During World War II, when many athletes went into military service, the military post at the Fort Ontario State Historic Site became a regional baseball powerhouse, due in part to the posting there of former professional and minor league ballplayers, even including a former starting pitcher for the New York Yankees. [Read more…] about When Fort Ontario Was A Baseball Powerhouse
Sports History
Fulton County Baseball History (Podcast)
This week on The Historians Podcast, Mike Hauser, author and Leader Herald columnist, has stories about major league manager Jack McKeon, Parkhurst Field and Moonlight “Doc” Graham from Fulton County baseball history. [Read more…] about Fulton County Baseball History (Podcast)
Museums, Grave Robbing & The Dissection of Boxing ‘Giant’ Charles Freeman
Grave robbing has a long history in religion and science. As monasteries and churches were repositories of relics, religious institutions competed to take possession of bones, teeth, or skulls. Members of the clergy supported grave robbers – long before the word came into circulation – if a body, or parts thereof, were worthy of reverence. [Read more…] about Museums, Grave Robbing & The Dissection of Boxing ‘Giant’ Charles Freeman
John Morrissey: Toward Setting The Record Straight
John Morrissey was born in Ireland on this day, February 12th, in 1831.
As a result of bigoted attacks by his political enemies being carried forward by later writers like Herbert Asbury in Gangs of New York (1928), he’s been falsely accused of being in criminal league with Tammany Hall, for leading “the dead rabbits gang,” and for being involved in the killing of the nativist William “Bill the Butcher” Poole. [Read more…] about John Morrissey: Toward Setting The Record Straight
Circus Artists and the Flying Trapeze Metaphor
Equestrian artist Philip Astley was a pioneering entertainment entrepreneur. His demonstrations of trick horse-riding at London’s Royal Amphitheatre in 1768 constitute the origins of modern circus.
Astley performed his routine in a circular arena which would subsequently be referred to as the ring. He interspersed his displays with a variety of additional acts. Both in Europe and America other producers copied and expanded his new style of entertainment. [Read more…] about Circus Artists and the Flying Trapeze Metaphor
Slang, Stirrups, Paris in the 20s, and the Invention of the Bloody Mary
Although much remains unclear about the origins of Cockney rhyming slang, there is a consensus that it stems from London’s East End, dates back to the 1840s, and is alive and thriving. One slang expression reads “on one’s tod,” meaning: on one’s own; all alone. The phrase is a shortened version of the original “on one’s Tod Sloan.”
In full, these four words offer a multi-colored mosaic of socio-cultural events involving Manhattan, London, and Paris. [Read more…] about Slang, Stirrups, Paris in the 20s, and the Invention of the Bloody Mary
Newyorkitis, Bodybuilding, Gymnastics & The Origins of Pilates
In the late nineteenth century, commentators on the medico-psychological effects of rapid urban expansion identified two developments of concern.
One was an epidemic of nerves (neurasthenia) among the well-heeled; the other a slide towards degradation in inner-city slums.
In the battle for social regeneration, the need for physical exercise was emphasized. Man had to flex his muscles; his body needed rebuilding. [Read more…] about Newyorkitis, Bodybuilding, Gymnastics & The Origins of Pilates
Historians Podcast 2020 Highlights
This week on The Historians Podcast, highlights from 2020 episodes – Caryl Hopson on her book Murder and Mayhem in Herkimer County, Peter Ward discusses the history of personal cleanliness, Kathryn Smith details the life of heiress and spy Gertrude Sanford Legendre, Matthew Costello on George Washington’s changing reputation and Christie Sausa looks at Lake Placid’s winter sports history. [Read more…] about Historians Podcast 2020 Highlights
Baseball’s Satchel Paige on Long Island
By 1950, Satchel Paige was a star of the Negro Leagues and a World Series winner with the Cleveland Indians. He spent most of that year barnstorming across the United States which is what brought him to Riverhead Stadium on Long Island.
In this episode of the Long Island History Project, librarian and historian Fabio Montella relates his research into Satchel, Riverhead, and the deeper connections between Long Island and Negro League baseball. [Read more…] about Baseball’s Satchel Paige on Long Island
Mohawk Valley Baseball History Virtual Talk
The Oneida County History Center will host a virtual talk by Lou Parrotta, the City of Utica Historian, on the history of baseball in the Mohawk Valley, and the local players who made it to the Major Leagues, set for Wednesday, August 12th. [Read more…] about Mohawk Valley Baseball History Virtual Talk