A hand-carved baseball bat sits atop a bookshelf in my office. It was made by the Birmingham Black Barons first baseman Lyman Bostock, Sr. The bat is beautifully finished and lacquered. Bostock’s name is wood burned into the bat with the title “Negro League Legends.” The bat is 36 inches long but it covers miles of distinguished memories.
It is a magic wand.
I purchased the folk art from Bostock in 1994 when the Chicago Sun-Times sent me to Birmingham, AL. to trail Michael Jordan playing minor league baseball for a few days. I was privileged to have many meaningful assignments at the newspaper. This remains near the top of the list. Meeting Bostock was more [...]
Riverview Stadium, Clinton, Iowa–built 1937.
CLINTON, IA..—The Clinton LumberKings hosted the Burlington Bees on Aug. 3 in their final home game of the 2021 Prospect League season. Both Iowa teams landed in the Prospect League, a collegiate wood bat league after Major League Baseball kicked them out of the affiliated minor leagues. Both teams have storied histories.
The Bees were members of the now-defunct Midwest League from 1962 until 2020. Their home field was built in 1947. The LumberKings were also members of the Midwest League from 1956 until 2020. They play in the historic Riverview [...]
Long foul balls from this new Wisconsin stadium could land in Illinois.
BELOIT, WIS.—Minor league baseball is about coming and going.
No one wants to stay put.
But after the ABC Supply Stadium opens on Aug. 3 with the Wisconsin Timber Rattlers taking on the Beloit Snappers in downtown Beloit, the ballpark will be there for years to come. Fans will walk through the centerfield gates along the bed of the timeless Rock River. Located on the Illinois-Wisconsin border, long foul balls hit over the first base facade could land in the Illinois zip code. Hopefully, they won’t get super [...]
Build it and they will have supper (Courtesy of the Beloit Snappers.)
The relish tray is Quint Studer’s favorite item at a Wisconsin supper club. That makes sense. Studer is an investor and managing partner in the rebirth of the Beloit (Wis.) Snappers minor league baseball team. He has an appetite for all the seasoning that life can offer.
Studer grew up in Brookfield, a near western suburb of Chicago. He was raised on the Go-Go White Sox. The neighborhood hangout was Joe’s (Butkovich) Saloon on 47th Street. Joe’s sponsored Sunday bus trips to Comiskey Park and Studer would tag along with his parents. Everyone on the [...]
