougars basketball program which came to fore during the 1960s.

In 2019 he released his second book “Black man in the huddle” another splendid history of the racial integration of Texas high school and college sports.

Tonight we will be discussing his third book which will be published this coming October, “To Live and Play in Dixie: Pro Football’s entry into the Jim Crow South” a history of the establishment of pro football franchises in the Deep South and how African-American pro football players coped with Jim Crow laws during the 1950s and 1960s.

Tonight’s guest is author Mark Kram, Jr. For the past 35 years Mark has been a legend in sports writing circles for his brilliant writing for the Philadelphia Daily News, the Detroit Free Press, and the Baltimore News American. He has also contributed book reviews for the New York Times and other international publications.

Mark was born to be a great writer. His father Mark Kram Sr. was a distinguished author and writer for Sports Illustrated and was at ringside for the first Ali-Frazier fight.

Mark published his first book Like Any Normal Day: A Story of Devotion in 2012 (which won the 2013 PEN/ESPN award for Literary Sports Writing). Indeed Mark has won numerous literary awards for his magnificent contributions to sports writing.

Then in June 2019 he released his second book “Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier”.

Yesterday marked the 50th anniversary of the first Ali-Frazier at Madison Square Garden. Tonight’s show will commemorate that bout and the life of former Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier.

Tonight’s guest is baseball author Mike Brown. Mike hales from Columbus, Ohio but for the past 60 years he has lived in Vermont, New York, as well as Ohio as a journalist and public relations director. He covered the 1980 Winter Olympics in Lake Placid, NY as well as the Baseball Hall of Fame at Cooperstown. He has won several national and regional awards for his writing in college publications.

He presently works as a teacher and high school umpire.

Last April Mike made his literary debut when he published “The Umpires Bunkhouse: Baseball Stories from Cooperstown’s Dreams Park” a paperback which examines the lives, travels, and travails of being a baseball umpire.

Tonight’s guest is historian Shannon Bontrager. Shannon is a professor of history at Georgia Highlands College in Cartersville, GA however he was born and raised in Michigan and taught for a time at Central Michigan University. Shannon even taught for a year in the Hashemite Kingdom of Jordan at the New English School in Amman, the capital.

In 2012 Shannon Bontrager contributed an article for the Journal of the Early Republic which is now available on Amazon. Then, in February 2020, Shannon published his first book “Death at the Edges of the Empire: Fallen Soldiers, Cultural Memory, and the Making of an American Nation, 1863 to 1921. This book studies the culture of death, burial, and commemoration of American war dead from the Civil War to the immediate aftermath of World War One and how America used this newly created culture to forge new political identities and come to terms with its newly found imperial ambitions.

Tonight’s guest is author Anthony Balbo. Tony hales from Michigan and has worked variously as a football scout, assistant coach and head coach at various high schools in Michigan since 1989.

Last August Tony made his literary debut when he published “Gimme a Six-Pack: the Story of the 1976 Pittsburgh Steelers” a massive and moving account of one of the greatest football teams in NFL history.

Tony delves deeply into the great players, coaches, and the members of the Rooney family who owned the team.

Tonight’s guest is photographic artist and author Chester A. Higgins, Jr. Chester comes from the Borough of Brooklyn and during the past 50 years he has explored the Western Hemisphere and Africa as a photojournalist working for the New York Times and was mentored by legendary photographers such as P.H. Polk, Arthur Rothstein, Cornell Capra, and Gordon Parks.

He has co-authored nine books which features his magnificent photography and has had his works displayed in innumerable exhibitions at prestigious museums throughout America and the rest of the world. Tonight we will be discussing his upcoming release “The Sacred Nile: Where it all Began” which will be released in November this year.

Tonight’s guest is novelist and songwriter Larry Landgraf. Larry hales from Texas and during his salad days he worked as a commercial fisherman and General Contractor and had already written two books in 1986 and 2012 before he unleashed upon the literary world in 2015 daring novel “Into Autumn: A story of Survival” (the first volume in his Four Seasons Tetralogy).

Last May Larry’s latest book “The Adventures of Ollie Orangutan” was released (his first attempt at writing Children’s Literature).

Tonight’s guest is novelist Dwayne Gill. Dwayne, a Louisiana native, is an up-and-coming author with a big imagination. He first thought of the premise of his series "Written By Blood" when he was just twelve years old. Growing up, he loved action movies and larger-than-life heroes, which is evident when reading his writing. However, as he got older, he became bothered by the typical action figure tropes and the predictability of the plots, causing his series idea to evolve further.

If you like action thrillers, unlikely, conflicted heroes, twists, and character development that has a much deeper moral than most other thrillers in its genre, you'll want to follow the series "Written By Blood."

A week ago one of Dwayne’s works was released as part of the Dead Silent: a Boxed Set Collection that features 17 other thriller novelists.

Tonight’s guest is author and military historian Peter Cozzens. Peter is the author of seventeen very distinguished and critically acclaimed books on the Civil War and the American West. He recently retired after 30 years as a Foreign Service Officer with the U. S. Department of State. He also served four years as an Army officer before joining the Foreign Service.

All of Cozzens' books have been selections of the Book of the Month Club, History Book Club, and/or the Military Book Club. In 2002 Cozzens received of the American Foreign Service Association's highest award, given annually to one Foreign Service Officer for exemplary moral courage, integrity, and creative dissent. He also received an Alumni Achievement award from his alma mater Knox College, from which he graduated summa cum laude.

Tonight we discuss Peter’s latest work “Tecumseh and the Prophet: The Shawnee Brothers Who Defied a Nation” which was released last October and has received many rave reviews from established literary critics across America.

Tonight’s guest is author and baseball historian Larry Lester. Larry lives in Kansas City and is President and CEO of NoirTech Research, Inc. an internet company which provides sports scholarship exhibits, workshops, and academic conferences to educational institutions, museums, corporations, libraries, and churches. He is also the Editor of Blackball: A Negro Leagues Journal which is published twice a year and the Chairman of the Jerry Malloy Negro Leagues Conference.

Since 2012 Larry has written three books on Negro League baseball. Rube Foster in his Time in 2012; Black Baseball in New York City in 2017; and his most recent book (co-authored with Wayne Stivers) came out last April titled The Negro Leagues Book Volume 2: The Players from 1862-1960.

Tonight marks the start of season two for my show and to kick off season two is author and Civil War historian Joseph Rose. Since childhood Joseph has nurtured and cultivated a love for history, especially military history, visiting Revolutionary and Civil War battlefields. Although he has worked for decades in healthcare management, Joseph has never lost his love for history and in 2015 Joseph published his first book “Grant Under Fire: An expose of Generalship & Character in the American Civil War”, a daring re-examination of the Ulysses Simpson Grant which challenges established scholarly views of Grant as a general and tactician.

Tonight’s guest is sports author Jeff Dahlberg. Jeff’s a freelance writer who specializes in promotional stories for new entrepreneurs and business startups. Jeff was born and raised in Western New York. He's a graduate of the University at Buffalo and the Toronto Second City Training Centre. Jeff lives and works in the Buffalo, NY area and looks forward to the day when both the Bills win a Super Bowl and the Sabres win a Stanley Cup.

In 2016 Jeff published his first book “Not Just Snow and Chicken Wings: Positive Stories about Buffalo’s Rebirth” and last month he released “”We All Just Bought a Team: The Biggest What-Ifs in Buffalo Sports History”, a fascinating examination of key what-ifs and counter-factual scenarios in Buffalo sports history.

Tonight we are commemorating the 60th anniversary of the 1960 NFL Championship game where the Philadelphia Eagles played the Green Bay and to help us out we have special guest Pro Football Historian and author Terrence “T.J.” Troup.

T.J. is one of the foremost historians of professional football. He has written numerous articles for “American Football Coaches Monthly” and was the football coordinator/consultant for the 2008 George Clooney film “Leatherheads”.

He wrote his first book in 2009 titled “This Day in Football” and in 2014 he wrote the “The Birth of Football’s Modern 4-3 Defense” a splendidly detailed tactical analysis of how NFL teams played defense during the 1950s and a must read for all serious pro football researchers.

Tonight’s guest is author and novelist Neil Perry Gordon. Neil lives in New York and during the past two years Neil has released seven books: A Cobbler’s Tale, Moon Flower, The Righteous One, The Bomb Squad, Hope City, and last month his latest book Sadie’s Sin: The Zwi Migdal’s Reign of Terror.

https://www.neilperrygordon.com/

Tonight’s guest is Pro Football Historian and author Terrence “T.J.” Troup. T.J. is one of the foremost historians of professional football. He has written numerous articles for American Football Coaches Monthly and was the football coordinator/consultant for the 2008 George Clooney film Leatherheads. He wrote his first book in 2009 titled This Day in Football and in 2014 he wrote the The Birth of Football’s Modern 4-3 Defense a splendidly detailed tactical analysis of how NFL teams played defense during the 1950s and a must read for all serious pro football researchers.

Tonight T.J. and I will be commemorating the 80th anniversary of the 1940 NFL Championship game where the Chicago Bears beat the Washington Redskins 73-0, the greatest blow-out in NFL post-season history.

The Bears victory altered NFL tactics forever.

T.J. Troup using his vast knowledge of pro football history reveals the gridiron secrets behind the Bears incredible victory.

Tonight’s guest is renowned sports journalist, broadcaster, and author Sal Maiorana. Sal has been the dean of Buffalo sports writers for 32 years with the Rochester Democrat and Courier. He has covered the Buffalo Bills for over 27 years (which makes Sal the longest tenured beat writer in Bills franchise history. Sal has received numerous and honors from the City of Rochester, NY, and from distinguished New York State media associations and services for his stellar work as a sports journalist. And his sports journalistic work is not solely confined to the greater Buffalo area. He has published innumerable articles in national sports journals and websites covering a broad array of topics from football to golf to lacrosse.

Sal published his first book in 1992 and since then has published over 15 different books covering the full spectrum of North American sports and all of which receiving critical acclaim from his peers and the public.

Last March Sal released “When Buffalo stood atop the Sports World” which chronicles Buffalo sports during the mid-1970s when its sports franchises the Sabres, the Bills, and the Braves in the NBA were at their peak of their respective powers.

No longer content with sports writing, Sal is presently working on a historical novel of 1968 where he explores the seminal, sublime, severe, savage, and sad moments of that epochal year in American year which can be read on-line at SalMaiorana.com

Tonight’s guest is hockey author Aubrey Ferguson. Aubrey lives in Oakville, Ontario (a suburb of Toronto). Aubrey worked for 40 years in packaged goods marketing and general management but during his free time he (along with co-author Don Pillar) worked on a labor of love titled “The Golden Years: Bee Hive Golden Corn Syrup Hockey Picture Promotion 1934-1968” which was published privately last April and can be purchased at this website.

https://beehivegoldenyears.com/

Tonight’s guest is artist Paul Bouchard. Paul is a multi-faceted artist. His work is particularly influenced by working through his PTSD from the Vietnam War. His primary media are handmade cast paper, oils, welded aluminum and steel, acrylic, and watercolor. Paul has works in 20 public collections including: United States Department of State Art in Embassies Collection; State University of New York - Oneonta; Dayton International Peace Museum; California State University Art Museum (Long Beach); City of Beverly Hills Municipal Collection; Grant Kohrs National Historic Site; National Vietnam Veterans Art Museum. He has had over 100 group shows and 14 solo exhibitions nationally and internationally since 1972. His most recent exhibitions: VAP at the Pentagon till November, "Through Your Eyes" (National Park Service, Washington, D.C., 2012); Kingston NY Sculpture Biennial (2012).

Tonight’s guest is Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian Dr. Heather Ann Thompson. Dr. Thompson presently teaches at the University of Michigan but has worked at American and British collegiate academe since 1997. Last January Dr. Thompson helped co-found the History Studio with locations in New York, Detroit, and Los Angeles. The History Studio helps authors, producers, and documentarians make their projects a reality and have a greater impact in the public realm.

In 2016 Dr. Thompson published her first book “Blood in the Water: The Attica Prison Uprising of 1971 and its legacy” which achieved critical acclaim from American and international literary publications. It is a brilliant account of the Attica Prison Uprising and it earned her the Pulitzer Prize and Bancroft Prize along with numerous awards from esteemed legal and literary associations and societies.

Tonight’s guest is sports author Perry Lefko. 

Perry lives in the greater Toronto, Canada area and has been a award-winning journalist for the Toronto Star newspaper as well  as various automotive, horse-racing, and golfing print and on-line publications for years.

He has published nine books dealing thoroughbred racing, curling, and bios of football player Doug Flutie and pro wrestling legend Bret Harte.

Last year he co-authored with Eddie Olczyk “Eddie Olczyk: Beating the odds in Hockey and Life” (which is now out in paperback) and today he has released his latest book which he co-authored with Nick Kypreos “Undrafted: Hockey, Family, and what it takes to be a Pro”

Tonight’s guest is author Robert Strauss.

Robert hales from Haddonfield, New Jersey and has been a reporter at Sports Illustrated; a feature writer for the Philadelphia Daily News; a news and sports producer for KYW-TV, then the NBC affiliate in Philadelphia; and the TV critic for the Philadelphia Inquirer and Asbury Park Press.

For the last two decades, he has been a freelance journalist, his most prominent client being the New York Times, where he has had more than one thousand bylines. He has taught nonfiction writing at the University of Pennsylvania since 1999 and has been an adjunct professor at Temple University, the University of Delaware, and St. Joseph’s University as well.

In 2011 he released his first book, “Daddy’s Little Goalie,” a memoir about being the dad of girl athletes.

In 2016 he released his first book, “Worst. President. Ever’, an irreverent biography of James Buchanan, which won the Independent Publishers Association Gold Medal for Biography.

Tonight, however, I will be interviewing Robert about his next book which will be released in March 1, 2021, a scholarly biography of legendary Chief Justice of the U.S. Supreme Court John Marshall titled “John Marshall: the Last Founder”.

Tonight’s guest is hockey author Mike Wilson described by admirers as the “Ultimate Leafs Fan” because of his lifelong love affair of rooting for and collecting memorabilia dealing with the Toronto Maple Leafs. In fact Mike’s collection of Toronto Maple Leafs memorabilia is so vast that he had to sell most of it to the Museum of History in Ottawa, Ontario.

Mike also serves on the board of the Ontario Sports Hall of Fame.

Mike has published two books. His first “Inside the Room with the Ultimate Leafs fan” allows readers a written guided tour through his enormous collection of memorabilia accumulated over a period of more than 50 years. His latest book “The Ultimate Road Trip: all 89 Games with the Toronto Maple Leafs and the Ultimate Leafs fan” was just released today!

“The Ultimate Road Trip” is a Kerouacian hockey journey where Mike followed the Leafs through all 89 of their exhibition, regular season, and playoff games during the 2018/19 NHL season and chronicles the ecstasies and agonies all Toronto Maple Leafs fans experience while living as loyal citizens of Leafs Nation.

Yesterday September 28, marked the 60th anniversary of one of the greatest moments in Boston Red Sox history, Ted William’s last game as a player where on September 28, 1960, in a game against the Baltimore Orioles, Ted Williams hit a home run in his last at-bat.

Our guest this afternoon to help us commemorate that great day is baseball historian Bill Nowlin who is uniquely qualified to discuss Ted William’s final home. Bill has been a lifelong Boston Red Sox fan and was one of the first fans to mob pitcher Jim Lonborg when he pitched the final out of the game that clinched the 1967 pennant for the Red Sox. Bill was elected Vice President of SABR in 2004 and served five terms in that capacity before becoming director in 2016.

In 2013 Bill released “521: Ted Williams’ Home Runs” which discusses the details of all 521 home runs Ted Williams hit in his major league career and also his All-Star game homers, exhibition game homers, and even some homers he hit in high school.

Tonight’s guest is author Patricia Bryan.

Patricia hales from North Carolina and is a distinguished professor of law at the University of North Carolina.

For decades Patricia has had a splendid legal career in private practice and in American Legal academe where she has earned awards for teaching. She has also published several acclaimed articles in the Stanford Law Review and the Annals of Iowa.

In 2005 she and her husband author Thomas Wolf published “Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland” a real life murder mystery where she and her husband examine the murder of Iowa farmer John Hossack.

“Midnight Assassin” was praised by USA Today as being “An engrossing real-life whodunit”.

But the book is more than a murder mystery it is also a thoughtful examination of the harshness of life in the American heartland and how women lived and endured during the turn of the 20th century as well.

Tonight’s guest is novelist Donny Hunt. Donny hales from Texas and has worked for various newspapers and radio stations while contributing to sports websites.

During the past four years he has written and published four novels. His first “Blessed Poison” was released in 2016. In 2017 he released “The Quest for Aranwa” and “Angel of Death”.

Lastly this year on July 20 he released his fourth “Already Fallen” a sequel to his first novel “Blessed Poison”.

Tonight is a special occasion. My guest is my dear friend and fellow sports author Joe Zagorski who is making a record third appearance on this podcast (no other guest has made more appearances than Joe).

Joe has devoted his life to chronicling Pro Football history, first as a sportswriter then, later, as three-time published author with a fourth book on the way.

Tonight we will be discussing his first book The NFL in the 1970s: Pro Football’s Most Important Decade which was released in June 2016 because in a few days we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the very first season of the NFL which had just merged with the AFL after a ten year rivalry.

Tonight, I will be interviewing sports author Tommy Phillips on his 2020 release “Great Eighties: A Journey Through Another Exciting Decade in Pro Football History” which came out last April 20.

Mr. Phillips is a very busy and prolific author. During the past two years he has published five books. The first “Nifty Nineties; the Story of an Amazing Decade in Pro Football History” chronicles the NFL during the 1990s. His second work (co-authored with Matt Johnson) “Packers vs. 49ers: A Golden Rivalry” delves into the obscure rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. Tommy’s third release “Tribute to Troy: The Stories of USC’s Bowl Victories” is a loving tribute to the USC Trojans when they were one of the greatest college football programs in America and how they performed in bowl game competition.

His fourth release “Sundays at the Masters: From Jack to Tiger” is an exciting recitation of some of the greatest and most dramatic final rounds in the history of the Masters Tournament.

Tonight’s show is dedicated to a discussion and tribute to the life and transcendental basketball career of the late Kobe Bryant. We are five days away from what would have been Kobe’s 42nd birthday had he (along with his daughter Gianna and seven other people) had not been killed tragically in a helicopter crash on January 26 of this year.

Joining me in this tribute and discussion is a man well-qualified to discuss Kobe Bryant’s life and career: internationally renowned sports author and Kobe Bryant biographer Roland Lazenby.

If there were a wing in the Naismith Basketball Hall of Fame in Springfield, Massachusetts reserved for basketball writers, Mr. Lazenby would (and should be) an inductee in very high standing. Roland has written more than 60 sixty books covering NBA and college basketball and football.

In 2014 Roland released his epic biography of Michael Jordan titled “Michael Jordan: the Life” which instantly became (and remains) an international best-seller which has been translated in a wide array of languages.

Two years later Roland followed up his magnum opus with another magnum opus: “Showboat: the Life of Kobe Bryant” which has also become an international best seller that is being translated and released in a wide array of languages.

Tonight, we are on the eve of the 140th anniversary of the birth of legendary baseball pitcher Christy Mathewson who was born on August 12, 1880 in Factoryville, PA.

To help discuss, honor, and commemorate his hall-of-fame career we have baseball author Noel Hynd who in 1988 and 2018 released his famous history “The Giants of the Polo Grounds: The Glorious Times of baseball’s New York Giants” which can be found at Amazon.

Tonight’s guest is author Frank Healy. Five years ago Frank released his first book “Heal Your Memories, Change Your Life: Heal the Past to move on to a phenomenal present and future”. It is a self-help book that helps people cope and overcome traumatic memories that cripple their lives or else provides lessons with improving one’s memory. Frank is a Licensed Professional Counselor and Certified Life Coach. And five weeks ago Frank released his latest book a novel titled "The Unquiet Sea". Frank Healy lives with his wife in Dennisville, New Jersey. He is in private practice at Associates for Life Enhancement in Northfield, New Jersey.

Tonight’s guest is author Andy Mele. Since 2003, Andy (whose seven books can be found at Amazon under the name Andrew Paul Mele) has written books about entertainer Len Carrie; two books about the Brooklyn Dodgers; a book about Italian-Americans who lived on Staten Island, New York;a book about Italian-Americans who played baseball; and six months ago he released his latest book “The Italian Squad: How the NYPD took down the Black Hand Extortion Racket”. Born and raised in Brooklyn during the heyday of the Brooklyn Dodgers. Andy also writes articles in the Staten Island Advance and the Italian Tribune.

Tonight’s guest is hockey author Stephen LaRoche.

Stephen lives in Belleville, Ontario and has been a lifelong hockey fan and sports collectibles fan. Since 1998 he has written for Sports Collection magazines, Pro Wrestling websites, and Sports Collectibles websites. In 2004 he covered the World Cup of Hockey for Sportsology and began working for the trading card manufacturer “The Game”.

Throughout the years Stephen has contributed innovative aesthetic ideas that have helped the sports trading card industry thrive. In 2017 he has been a contributor for the Upper Deck blog while also writing trading backs for the Upper Deck Trading card company. His first book co-authored with Jon Waldman, “Got ‘Em, Got ‘Em, Need ‘em: a Fan’s guide to collecting the top 100 sports cards of all time” was released in 2011 and in 2014 his second book “Changing the Game”, a history of expansion in the NHL was also released.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another episode of The Packaged Tourist hosted by yours truly,

The Packaged Tourist in the Magical Mystery Tour called Life, Matthew DiBiase

Tonight’s guest is author Rick Allen who is making his literary debut with his newly released book “Inside Pitch” a chronicle of the ill-fated Seattle Pilots who were an American League expansion team that lasted one season before moving to Milwaukee to become today’s Milwaukee Brewers.

Rick has been a lifelong baseball fan and presently resides in the Pacific Northwest.

Tonight’s guest, is archaeologist Jessica Irwin. Today Ms. Irwin has just begun a new position as the Assistant Director for the Center of Digital Antiquity at Arizona State University but during the past 11 years Jessica has done archaeological work on both land and sea for historical projects in Florida, South Carolina, Virginia and Europe for various Federal Government agencies, private historical preservation foundations, and State Universities in Rhode Island and South Carolina. She has done archaeological projects from excavating lands owned by Presidents Washington and Madison; to diving and examining underwater shipwrecks; to searching for the remains of POW/MIAs.

Tonight’s guest, is photographer, poetess, and authoress Cendrine Marrouat (pronounced Mar-Wah). Cendrine was born in Toulouse, France but now resides in Winnipeg, Manitoba in Canada. As a photographer she specializes in black and white photography of natural scenes. She is the co-founder of the FPoint Collective, devoted to photography. As a poetess and authoress she has written 25 works (and is presently working on three more works). She is the co-founder of the Aurora & Blossoms Poetry Journal. Not only is Cendrine Marrouat prolific she is also innovative as a poetess. She created a new poetic form called Sixku (pronounced sisku) which she will discuss in tonight’s interview.

Tonight’s guest, is a bright newcomer in the realm of hockey literature, Matthew Blittner who will share with us his experiences and insights in writing his third book Unforgettable NY Islanders: Games & Moments from the Press Box, Ice & Front Office.

Blittner reveals the history of the Islanders through the unique perspective: through the eyes of its fourth estate: print journalists, TV commentators, radio journalists, and internet journalists.

Tonight, our featured guest is baseball author and historian Ralph Carhart. Ralph comes from New York City and is the Production Manager for the Department of Drama, Theater, and Dance at Queens College for the City University of New York. When Ralph isn’t working his day job he also devotes himself to baseball research. He has been a member of the Society of American Baseball Researchers in good standing. Last year he was the recipient of the Hilda Award awarded by the Board of Directors of the Baseball Reliquary for distinguished service to the game by a fan. Ralph has penned three official SABR biographies of baseball legends Rufus Jackson, Ray Knight, and Robert “Cotton”Williams and is presently working on the official SABR bio of Rachel Robinson, the widow of the immortal Jackie Robinson. Next week on June 24 Ralph’s first book “The Hall Ball: One Fan’s Journey to Unite Cooperstown Immortals with a Single Baseball” will be released to the public.

Tonight, our featured guest is author David Wilson. David was born and raised in Arkansas and he presently works at the University of Arkansas but he also spent nearly three decades of his life in Missouri where he worked as a journalist, teacher, and school principal while obtaining his Ph.D. at the University of Missouri.

David published his first book “Learning Every Day” in 2019. Last January David released his second book “Growing Up with Pro Football” and three months ago David (in collaboration with Jason Atkinson) released his third book “If You Can Deal with Parking, You can Deal with Anything”.

However for this evening the main focus of our show will be David’s second book “Growing Up With Pro Football”, a touching retrospective of David recounting his initial exposure to Pro Football and growing up in the 1970s watching Pro Football.

Tonight, our featured guest is author Jacob Kornhauser. Jacob is a digital video producer for FOX Sports in Los Angeles. He has worked previously for ESPN and in local television stations in Missouri and Oregon.

In 2018 Jacob released his first book “100 Moments that shaped Baseball History: An Easy Guide to America’s Pastime, Complete with Trivia”.

In February this year Jacob released his second book “The Cup of Coffee Club: 11 Players and their Brush with Baseball History”. Since its release “The Cup of Coffee Club” has received rave reviews from baseball experts and writers such as famed political columnist and baseball historian George Will who states, “The title is inspired, and its human interest stories are well told.” And it is this book which will be the main topic for discussion in tonight’s show.

Tonight, our featured guest (making his second appearance on this show) is author and dear friend David Dupuis.

In 1998 David wrote a highly acclaimed biography of NHL goal-tending legend Terry Sawchuk titled “Sawchuk: the Troubles and Triumphs of the World’s Greatest Goalie”. Written with the cooperation of Sawchuk’s widow and his children, “Sawchuk” is a searing account of the forces that made Terry Sawchuk one of the greatest goalies in NHL and also the demons that destroyed his life and, ultimately, ended it exactly 50 years ago on May 31, 1970.

My interview tonight with David Dupuis is commemorate Sawchuk’s life and legacy.

Tonight’s guest is baseball author Tom Wolf.  Tom comes from Chapel Hill, NC and has published numerous essays on baseball which were published in the Cooperstown Symposium and American Culture. He has also authored several acclaimed short stories that have been published either in the North Carolina Literary Review or in other literary forums that resulted in Tom being awarded or nominated for the Doris Betts Fiction prize for writing fiction or were also nominated for the Pushcart Prize.

Tom Wolf also co-authored the book “Midnight Assassin: A Murder in America’s Heartland”.

Tonight however we will be discussing Tom’s latest release “The Called Shot: Babe Ruth, the Chicago Cubs, and the Unforgettable Major League Season of 1932”.

Tonight’s guest is baseball author Brian “Chip” Martin.  Brian is a native of London, Ontario in Canada and has been a lifelong fan of baseball and is a member of the Society of American Baseball Researchers and has written many articles devoted to Canadians who have played Major League baseball.

His latest book release “The Man Who Made Babe Ruth” tells the story of Brother Matthias, A Xavierian Brother who served in the St. Mary’s Industrial School in Baltimore that housed the young Babe Ruth.

Tonight’s guest is esteemed hockey author Eric Zweig. If there is ever a Hall of Fame for hockey authors then Eric Zweig should be an inaugural inductee. Since 1992 Eric has blessed hockey readers with over 40 books written for all age groups devoted to hockey history.

In fact his latest release “The Official NHL Hockey Treasures” came out last December.

However for this show I will be interviewing Eric in his capacity as a hockey historian about the 50th anniversary of the Boston Bruins winning the 1970 Stanley Cup finals against the St. Louis Blues. That victory remains one of the famous moments in NHL history for reasons Eric Zweig will now explain.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another episode of The Packaged Tourist hosted by yours truly,

The Packaged Tourist in the Magical Mystery Tour called Life, Matthew DiBiase

Tomorrow April 29th marks the 50th anniversary of America’s attack into Cambodia during the Vietnam War. The incursion sparked protests throughout the country, especially in college campuses. Five days after America entered Cambodia four students were shot dead by Ohio National Guardsmen at Kent State University.

Tonight, I will be interviewing Vietnam War veteran Marty Rose about his memories of serving in the war and the turbulence that tore America in two.

Tonight, I will be interviewing Author and Civil War historian Whit McCoskrie.

Whit was born and raised and still resides in the Show Me State. He was a graduate of the Virginia Military Institute and spent 28 years in the Army and the U.S. Army Reserves.

In addition to being a banker, Mr. McCoskrie has taught ROTC programs at the Universities of Missouri and Illinois State. He has been a lifelong devotee of Civil War History (a passion I share as well).

Today Whit McCoskrie serves as a tour guide at the National Churchill Museum in Fulton, MO.

Tonight, I will be interviewing Baseball & Music artist Margie Lawrence.

Margie has had a lifelong love affair with Baseball and, especially the Chicago Cubs and for almost a quarter century she has painted and sketched a magnificent collection of images of baseball players, male and female; immortal and obscure.

Her first exhibition of her works was in 1999 and since then she has had exhibitions throughout the United States.

And when Margie isn’t immortalizing baseball players on canvas she also sketches and paints images of musical icons.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen, and welcome to another episode of The Packaged Tourist hosted by yours truly,

The Packaged Tourist in the Magical Mystery Tour called Life, Matthew DiBiase

Tonight’s featured guest is author Gregg Inkpen.

Gregg, a Long Island, New York native, has had a lifelong love of hockey history. He has written, produced, and directed two video hockey documentaries (one of which dealt with John Brophy). He worked with NBC Sports on their NHL game coverage and has worked for NBC on their hockey coverage during four Winter Olympiads. Gregg is also been a long-time devotee of the history of the now defunct World Hockey Association which competed with the NHL from 1972 to 1979.

Last year Gregg Inkpen made his solo literary debut with his biography “Broph: On and Off the Ice with John Brophy, one of Hockey’s Most Colorful Characters”.

Good evening, ladies and gentlemen and welcome to another episode of The Packaged Tourist hosted by yours truly, Matthew DiBiase

The Packaged Tourist in the Magical Mystery Tour called Life himself.

Tonight, I will be interviewing sports author Tommy Phillips on his 2019 release “Sundays at the Masters: from Jack to Tiger” a chronicle of several of the most famous final rounds in the 87 year history of the Masters Tournament.

Mr. Phillips is a very busy and prolific author. During the past two years he has published four books. The first “Nifty Nineties; the Story of an Amazing Decade in Pro Football History” chronicles the NFL during the 1990s. His second work (co-authored with Matt Johnson) “Packers vs. 49ers: A Golden Rivalry” delves into the obscure rivalry between the Green Bay Packers and the San Francisco 49ers. Tommy’s third release “Tribute to Troy: The Stories of USC’s Bowl Victories” is a loving tribute to the USC Trojans when they were one of the greatest college football programs in America and how they performed in bowl game competition.

His latest release “Sundays at the Masters: From Jack to Tiger” is an exciting recitation of some of the greatest and most dramatic final rounds in the history of the Masters Tournament.