The Packaged Tourist Show
By Matthew DiBiase
The Packaged Tourist ShowJan 05, 2022
David Sears interview
Tonight’s guest is author and historian David Sears. David lives in Northern New Jersey. He served in the U.S. Navy with extensive overseas experience which included serving as an adviser to the South Vietnamese Navy during the Vietnam War. David earned degrees from the University of Pennsylvania and, later, from the Cornell University School of Industrial and Labor Relations.
In 2007 he released his first book “The Last Epic Naval Battle: Voices from Leyte Gulf”
In the years that followed David Sears has since published “At War with the Wind” a history of how the U.S. Navy dealt with Japanese Kamikaze attackers during the final months of World War II.
Followed by “Such Men as These” the story of Naval Pilots who fought during the Korean War.
Then came “Pacific Air” which discusses the great Naval pilots and their aircraft that won the Naval Air War in the Pacific during World War Two.
And then in September last year David released his latest masterpiece “Duel in the Deep” which chronicles a fantastic 1943 battle between a U.S. Navy destroyer and a German U-Boat.
Tonight, we will be discussing and paying tribute to his literary career.
Paul Houle interview
Tonight’s guest is author Paul Houle. Paul hales from Chesnee, South Carolina. He presently works as a safety assistant for Service Transport, Inc and for a time he was a traffic accident investigator for the U.S. Army but for the past 12 years he has published two books.
In 2016 his first book “The Crash of Piedmont Airlines Flight 22: Completing the Record of the 1967 Midair Collision near Hendersonville, NC”
In 2021 Paul released his second book “The Crash of Delta Flight 723: The Worst Air Disaster in New England History”.
Tonight, we will be discussing and paying tribute to his literary career.
Bob Wirz interview
Tonight’s guest is author Bob Wirz. Bob has been a media specialist in the world of sports for over 60 years. A lifelong baseball fan Bob worked as a publicity director for the Kansas City Royals and, later, in newspaper, radio, and television work. For 11 years he ran the media office for Major League Baseball when Bowie Kuhn was commissioner of baseball. During the 2000s and early 2010s he was a weekly columnist for Independent Baseball Insider and for the past 38 years he has been the owner of Wirz Associates where he does sports consulting work.
In 2016 he published the book “The Passion of Baseball”, a memoir of his life’s journey from Nebraska to his close encounters with baseball history.
Tonight, we will pay tribute to Bob Wirz’s literary works and his contributions to Major League Baseball.
Gabriel Garcia interview
Tonight’s guest is author and podcaster Gabriel Garcia. Gabriel is a San Francisco State University graduate with a Master’s Degree in history. He is a member of the National Society of Collegiate Scholars and was recognized for conspicuous attainment and scholarship in the field of history by Phi Alpha Theta.
Last year Gabriel unleashed upon the world four books: “Beyond the Trail: a collection of short stories”, “The Gathering” a novel; “Harlem Hellfighters” a chronicle of the all-black 369th regiment that won honor in World War I; and last October a sequel to “The Gathering”, “Amyntas: Son of Persia”.
He is also the host and creator of the podcast “The Wandering Scribe”.
David Finoli interview-1910 Pitt Panthers
Tonight’s guest is sports author David Finoli. David has written over 34 books dealing with his lifelong love affair for Pittsburgh sports. His books discuss the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Steelers, the Penguins, college powerhouses such as Pitt and Duquesne University.
Tonight, we will be discussing his last release which came out last October titled “Perfection: The 1910 Pittsburgh Panthers”, a history of one of the great football teams in Pitt Panther history.
Randi Druzin interview
Tonight’s guest is Randi Druzin is an author and journalist in Toronto, Canada. She has worked at several major media outlets including the National Post and the CBC, and has written for dozens of publications including The New York Times, Time magazine, ESPN The Magazine and The Globe and Mail. Based first in Europe then in North America, Randi has covered events as diverse as former U.S. Secretary of State Madeleine Albright's visit to Prague and the Van Halen reunion tour. Randi has varied interests but specializes in sports. She has covered four Olympics and interviewed dozens of world-class athletes, including NHL stars Sidney Crosby and Jonathan Toews. Randi is the author of Behind the Mask, a new book that profiles a dozen legendary NHL netminders, honing in on the personality trait that makes each one unique.
Irene Hodges interview-Centennial of Gil Hodges birth
Today marks the centennial of the birth Brooklyn Dodgers legend and Baseball Hall-of-Famer Gil Hodges who was born on this day in 1924.
And to help us celebrate the life and times of Gil Hodges is tonight’s guest Ms. Irene Hodges, the daughter of Gil Hodges. When her father was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame last year it was Irene who gave the speech.
Jeff Kisseloff interview regarding Alger Hiss
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.
Tonight, we will be discussing a controversial figure from the Cold War era who continues to inspire debate among historians, Alger Hiss.
The Rich Shmelter interview
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 as well as Chicago Outfit gun man Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn.
Tonight, we will be discussing his latest release “Beasts! Bedlam! Babes!: A Collection (but not every one) of Drive-in Movies from 1956 to 1982 (time period explained inside!!” which came out last week.
Alisha Hamel interview
Tonight’s guest is author Alisha Hamel. Alisha lives in Portland, Oregon and was the Director of Friends of Vista House and once worked at the U.S. Army Transportation Museum and was also the archivist/historian at Fort Lewis. She, also, worked on a documentary about the U.S. Army 41st Division.
In 2016 she co-wrote the book “Oregon Military” a history of Oregon’s role in American military history.
Tonight, we will be discussing her impending new release a book about World War Two veterans who have a connection to the State of Oregon and, also, her future book projects.
Tim Gray interview
Tonight’s guest is filmmaker Tim Gray. Tim hales from Kingston, RI and has been the founder, President, and filmmaker at the World War II Foundation for the past 19 years. Tim has created 36 Documentaries dealing with World War Two for American Public Television. He has also created four World War II VR films for Oculus TV/YouTube VR as well.
Tonight, we will be discussing his distinguished filmmaking career.
Peter Golenbock interview
Tonight’s guest is renowned sports author Peter Golenbock. For the past 49 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). In 2022, Peter released “Whispers of the Gods” a 21st century sequel to Lawrence Ritter’s immortal classic “The Glory of their Times” where Peter awed 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.
Today, we celebrate Peter’s latest opus “Baseball Heaven: Up Close and Personal, what it was really like in the Major Leagues” which was released today.
Bryan Reilly interview
Tonight’s guest is novelist Bryan Reilly. Bryan lives in Hartsdale, New York and works as a management executive for ESM. He is also a member of the board of directors for FundaVida, a non-profit organization devoted to helping and empowering young people from Costa Rica to overcome the problems of Costa Rican society and break free.
Last November Bryan published his first book “The Last Original Ranger of New York”.
Ryan C. Walker interview
Tonight’s guest is author Ryan C. Walker. Ryan lives in Groton, Connecticut and works as a senior test engineer for General Dynamics.
Five months from now his first book “The Silent Service’s First Hero: The First Submariner to Receive the Medal of Honor” will be released in July 2024.
Dr. David Jerome interview
Tonight’s guest is author Dr. David Jerome. David lives in Ozark, Missouri and is a retired U.S. Army officer and a former college professor. David worked at engineering firms in Kansas City. He earned his doctorate in public policy from the University of Arkansas-Fayetteville. He has dedicated his life to writing baseball biographies, Army transformation, and the political history of Western Missouri.
In 2023 he released his first book “Bill Virdon: a life in baseball” and that will be the main topic of our show tonight.
Candace Havens interview
Tonight’s guest is novelist, columnist, and radio personality Candace Havens. Candace has been an entertainment critic for radio station 96.3 KSCS in Dallas, Texas since 1997 where she has interviewed many renowned Hollywood celebrities.
And for over 20 years she has published 35 books with the vast majority of her works in the romance genre while also writing a biography of Joss Whedon (the creator of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Her works have resulted in her winning the Holt Medallion while receiving nominations for Readers’ awards.
Tonight, we will be discussing her latest work under her pen name Lucy Connelly, “Death at a Scottish Wedding: Scottish Isle Mysteries, Book 2”
Donny Hunt interview-30th anniversary of Super Bowl XXVIII
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 six 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 XXVIII against the Buffalo Bills. It was Dallas’ first repeat Super Bowl victory in their franchise history and tonight Donny and I will pay tribute to that great team.
Mark Kram Jr. Interview-50th Anniversary Ali-Frazier II
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 third book “Smokin’ Joe: The Life of Joe Frazier”.
Today marks the 50th anniversary of the second Ali-Frazier at Madison Square Garden. Tonight’s show will commemorate that bout and the life of former Heavyweight champion Joe Frazier.
Alexandra Riley interview
Tonight’s guest is author Alexandra (Aly) Riley. Aly has been a writer/reporter for Sports as Told by a Girl since 2016. She is also a producer for Under the Horizon Productions.
Aly has also had a long love and fascination with American colonial history and the American Revolution.
Tonight, we will be discussing her first book which was released last September, “She Spies: Women of the American Revolution, Their Heroic Missions and Agent 355 Revealed”.
Jeffrey D. Simon interview
Tonight’s guest is author Jeffrey D. Simon.
Jeffrey D. Simon is the author of several books about terrorism and is a former RAND analyst who also taught at UCLA. His writings have appeared in many publications, including the Journal of the American Medical Association, Foreign Policy, and the New York Times. He has also been interviewed by several media outlets, including CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, CBS Sunday Morning, NPR, New York Times, Washington Post, and Los Angeles Times. You can find him at futureterrorism.com.
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 was released today, “The Bulldog Detective: William J. Flynn and America’s First War against the Mafia, Spies,and Terrorists”.
Nancy Potter interview
Tonight’s guest is novelist Nancy E. Potter. Nancy was born in New Orleans but lived for a time in Europe during her childhood. She has been writing since she was 10 years old and she completed her college education she worked on Capitol Hill and the White House. She has also gone into business for herself designing and selling maternity clothes in Houston, Texas.
Last September Nancy released her debut novel “Barbours Cut” set in the late 19th and early 20th centuries.
Terence Troup interview-Super Bowl D-1963 Chicago Bears vs. 1963 San Diego Chargers
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 exploring a great Pro Football What If Scenario: what would have happened if the 1963 NFL Champion Chicago Bears faced the 1963 AFL Champion San Diego Chargers in a mythical Super Bowl game?
T.J. Troup interview-60th anniversary of the 1963 NFL Championship game
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 1963 NFL Championship where the Chicago Bears took on the New York Giants.
Zak Ford interview
Tonight’s guest is Zak Ford. Zak hales from Cameron Park, California and serves as the chapter leader for Society for American Baseball Researchers and also serves on the advisory committee of the Pacific Coast League Historical Society.
Two months ago, Zak released his first book “Called Up: Ballplayers Remember Becoming Major Leaguers” a moving work where baseball players share with Zak their memories of the twists and turns they experienced and the slings and arrows they endured on the journey of becoming a major league baseball player.
Darin Hayes interview
My guest is Darin Hayes. Darin is the producer and host of his magnificent podcast “Pigskin Dispatch”. I have been honored to appear as a guest on his show numerous and tonight I finally get to repay the numerous favors he has shown by having him appear as a guest on my show.
Darin has lived in Western Pennsylvania all his life. He has loved football, first as a player in high school then as an official for 25 years and now has a podcaster and writer.
Last month Darin released his first book “The World’s Greatest Pro Gridiron Team: the 1903 Franklin All-Stars” an entertaining account of the salad days of pro football in America as seen through the deeds of one of its greatest teams.
Bob Wirz interview
Tonight’s guest is author Bob Wirz. Bob has been a media specialist in the world of sports for over 60 years. A lifelong baseball fan Bob worked as a publicity director for the Kansas City Royals and, later, in newspaper, radio, and television work. For 11 years he ran the media office for Major League Baseball when Bowie Kuhn was commissioner of baseball. During the 2000s and early 2010s he was a weekly columnist for Independent Baseball Insider and for the past 38 years he has been the owner of Wirz Associates where he does sports consulting work.
In 2018 he published the book “The Passion of Baseball”, a memoir of his life’s journey from Nebraska to his close encounters with baseball history.
Last year Bob released his latest book “My Nebraska: Rich Memories of Growing Up in Rural Nebraska Decades Ago”, another affectionate memoir of growing up in the Cornhusker State.
Tonight, we will pay tribute to Bob Wirz’s literary works and his contributions to Major League Baseball.
Clayton Trutor interview
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, 2022 his first book “Loserville: How Professional Sports remade Atlanta –and How Atlanta remade Professional Sports” was released.
And exactly three weeks ago his second book “Boston Ball: Rick Pitino, Jim Calhoun, Gary Williams, and the Forgotten Cradle of Basketball Coaches” has just been released.
It is a brilliant examination how three future great NCAA men’s basketball coaches started on their path to greatness while coaching men’s basketball at Boston College and altered basketball tactics forever with their innovations.
Marshall Patrick Garvey interview
Tonight’s guest is author Marshall Patrick Garvey. Marshall lives in Northern California and has been writing for almost 20 years. His works have published by the Sacramento Bee, Screen Rant, Dodger Nation, the Richard Nixon Foundation, Teen Ink, the Pacific Coast League Historical Society, and Cygnus X-1.
10 years ago he founded Last Token Gambling, a video game blog that is now the mainstay of the gaming scene. And for a two-year period he worked as a history-book author and researcher for History Specialists.
Six weeks ago, Marshall published his book “Interstate ’85: Whitey’s Cardinals, Howser’s Royals, the Call, and the Battle for the Heart of Missouri”, a wonderful chronicle of the 1985 World Series.
Sean McCaffrey III interview
Tonight’s guest is hockey author Sean McCaffrey III. Sean was once Editor-in-Chief of the DOI newsletter and website from 2002 to 2011. During that time period Sean was the promoter of WSU Wrestling from 2007-2012 where he worked as a writer, promoter, booker, agent, referee, announcer, commentator, and a jack-of-all-trades. In 2014 Sean launched the website DOINOW.com which is devoted to sharing thoughts and opinions of all aspects of New York sports.
Sean has published seven books “Tricks of the Trade volumes I, II, III, and IV”, “One Game at a Time”, “The New York Rangers Rink of Honor”, and the “Top 100 Villains of New York Rangers history”.
Tonight, we will discuss and pay tribute to Sean’s writing career.
Eric C. Gray interview
Tonight’s guest is author Eric C. Gray. Eric was born and raised in New Paltz, NY and earned his college degree at SUNY at New Paltz. In the mid-1970s he made his way to San Francisco where he and his wife Lynn made their living working for the Department of Labor while raising a family.
Eric has loved baseball since the day he was born and in 2019 he published his first book “Bases to Bleachers: a collection of personal baseball stories from the stands and beyond” where Eric interviewed people from all walks of life who shared their memories of the most memorable game of baseball they ever watched or played. It didn’t matter whether the game was a major league game or minor league or even Little League. It was the memory that counted.
Last year Eric published his second book “Backyards to Ballparks: More Personal Baseball Stories from the stands and beyond” which picks up right where “Bases to Bleachers” left off.
Tonight, we will be discussing Eric’s brilliant writing career.
Rich Shmelter interview-Championship Diary
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 as well as Chicago Outfit gun man Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn.
Tonight, we will be discussing his latest release “Championship Diary: Super Bowl XVIII, Los Angeles Raiders vs. Washington Redskins January 22, 1984.”
Vince Guerrieri interview
Tonight’s guest is sports author Vincent Guerrieri. Vincent is an award-winning journalist whose works have appeared in newspapers, magazines, and online. He is a native of Youngstown, Ohio, a graduate from Bowling Green University and has published three books on Ohio Sports history.
His first book “Ohio Sports Triva” was released in 2011.
His second book “The Blue Streaks & Little Giants: More Than a Century of Sandusky & Fremont Ross Football” was released in 2013.
His latest book “Weird Moments in Cleveland Sports: Bottlegate, Bedbugs, and Burying the Pennant” was released in November 2022.
Jeff Kisseloff interview-50th anniversary of the 1973 New York Mets
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”.
Tonight we will celebrate the 50th anniversary of the 1973 New York Mets who won the National League pennant that year.
The Roland Lazenby Interview
Tonight’s guest is internationally renowned sports author 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 will discuss his latest masterpiece: “Magic” his much-anticipated biography of Lakers legend Earvin “Magic” Johnson.
Tom Danyluk interview
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.
And his latest book “Majesty and Mayhem: Pro Football in the 1980s” was released in 2022 and has earned rave reviews among football literary critics.
Tonight, we will be discussing his third book “The Super 70s” a brilliant history of the NFL in the 1970s was released in 2019.
Sharon Connell interview
Tonight’s guest is author Sharon K. Connell. Sharon was born in Wisconsin but lived most of her adult life in Chicago and Florida where she worked in clerical positions in the medical field and in advertising. She is now retired and 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 “Trust Never After” which was published on July 31.
Jeff Salter interview
Tonight’s guest is novelist Jeff Salter who goes by the name of J.L. Salter at Amazon. Jeff lives in Kentucky and worked nearly 30 years as a librarian. He was decorated veteran of the Air Force. In 2012 he published his first book “The Overnighter’s Secrets” and since then he has blessed his readers with more works like “The Ghostess and Mr. Muir”, the Rose Roamer Time Traveler Books “Cowboy Out of Time” and “Cowboy Joins the Fight”.
Greg Tranter interview
Tonight’s guest is football author Greg Tranter. Greg lives in Shrewsbury, Massachusetts and is a prominent Buffalo Sports historian, curator, and collector with expertise in Buffalo Bills history.
Last year he released two books “Relics: The History of the Buffalo Bills in Objects and Memorabilia” which he co-wrote with Jeffrey Miller and came out in February 2022 and most recently, “The Buffalo Sports Curse: 120 years of Pain, Disappointment, Heartbreak and Eternal Optimism” which he wrote by himself and was released last October.
Tonight, we will be discussing “The Buffalo Sports Curse”
T.J. Troup interview-Clark Shaughnessy and George Allen
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 is a regular contributor to “The Pro Football Journal”, “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 examining a topic that Coach Troup has been wanting to discuss for years: the relationship between Bears defensive coordinator the late Clark Shaughnessy and the man who succeeded him, future Pro Football Hall of Fame coach George Allen.
Allan Andrade interview
Tonight’s guest is historian and author Allan Andrade. Allan lives in Landenberg, PA and is a retired New York City Transit police lieutenant. Allan used his investigative skills in researching and interviewing the survivors and relatives of the Leopoldville tragedy.
The end result of those interviews are four books published between 1997 and 2008 which dealt with the sinking of the Leopoldville during World War Two: “Leopoldville: A Tragedy Too Long Secret”, “S.S. Leopoldville Disaster”, “Leopoldville: Remembrance for Valor”, and “Leopoldville Troopship Disaster”.
Candance Havens interview
Tonight’s guest is novelist, columnist, and radio personality Candance Havens. Candance has been an entertainment critic for radio station 96.3 KSCS in Dallas, Texas since 1997 where she has interviewed many renowned Hollywood celebrities.
And for over 20 years she has published 35 books with the vast majority of her works in the romance and mystery genre (some under her name and some under her pen name Lucy Connelly) while also writing a biography of Joss Whedon (the creator of the Buffy the Vampire Slayer). Her works have resulted in her winning the Holt Medallion while receiving nominations for Readers’ awards.
Christian Keller interview-160th anniversary of Gettysburg
This week we are commemorating the 160th anniversary of the Civil War battle of Gettysburg one of the greatest battles in Civil War History. And to help me mark this anniversary is Civil War expert: 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 five books since 2004 on the Civil War.
Rich Shmelter interview
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 as well as Chicago Outfit gun man Jack “Machine Gun” McGurn.
Tonight we will be discussing his latest release “Professional Football Goes Hollywood: Professional Football and the City of Los Angeles’ rise to Prominence.”
David Finoli interview
Tonight’s guest is sports author David Finoli. David has written over 34 books dealing with his lifelong love affair for Pittsburgh sports. His books discuss the Pittsburgh Pirates, the Steelers, the Penguins, college powerhouses such as Pitt and Duquesne University.
Tonight, we will be discussing his newest release which he cowrote with Chris Fletcher, Frank Garland, Tom Rooney and Tim Rooney titled “Pittsburgh Sports in the 1970s: Tragedies, Triumphs, and Championships” a loving tribute to the Golden Age of Pittsburgh sports where the Steel City experienced the ecstasies of winning multiple World Series titles, Super Bowls, and one college football national championship in one decade.
Jonathan Daniel interview
Tonight’s guest is sports author Jonathan Daniel. Jonathan spent 20 years working in sports, both in front and behind the camera. He produced five seasons of “Rays Magazine”, a weekly TV show about the Tampa Bay Rays and he has worked as a sports producer for Fox affiliate stations in Tampa and Chicago. He presently works in communications at Indiana University.
In 2018 he published his first book “Phinally! The Phillies, the Royals and the 1980 season that almost wasn’t”.
And three months ago, Jonathan released his second book “Suds Series: Baseball, Beer Wars, and the Summer of ‘82” a delightful account on the 1982 baseball seasons and its top two teams the St. Louis Cardinals and the Milwaukee Brewers.
Kris Bigalk interview
Tonight’s guest is author and poet Kris Bigalk [Bee-yahk]. Kris resides in Minnesota and is a part-time Executive Director of Trio House Press. She is also the Director of Creative Writing and an English professor at Normandale Community College.
In 2012 Kris released her first book of poems “Repeat the Flesh in Numbers”. In 2019 she released her second of poems “Enough”.
Her poetic works have appeared in a wide variety of literary magazines throughout the country and have earned great praise from reviewers.
David Vilhauer interview
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.
Jeff Kisseloff interview
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”.
Dr. Christian Keller interview-160th anniversary of the Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville
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.
Gene Betit interview
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.