Clearing The Bases - Issue 029
December 27, 2024
Hello and welcome to Issue 029 of Clearing The Bases, an email newsletter in conjunction with the My Baseball History podcast hosted by Dan Wallach.
The latest episode of the podcast with ASHTON LANSDELL went live on Wednesday, December 11, so if you haven’t had a chance to listen to that yet, make sure you do. Ashton is a member of the US Women’s National Baseball Team who helped the squad win the gold medal at the 2019 COPABE Pan-American Games, and the silver medal at the 2024 Women’s Baseball World Cup. She has also played for the Savannah Bananas and participated in MLB Home Run Derby X competitions all over the world.
If you’re reading this newsletter right now, you have a chance to enter a giveaway contest no one else can enter. Ashton’s episode is sponsored by her new clothing line KODA. If you send me a screenshot proving that you shared her episode on one of your social media platforms, you’ll be entered into a contest to win the t-shirt or hat of your choice from KODA’s website. You can share the My Baseball History post from FACEBOOK, BLUESKY, TWITTER, or INSTAGRAM to your own account on any of those platforms, and then just send me a screenshot to shoelesspodcast@gmail.com and you’ll be entered to win. Each different platform you share it to can count as its own separate entry. If you haven’t listened to the episode with Ashton yet, you can do that HERE.
For someone who is as interested in history as I am, I rarely take a step back to look at my own history. However, I was recently reminded how much has happened in the past year, and I figured this issue of the newsletter would be a perfect time to do a little 2024 Year In Review recap, as it relates to my baseball history, and to My Baseball History.
January
Episode 4 of Season 3 with Mike Veeck was released. Mike is a former Major League Baseball executive and Minor League Baseball owner known for his creative sales, marketing, and promotions, including Disco Demolition Night. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I won an auction for the 1951 season pass that the Greenville Spinners sent to Joe and Katie Jackson to let them come to games at Meadowbrook Park for free all year.
February
Episode 5 of Season 3 with Paul Reiferson was released. Paul is a photography connoisseur who spent decades amassing the most complete Charles Conlon collection ever privately assembled. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I won an auction for a felt pennant from the 1936 East West All-Star game, which was played on August 23 at Comiskey Park in Chicago.
March
Episode 6 of Season 3 with William Peebles was released. William is the owner, founder, and craftsman of Huntington Base Ball Co. and a historian of the evolution of the baseball. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I won an auction for a 1954 Topps Willie Mays card.
April
Episode 7 of Season 3 with Ange Armato was released. Ange is a former player in the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League who spent time playing with the Rockford Peaches and the Kalamazoo Lassies. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I went to New York City to see the opening of Paul Reiferson’s “Jackie Robinson And The Color Line” exhibition at Gitterman Gallery.
I went to my first ever game at Citizens Bank Ballpark in Philadelphia, accompanied by the legendary Todd Radom.
I went to a vintage card show in Strongsville, Ohio where I bought a handful of great vintage cards (including a 1951 Bowman Luke Easter and a 1952 Bowman Monte Irvin) and a couple different first day covers from the opening of the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown in 1939.
I bowled my lifetime high with a 224, leaving only the 6th frame open (8-1 after leaving myself a 7/10 split… ugh), and going Strike-Strike-8 in the 10th frame.
May
Episode 8 of Season 3 with Jeremy Feador was released. Jeremy is the official team historian of the Cleveland Guardians. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I went to Graceland Cemetery in Chicago and saw a couple significant baseball graves, including Ernie Banks and William Hulbert.
My mom and I saw Nancy Faust play the organ at the Last Comiskey book launch at the Chicago History Museum.
I went to the East West Classic at Doubleday Field in Cooperstown, and saw the brand new exhibit at the National Baseball Hall of Fame called “Souls Of The Game: Voices Of Black Baseball.”
June
Episode 9 of Season 3 with Stew Thornley was released. Stew is the official scorer for the Minnesota Twins, and the leading historian of Minnesota sports, including the St. Paul Saints. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I saw Vince Guerrieri give a talk about 10 Cent Beer Night just a few days before the 50th anniversary of the infamous game.
I went to the GroveWood Baseball Museum in eastern Kentucky for the first time while I was on my way to Alabama.
I went to the Giants-Cardinals MLB game at Rickwood Field, and did a bunch of Willie Mays-related sightseeing in and around Birmingham.
July
I went to Induction Weekend at the National Baseball Hall of Fame.
I went to The National Sports Cards Collectors Show in Cleveland where I added a couple vintage baseball postcards to my collection.
I hosted an 1860s style vintage base ball game on the field at Cleveland’s League Park which helped raise some money for the Baseball Heritage Museum which operates out of the original ticket office at the historic site.
August
I went to the SABR Convention in Minneapolis.
I saw a St. Paul Saints game at CHS Field.
I saw a Minnesota Twins game at Target Field.
September
I went to Lakeview Cemetery to see Ray Chapman’s grave.
I was the guest on Episode 346 of the This Week In Baseball History podcast, hosted by Mike Bates and Bill Parker. If you haven’t listened to that episode yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
October
Episode 1 of Season 4 with Nancy Faust was released. Nancy is a legendary organist. She is most famous for her 41-year career playing for the Chicago White Sox from 1970 through 2010 during which she invented walk-up music and popularized the singing of "Take Me Out To The Ballgame" during the 7th inning stretch. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
Clips from my interview with former Yankees second baseman Bobby Richardson (Episode 5 of Season 2) were included in the South Carolina ETV documentary “Graceball: The Bobby Richardson Story.” If you haven’t listened to that interview yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
My mom and I went to Pittsburgh on the anniversary of Bill Mazeroski’s home run and visited the Clemente Museum before going to the site of Forbes Field to listen to the broadcast of Game 7 of the 1960 World Series.
I went to Game 3 of the ALCS and saw the Guardians come from behind to win in extras with a couple dramatic home runs.
I went to Game 4 of the World Series and saw a game at New Yankee Stadium for the first time.
November
Episode 2 of Season 4 with Todd Radom was released. Todd is a legendary graphic designer, sports branding expert, and writer who is responsible for the visual identities of multiple MLB teams and All-Star Game logos. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I started volunteering with Baseball For All, which is a 501(c)3 girls baseball nonprofit organization started by Justine Siegal which builds gender equity by creating opportunities for girls to play, coach, and lead in the sport.
December
Episode 3 of Season 4 with Ashton Lansdell was released. If you haven’t listened to it yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I took my mom to Cooperstown so she could visit the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum for the first time since 1999, and introduced her to my favorite bookstore in the world, Willis Monie Books.
On our way to Cooperstown, we stopped at Nicholson Bridge in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, which was the largest concrete structure in the world upon its completion in 1915. Eight years later, when the old Yankee Stadium was built, they modeled the façade after Nicholson Bridge.
I was the guest speaker on a joint SABR chapter zoom meeting, hosted by Bruce McClure. If you haven’t watched that presentation yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
I continued my tradition with Jacob Pomrenke (who was the guest on Episode 1 of Season 3) of going on a baseball-related road trip and/or walking tour on Christmas Day. The tradition began in 2022 in the Bay Area, followed by Chicago in 2023. This year, we tackled Milwaukee. Jacob is the Director of Editorial Content at the Society For American Baseball Research, and the chairman of the Black Sox Scandal Research Committee. If you haven’t listened to that interview yet, or want to revisit it, you can do that HERE.
As you can see, it’s been a pretty productive year. I really appreciate you being along for the ride, and hope you’ll continue to be interested in what we’ve got in store for 2025. There are going to be more great episodes of the podcast, and definitely some fun events planned.
Starting in January, I will be working at the Baseball Heritage Museum at Cleveland’s Historic League Park, which is the former home of the Cleveland Spiders, Naps, Indians, and Buckeyes, and is one of the few sites that is still standing which once hosted Negro League games. If you’ve never been, I highly recommend it, so start planning your visits now to come see me after the new year!
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Until next time, I’m Dan Wallach, and this is My Baseball History.
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