Summary: “Ohio v Baseball” (Fleet Walker/Branch Rickey/BlackSox/Merkle’s Boner) In Episode 14 (ONE EPISODE LEFT!!!), Alex looks at our national pastime from the 1880s to WWII. We tell 4 different stories about Ohioans in baseball with 4 amazing guests: 1) Moses Fleetwood Walker, the 1st African American to play professional baseball with the Toledo BlueSox. Guest Craig Brown tells this little-known story and his efforts to get Moses Fleetwood Walker Day recognized by the State of Ohio (5:45); 2) Branch Rickey, Delaware, Ohio’s famous baseball innovator and how he and Jackie Robinson break the color barrier in Major League Baseball, Capital University AD Roger Ingles shares stories of Mr. Rickey’s remarkable career (24.00); 3) The BlackSox Scandal of 1919. Baseball historian Rick Huhn tells the story of the infamous 1919 World Series and the Cincinnati Reds 1st world championship (47:00); 4) Merkle’s Boner. Fred Merkle, of Toledo, and famous baserunning blunder that leads to one of baseball’s biggest controversies. Chicago Cubs historian and author Sam Pathy discusses the Chicago Cubs last World Series win in 1908 before beating the Indians in 2016 (1:10:00).
