Professor John Ferling (University of West Georgia) joins the podcast this week to talk about his new book, Baseball As It Was: Building Champions Before Free Agency Changed Everything (Tatra Press, May 2026). The book examines the period 1946-1957, the years after World War II, with particular focus on the Cleveland Indians and the Boston, and later the Milwaukee Braves. John Ferling, Ph.D. - http://johnferling.com/ Baseball As It Was at Tatra Press - https://tinyurl.com/asitwas07...

This week on Hooks & Runs, the theatrical doom metal quartet Castle Rat gets a major article in Spin, Craig wanders into more Astro sign stealing controversy on social media, the truth about (Babe) Ruth (in 1922), Portland vs Salt Lake City as an expansion candidate, and remembering René-Robert La Salle's vacation to our home county. Source: Steve Appleford, "Castle Rat Brings to Life a Mythic World of Ancient Heroes and Villains," Spin Magazine (June 29, 2026) (https://tinyurl.com/hooks0...

Randall Sullivan, former contributing editor to Rolling Stone and author of The Price of Experience, and Untouchable, joins Hooks & Runs this week to discuss his latest book, The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroads (Grove Atlantic, June 2026). The First All-Star Game chronicles a defining moment for both baseball and the nation, weaving together the sport's early lively ball history with the Jazz Age and subsequent Great Depression that gave rise to it. ...

Between players jumping contracts and entangling themselves in gambling scandals; the lack of a clear, consistent enforcement authority and conference (league) realignments, one could easily confuse current state of the NCAA with the chaotic state of 19th Century baseball. This week, John A. Fortunato joins us to make sense of college sports today. Fortunato is a professor of communications and media management at Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business. His research interests include...

Chapter 1 - Paul Hofmann, Ph.D., Associate Provost for International Affairs at the University of Louisville and Society for American Baseball Research member, joins us this week to discuss Charlie Ferguson, a forgotten 19th Century baseball star. Ferguson played four seasons in his early 20s with the Philadelphia Quakers (now, Phillies) in the National League and by 1887, Ferguson's final season, he emerged as a rising two-way star, excelling both at the plate (.337 average) and on the mound...

Author Perry T. Cooper is our guest this week. Cooper's new book, "The 1890 Louisville Cyclones: Major League Baseball's Original Worst-to-First Team" (McFarland, March 2026). Louisville finished the 1889 American Association season with 27 wins, 111 losses, the first Major League team to lose 100 games during a campaign. Under new manager Jack Chapman, Louisville rebounded in 1890 to first place in the AA and an 88-44 record. Cooper regales listeners in this interview with stories abou...

This week it's Rex and Craig musing over baseball and music news of the day including: Wander Franco's legal troubles are not over;Shohei Ohtani's amazing year;Fernando Tatis, Jr.'s power outage;NL Central excellence;the Tampa Bay Rays are at it again;the trouble with Minor League BaseballThe age of Avatar Ozzy; andFavorite first quarter 2026 albums.Sources: Sha Be Allah, "SOURCE SPORTS: Immigration Experts Believe Wander Franco’s Big League Career Is Finished Despite Dodging Prison," thesour...

David Faflik, a Professor in the Department of English at the University of Rhode Island has a new book titled "Segregation Games: Boston, Busing, and the Making of Red Sox Nation" (Univ. of Massachusetts Press 2026). The book examines the "surprising ties in 1970s Boston between the racial segregation of the city’s schools and the racial controversies expressed on and off the field of 'Red Sox Nation.'" David Faflik's faculty page at URI. https://web.uri.edu/english/meet/david-fa...

Our guest for Chapter 1 is John McMurray, chair of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR)'s Deadball Era Research Committee. His essay, "September 1, 1906: A Pivotal Game Early in the Deadball Era," appeared in the Committee's newsletter, "The Inside Game," earlier this year. The game between the Philadelphia A's and the home team Boston Americans (now Red Sox) lasted 24 innings with the A's winning 4-1. The game featured many deadball era baseball features including speed, d...

Author and historian Kevin J. Abing is our guest this week to talk about the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals, on the 100th Anniversary of the team's first World Series championships. Abing is author of "Baseball Magic and Mayhem in St. Louis: The 1926 Cardinals, World Series Champions" (McFarland Press, 2026). Abing's meticulously researched book tells the story of the Cardinal's rise from National League doormat to dominance and the team's magical 1926 season. Previous episodes discussed are ...