By Woodrow Carroll Some of us have the ability to be in the right place at the right time to watch the pages of history, mostly sports history in this case, unfold. Former Northwestern University basketball star Joe Ruklick was so fortunate. Ruklick died last week at the age of...
By Woodrow Carroll The college football season takes on a stronger pulse with each passing, or running, day. How do we know? For starters, take note of the top 25 poll rankings seen in media outlets. The multi-page spreads in newspapers around the Midwest discuss the Big Ten Conference’s return...
By Woodrow Carroll Two collegiate football games were played Thursday, Sept. 3. The games received little attention away from where their home sites. Given the present state of the sports world, they probably merited extra attention. UAB (University of Alabama at Birmingham) beat Central Arkansas, 45-35, and South Alabama edged...
By Woodrow Carroll Kenosha, Wis. has been in the news lately and not for the best of reasons. Civil unrest has pushed Wisconsin’s fourth largest city (2019 estimated population, 100,000), into the national spotlight. Call it trivia if you like, but, here goes. What Kenosha product scored one of the...
By Woodrow Carroll Bob Reade died July 5. The legendary Geneseo High School and Augustana College head football coach was 87 years old and living in Geneseo. Many longtime football fans may remember Reade when he was head coach for three years in both football and basketball at Plano High...
By Woodrow Carroll Fans and sports writer like to proclaim an individual or team as the best. Clearly, best covers a myriad of teams and individuals and usually doesn’t come close to reaching universal agreement. What it does, however, is bring out the argumentative juices in a great many. Our...
By Woodrow Carroll There is a strong likelihood that the collegiate football season will be a lost cause. The Fall schedule is in real danger of being a non-starter across the board. If by chance, what would have been the Fall schedule ends up being played next Spring, we have...
By Woodrow Carroll Major League Baseball (MLB) has a history that stretches back more than a 120 years. With such an extended history, there is a wealth of stories of the individuals who made MLB what it is today. Walter “Duster” Mails, Howard Ehmke, and Gene Bearden were not Hall...
By Woodrow Carroll The 2020 Major League Baseball (MLB) season started last week, although under reduced circumstances brought on by the COVID-19 pandemic. The MLB season annually plays twice as many games as the typical National Hockey League or National Basketball Association with 162 games. The revised baseball schedule has...
By Woodrow Carroll In 1959, the Chicago White Sox ended a 40-year drought by winning the American League pennant. Prior to 1959, the last postseason appearance by the White Sox was 1919. Sadly, the 1919 White Sox are best remembered for the Black Sox scandal that saw eight players on...
By Woodrow Carroll If we are fortunate an abbreviated version of the 2020 Major League Baseball season will get under way Friday, July 24. Let no civil unrest nor a nasty virus stand in the way of the Boys of Summer. Both of Chicago’s Major League Baseball teams will open...
By Woodrow Carroll Sometimes being in the right place at the right time is what is needed. For others, a blend of skill and timing come together and bring championship success. For Harold “Sam” Samorian, the right mix was clearly at the high school level. Let us turn the clock...
By Woodrow Carroll To the historian, the word dynasty usually refers to a succession of royal, or powerful families that held power for an extended period of time. In modern times, dynasty often refers to a sports franchise that reigned supreme for an extended period of time. With Chicago as...
By Woodrow Carroll Major League Baseball’s first World Series in 1903 was between Boston and Pittsburgh in a best-of-nine series won by Boston, five games to three With a lack of interest, there was no meeting between the best teams in the American and National Leagues in 1904. Starting in...
By Woodrow Carroll In the 1990s when the Chicago Bulls captured six National Basketball Association (NBA) championships in a span of eight seasons, there was no clear-cut rival to the Bulls. The Bulls, in championship series, 1991-1993, defeated the Los Angeles Lakers, Portland TrailBlazers, and Phoenix Suns in the first...
By Woodrow Carroll Former NBA (National Basketball Association star Wes Unseld passed away last week at the age of 74 after battling medical issues in recent years. He was not at the level of Michael Jordan and some other NBA greats, however, he still deserves to be appreciated. Unseld stayed...
By Woodrow Carroll One of the great mysteries in the history of Major League Baseball might be the rise and fall of the Milwaukee Braves, and, not just about the product on the field. The fans ceased to support the Club. The 1952 Boston Braves pulled up stakes and left...
By Woodrow Carroll It is hard to argue over the interest generated by the recent Michael Jordan-centered Netflix series “The Last Dance” for television in 10 one-hour segments on ESPN/ESPN2. Many viewers were in quarantine confinement and enjoyed the epic. Stories and articles centering around Jordan and his accomplishments then...
By Woodrow Carroll Former Major League Baseball player Eddie Robinson has a distinction that he would like to hold on to for more years. Robinson, born December 15, 1920 in Paris, Texas is MLB’s oldest living former player. Robinson has many distinctions that have come with advanced age. Robinson wore...
By Woodrow Carroll College football has produced its share of memorable bowl games. That season-ending gridiron battle usually pits two quality opponents. The 1948 Cotton Bowl was one such game, which matched Southern Methodist University (SMU) against Penn State. SMU was 9-0-1 with a late-season tie against Texas Christian University...
