“Good Seats Still Available” is a curious little podcast devoted to the exploration of what used-to-be in professional sports. Each week, host Tim Hanlon interviews former players, owners, broadcasters, beat reporters, and surprisingly famous "super fans" of teams and leagues that have come and gone - in an attempt to unearth some of the most wild and woolly moments in (often forgotten) sports history.
Podcast hosts
No host has claimed this podcast yet, if you are the host you can verify ownership by claiming this podcast
© 2023 Good Seats Still Available
Good Seats Still Available
Read more
Reviews
hash55555
5 out of 5 stars
Great
So cool love the concept and the host is excellent
Maulers2019
5 out of 5 stars
Great!
An absolutely fantastic deep-dive into what used to be (and in some cases, barely was) in professional sports. Challengers, minor leagues, and forgotten dimensions of the big leagues are all covered here. You’ll be hooked.
Kareem Ameer
3 out of 5 stars
Show could be GREAT if it wasn’t for the host
The host really ruins this amazing show. He talks WAY too much. You won’t be able to listen to two episodes in a row. He takes 5 minutes to ask a question that can literally take 20 seconds to ask. Unfortunately I have to be this direct but the host is just terrible and ruins the experience and makes it hard to stay focused.
The Flying Fox
4 out of 5 stars
Great concept, but…
Jesus, Tim needs to spend time editing his questions. He’s a master at taking 2 minutes to ask a question that should take 15 seconds at the most. Aside from that, it’s an enjoyable podcast. More hockey, please.
Cruyffbest
5 out of 5 stars
Awesome Podcast
Stumbled upon this podcast and am now hooked. Love the defunct teams and leagues so this is perfect. Tim asks the questions I would love to have answers for - really informative Keep up the great episodes
uncleb67
5 out of 5 stars
The Original…The Best!
Tim’s podcast, covering forgotten leagues, teams and stars, is in my opinion without peer in Podcast Land, one of the first and certainly the best. His interview with Werner Roth of the New York Cosmos was one of Tim’s best ever! Tim’s passion and thorough research comes through in every interview. Thanks, Tim, for bringing so many of these stories to light!
CFLAmerica fan
5 out of 5 stars
The Gold Standard of Sports History Podcasts
Tim, your show is one of my favorites and is a must listen for all sports history addicts like myself!! :-)
Dm97239
4 out of 5 stars
I like it but..
Entertaining subject matter with a very engaged and enthusiastic host. But Tim has to be literally the most long-winded interviewer I’ve ever heard. His questions often drag on for well over a minute and in one recent instance (that I actually timed, it was so interminable) over two minutes. People can run a half mile+ in that time. The show could benefit greatly from some discipline and/or editing.
Quayle333
5 out of 5 stars
Randall
Only a few episodes in and I’m hooked. I wish I would’ve discovered it when it first came out. Great stuff!
El-Vez
5 out of 5 stars
Thank you!
Thank you for this! Thanks for creating a place where sports embedded DNA people like myself can appreciate the history and glory of the past.
DiscoDog88
5 out of 5 stars
A Sports Nerd Dream Podcast
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE this podcast! Such a fun podcast to binge. Great guests, great content and just fun to listen to! If there was only one gripe it’s the quality of audio on a few guests. But, totally worth the subscription!
Cool Pasta Man22
5 out of 5 stars
Great
Great interviews with great stories! Keep Kicking!
bopefas
5 out of 5 stars
Wonderful
Such a well made Pod. Great to reminisce and learn new things
Yes &
5 out of 5 stars
Good Seats Still Available
I can’t think of a better way to unwind from a long day at work then to sit back relax and listen to one of the many fine podcast available on Tim Hanlon’s “Good Seats Still Available”.
Moz STL
5 out of 5 stars
Great interviews
Tim, I came across your podcast with Dave Lange and found it very well done. Since have been able to listen to Bob Carpenter, Gordon Jago and Al Miller interviews. Very well done and super informative. Great job and keep up the good work.
Baseballradioguy
2 out of 5 stars
Good podcast; could be better
I absolutely LOVE the idea of this podcast. The guests are great, and the host lets them talk. The execution could be better. I’m listening to an episode now where the host asked a question that went on for 1 minute and 12 seconds, and he must have said “uh” about 30-40 times. I’m not trying to pick on him. I used to say “uh” a lot more before it was pointed out to me. But it can be grating to listen to.
dansim748
5 out of 5 stars
Dan Simpson
Your Bob Carpenter pod cast was a 10 on a 5 scale. Live in St. Louis and remember Bob’s baseball and soccer work. It’s a shame we lost him to DC for baseball. Tim, keep up the great work. You have the best podcast of all.
PF19841988
5 out of 5 stars
Even if you know a lot, you'll learn something new!
I'm well-versed in defunct leagues, yet I STILL learn new things listening to GSSA. I also enjoy how Tim finds guests with detailed knowedge of the subject at hand, and that the big 5 sports are fairly evenly covered.
NVEfor3
5 out of 5 stars
Great podcast
Love this podcast. This is a must listen for sports history fans. There are so many stories that have been told over and over again. But this podcast is for those who want to hear “new” stories. Great stuff!!!
Reedrock
5 out of 5 stars
A Sports Podcast Where You Learn Something
In today’s “Hot Take” culture of sports talk, this is the most refreshing change of pace to a fan’s podcast diet. These are some of the best stories in Sports and ones that would never have heard otherwise. Tim’s research and his interactions with passionate guests are enjoyable and intelligent conversations that make you a better dinner party guest. Yes. Smart people like sports too.
Philadelphia Atom
5 out of 5 stars
Great trips down memory lane
This is a wonderful podcast, focusing on defunct teams and leagues and the players and other figures who made them possible. If you have any interest in pro sports history, you will make this podcast destination listening
GeorgieBest7
5 out of 5 stars
NASL and TVS
Need more interviews about the NASL and its players and networks. Great podcast
Greg from FAFIF
5 out of 5 stars
The Sports Fan's Subconscious
I love the concept of this podcast and am delighted by how it executes its mission. It's the stuff you think you've forgotten, only to realize it's rattling around in the back of your subconscious. The stories and the stories behind the stories come roaring back to life even after you figured the clock was running down and you were out of timeouts.
Rmandy
5 out of 5 stars
Great way to spend time on sports history!
Tim Hanlon mixes witty humor with a deep knowledge of sports to pull great stories out of his guests. Great way to pass time and increase your sports knowledge.
smh718
5 out of 5 stars
Great for the nostalgic sports fan
I’ve really enjoyed hearing these stories about sports teams that once were. The tales of what went right, what went wrong, and the personalities involved are fascinating - and a podcast is the perfect way to tell these stories before they’re lost!
avc65
5 out of 5 stars
Must listen for sports historians
Great listen if you enjoy the history of professional sports. I love the unique insights into the teams and leagues that no longer exist but had a lasting impact on the sports landscape.
Podcast information
- Amount of episodes
- 327
- Subscribers
- 0
- Verified
- No
- Website
- Explicit content
- No
- Episode type
- episodic
- Podcast link
- https://podvine.com/link/..
- Last upload date
- June 5, 2023
- Last fetch date
- June 7, 2023 3:45 PM
- Upload range
- WEEKLY
- Author
- Tim Hanlon
- Copyright
- 2023 Good Seats Still Available
susbcribers
- 307: "Baseball's Wildest Season" - With Bill RyczekSports historian Bill Ryczek ( Blackguards and Red Stockings: A History of Baseball's National Association ; Crash of the Titans: The Early Years of the New York Jets and the AFL ) returns after a five-year absence to help us unpack the intriguing story of 1884 - arguably the wildest season in major league baseball history. In his latest tome, " Baseball's Wildest Season: Three Leagues, Thirty-Four Teams and the Chaos of 1884," Ryczek details a fragile professional game pioneered by a still-fledgling National League that found itself not only challenged by a two-year-old lower-priced, Sunday-playing, beer-allowing American Association - but also an upstart third circuit called the Union Association whose president just happened to also own its most dominant franchise. 1884 saw the first incarnation of an inter-league "World Series" (the NL Providence Grays defeating the AA New York Metropolitans); the majors' first-ever African-American player (the AA Toledo Blue Stockings' Moses Fleetwood Walker); a (still-standing) record start to a season (the UA's 20-0 St. Louis Maroons) - and more drunken brawls, mid-season team relocations, player league-jumping, and underhand pitching than any time in big league history. BUY EARLY & OFTEN: Baseball's Wildest Season: Three Leagues, Thirty-Four Teams and the Chaos of 1884 - by William J. Ryczek Blackguards and Red Stockings: A History of Baseball's National Association - by William J. Ryczek Crash of the Titans: The Early Years of the New York Jets and the AFL - by William J. Ryczek FIND & FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable0 comments0
- 306: Miami Fusion Roundtable - With Joe Shaw, Jim Rooney & John TraskWith the 28th season of Major League Soccer well under way - featuring the debut of the league's 29th franchise (St. Louis CITY SC) and the expansion announcement of its soon-to-be 30th (San Diego) - it's hard to believe that the entirety of MLS was on the verge of collapse after just its sixth campaign in 2001. Instead of pulling the plug entirely in 2002, two clubs - the charter 1996 Tampa Bay Mutiny and expansion 1998 Miami Fusion - were sacrificed, leaving Florida bereft of top-level pro soccer for the first time in a generation, and a league fighting to stay afloat for at least another season. We'll tackle the Mutiny story on a future show - but this week, it's all about the surprisingly important four-season life of the Fusion - a team that never played in its namesake hometown, but left an indelible mark in South Florida soccer history. Joe Shaw, host of the new podcast series "25 for 25: The Story of the Miami Fusion From Those Who Lived It ", joins along with former club captain/fan favorite Jim Rooney and team assistant coach John Trask for a taste of what it was like in those exciting, but still-uncertain early years MLS's existence. If you remember the original NASL's Ft. Lauderdale Strikers, or fancy yourself a fan of today's Inter Miami CF - you will LOVE this conversation!0 comments0
- Good Seats Still Available May 22 · 1h 3m 305: "Goodbye Oakland" - With Andy DolichIf anyone's qualified to weigh in with authority on the current Oakland A's relocation imbroglio, it is our guest this week - long-time professional sports marketing executive and Bay Area-based industry consultant Andy Dolich (" Goodbye, Oakland: Winning, Wanderlust, and A Sports Town's Fight for Survival "). Dolich spent 15+ years in the Athletics' front office from 1980-94 during the Walter Haas era - inheriting the remnants of Charlie Finley's parsimonious ownership, helping usher in "Billy Ball", nurturing a promising farm system, and ultimately, reaping the rewards with a 1989 World Series championship over the market's "other team" - the San Francisco Giants. But before we get there, we take an important introductory detour into Dolich's other exploits, replete with notable stops of keen interest to a certain little podcast - like the NASL's Washington Diplomats, the original National Lacrosse League's Maryland Arrows, and the NBA's Vancouver Grizzlies.0 comments0
- 304: Portland's CISL Pride & PSA/WISL Pythons - With Rob HawksfordWe answer some of our voluminous viewer mail this week, as listener Rob Hawksford joins for an intriguing look back at Portland, Oregon's pro soccer scene in the 1990s - when summertime indoor clubs known as the Pride (Continental Indoor Soccer League, 1993-97) and the Pythons (Premier Soccer Alliance, 1998 & World Indoor Soccer League, 1999) kept the sport alive after the collapse of the iconic outdoor NASL/WSA Timbers in 1990. Starting out as a game-day volunteer for the Pride during the CISL's inaugural 1993 season, Hawksford quickly found himself on the payroll in subsequent summers doing a variety of front office jobs - including General Manager, where he helped the club change venues (from Portland's aging Memorial Stadium to the state-of-the-art Rose Garden in 1996), leagues (bolting with three other teams to form the PSA in 1998), and nicknames (Pythons). In between, of course, a myriad of memories from one of the most interesting professional circuits in all of North American soccer - and a curious, but oft-forgotten footnote in Portland's long and storied "Soccer City USA" history.0 comments0
- 303: The Huntsville Stars - With Dale TafoyaIt's a reassignment back to the minors again this week, as baseball writer Dale Tafoya (" One Season in Rocket City ") joins the 'cast for a look back at the unforgettable inaugural 1985 season of the Southern League's Huntsville Stars - the Oakland As' talent-laden, then-Double-A affiliate that took both the city and the sport by storm. Named after Huntsville’s celebrated space industry, the Stars became one of the biggest attractions in all of Minor League Baseball that season - boasting a dugout full of top Oakland prospects who would ultimately fuel the Athletics' big-league success later in the decade, including a 1989 World Series title sweep of the San Francisco Giants. Led by hot prospects/future MLB notables like Tim Belcher, Stan Javier, Luis Polonia, Terry Steinbach, and José Canseco, the Stars also featured a solid cast of gutsy minor-league role players who, despite never getting called up to "The Show," proved crucial to the team's championship that magical first season. Though merely an opening chapter in Huntsville's baseball history now (the Stars moved to Biloxi, MS in 2015 to become the Shuckers; the Southern League's Rocket City Trash Pandas brought minor league ball back to the nearby suburb of Madison in 2020), the team and their story is one worth remembering.0 comments0
- 302: The NHL's Colorado Rockies - With Greg EnrightWith the New Jersey Devils still in contention in this year's NHL Stanley Cup Playoffs, we turn the dials on our George Michael Sports Machine back to the late 1970s/early 1980s with hockey historian Greg Enright (" Rocky Hockey: The Short but Wild Ride of the NHL's Colorado Rockies ") - for a deep dive into the Newark, NJ-based franchise's tenuous six-year incarnation as Denver's Colorado Rockies (1976-82). It's a story that traverses four separate owners, six different coaches, a constant threat of relocation, a terrible lease arrangement in a state-of the art (McNichols) arena, one meager (1978) playoff appearance (despite finishing 21 games under .500), an iconic logo - and a bombastic (1979-80) season full of sour "Grapes." If you consider yourself a fan of the Devils or even today's Colorado Avalanche, you'll love Enright's book - and this conversation!0 comments0
- 301: "Last Comiskey" - With Matt FleschLong-time Chicago White Sox fan and unwitting basement documentarian Matt Flesch joins the pod this week to discuss the story behind his extraordinary new three-part YouTube documentary " Last Comiskey " - a video love letter to the South Siders' final 1990 season in the venerable park once known as the "Baseball Palace of the World." From Dan Day Jr.'s review on " The Hitless Wonder Movie Blog ": "The 1990 Chicago White Sox were not a championship team - they didn't even make the playoffs. But the 1990 season was one of the most notable and dramatic in White Sox history. It was the last season the team would play in venerable Comiskey Park, and it was a season that saw the Sox go beyond low expectations and challenge the defending champion Oakland Athletics for supremacy in the Western Division of the American League. "The scrappy Sox of 1990 didn't have overwhelming stats, or a roster filled with All-Stars--their most famous player was 42 year old veteran catcher Carlton Fisk. The team only hit a total of 106 home runs (their leading power hitter was Fisk, with only 18). But they played a brand of baseball that focused on "Doin' the Little Things" (the team's slogan for that year). The team also had budding young stars Robin Ventura, Jack McDowell, Ozzie Guillen, Sammy Sosa, and Frank Thomas, who made his Major League debut that season. "The exciting division chase between the White Sox and the Athletics coincided with the season-long celebration of the original Comiskey Park, a legendary ball yard that sadly didn't get its proper respect until it was getting ready to be torn down. "' Last Comiskey ' covers all of this in spectacular and entertaining fashion, by featuring talks with Sox players, team & stadium employees, fans, and local journalists who covered what went on in the 1990 season. The series gives a 'regular guy' view of what happened with the White Sox in 1990, along with recreating the sights, sounds, and ambiance of Old Comiskey Park."0 comments0
- 300: The "NASCAR 75 Years" RoundtableWe celebrate our 300th trip around the track with a special roundtable conversation on the colorful history of NASCAR racing - with award-winning stock car reporter-historians Kelly Crandall, Jimmy Creed, Mike Hembree, and Al Pearce (" NASCAR 75 Years"). In addition to looking back at some of the most iconic moments in the circuit's first 75 years, we also get an inside look at how their new historical opus came together - as well as honest assessments of where NASCAR stands in the American pro sports landscape in 2023, and some hot takes on what's in store for the sport in the years ahead. Whether you are a NASCAR diehard or a casual fan, you will enjoy this (beautifully designed and extensively illustrated) book - as well as this conversation!0 comments0
- Good Seats Still Available Apr 10 · 1h 27m 299: Charles Stoneham's New York (Baseball) Giants - With Rob GarrattWe point the Good Seats Wayback Machine back a hundred years to the Roaring '20s - for a look at baseball's then-New York Giants and their larger-than-life owner Charles Stoneham - with baseball biographer Rob Garratt ( " Jazz Age Giant: Charles A. Stoneham and New York City Baseball in the Roaring Twenties "). From the dust jacket of Jazz Age Giant : "Short, stout, and jowly, Charlie Stoneham embodied a Jazz Age stereotype—a business and sporting man by day, he led another life by night. He threw lavish parties, lived extravagantly, and was often chronicled in the city tabloids. "Little is known about how he came to be one of the most successful investment brokers in what were known as 'bucket shops,' a highly speculative and controversial branch of Wall Street. One thing about Stoneham is clear, however: at the close of World War I he was a wealthy man, with a net worth of more than $10 million. "This wealth made it possible for him to purchase majority control of the Giants, one of the most successful franchises in Major League Baseball. Stoneham, an owner of racehorses, a friend to local politicians and Tammany Hall, a socialite and a man well-placed in New York business and political circles, was also implicated in a number of business scandals and criminal activities. "The Giants’ principal owner had to contend with federal indictments, civil lawsuits, hostile fellow magnates, and troubles with booze, gambling, and women. But during his sixteen-year tenure as club president, the Giants achieved more success than the club had seen under any prior regime."0 comments0
- 298: The Asheville Tourists - With Ryan McGeeESPN multi-platform writer/reporter/host Ryan McGee (" Welcome to the Circus of Baseball: A Story of the Perfect Summer at the Perfect Ballpark at the Perfect Time ") joins us this week to reminisce about his early-career experiences as a $100-a-week intern with 1994's Class A South Atlantic League Asheville Tourists - a proud minor league baseball team in the heart of North Carolina’s Blue Ridge Mountains. Asheville's history with minor league ball dates all the way back to 1897 (think Moonshiners, Redbirds and Mountaineers), and its venerable 99-year-old (and twice-renovated) McCormick Field has seen multiple teams across numerous leagues sport the Tourists nickname - with legendary future Hall of Famers like Ty Cobb, Lou Gehrig, Babe Ruth, and Jackie Robinson in the club's rosters at one time or another. In 1994, however, the "Sally League" Tourists were a consolation prize of a job for the newly minted University of Tennessee communications grad McGee, who, after bombing an interview for an entry-level gig with his long-coveted ESPN, instead settled in for a life-altering and lesson-teaching summer of literal "inside baseball" - with often hilarious results. Join us for a look back at a quintessentially classic old-school minor league baseball season - and hear how McGee ultimately parlayed the experience into a second chance at the "Worldwide Leader in Sports" - with very different results.0 comments0
- 297: The Cincinnati Mohawks - With Eric WeltnerIt's more International Hockey League (1945-2001) memories this week as Episode 181 guest Eric Weltner returns for a look back at one of minor league hockey's most dominant, yet curiously ephemeral franchises - the Cincinnati Mohawks (1952-58). Not to be confused with the middling AHL team of the same name that pre-dated them by three years, the IHL Mohawks were the class of their circuit during the 1950s - winning an incredible six consecutive regular season crowns and five Turner Cup championships during their brief six-year existence. No wonder, since the Mohawks constituted the primary farm team of the NHL's then-supreme and talent-overloaded Montreal Canadiens, who themselves were busy monopolizing multi-consecutive Stanley Cups during the decade. Weltner's new film " The Mohawk Monopoly " looks at the curious story of the Mohawks' incredible, yet short-lived run, their revered home ice at the Cincinnati Gardens, and the team's place in a long line of professional hockey franchises that called (and still call) "The 'Nati" home.0 comments0
- 296: "Bill & Sue's Excellent Adventure" - With Bill CraibIn 1991, twenty-something baseball fanatics Bill Craib and Sue Easler did something no one else had ever done before - they went to a game at all 178 major and minor league baseball parks in one season. Craib and Easler drove nearly 54,000 miles and shot home-movie-style video (remember VHS?) at each stop - selected footage of which was featured on a segment that became known as "Bill & Sue's Excellent Adventure" on ESPN's weekly " Major League Baseball Magazine" program. The couple became celebrities of the moment long before social media - spotlighted in major outlets of the day like ABC's " Good Morning America", Sports Illustrated, CNN, The New York Times - and prominently featured in local media wherever they stopped. 30+ years later, Craib (" In League With America: The Story of an Excellent Adventure ") has finally written the book he intended to write then; a story about more than just baseball parks, but a tale about what it's like to chase a dream and have it come true - and, more deeply, a tableau of 1990s America as seen through the lens of its official pastime.0 comments0
- 295: "From the 55 Yard Line" - With Greg James (Vacation Special)It's an early Spring Break hiatus for us this week - but not before sitting down for a very fun interview with CFL America blog/podcast publisher and friend-of-the-show Greg James - as a guest on his popular Sports History Network podcast " From the 55 Yard Line ." Tim and Greg go deep into the origin story of Good Seats Still Available, as well as a veritable audio potpourri of hot takes on what we've learned from doing the show over the course of nearly 300 episodes - and where we think pro football (and sports generally) might be headed in the years ahead. Please enjoy this conversation we recorded a few weeks back - and be sure to check out all the other great podcasts across the Sports History Network!0 comments0
- 294: California Dreaming - With Dan CiscoWe head West this week to pay a visit to the "California Sports Guy" Dan Cisco (" California Sports Astounding: Fun, Unknown, and Surprising Facts from Statehood to Sunday "), and stir up a rich bouillabaisse of little-known factoids about defunct, previously domiciled and otherwise forgotten teams and leagues who once called the Golden State home. Discover the reason why Oakland was chosen as an inaugural franchise in 1960's American Football League debut - and why its original name was hastily changed to "Raiders" just weeks before its first game. Follow the move of the Pacific Coast League's original Hollywood Stars to San Diego in 1936 to become the Padres - and how a talented young player named Ted Williams unceremoniously ended his pitching career there before making it to the bigs. And learn which legendary NBA basketball helped launch the International Volleyball Association's Irvine-based charter Southern California Bangers franchise in 1975 - and ultimately become the league's commissioner two years later. PLUS, we make a bevy of unsolicited suggestions for Cisco's inevitable revised edition (and you can too)!0 comments0
- Good Seats Still Available Feb 27 · 1h 30m 293: Shooting the WHA - With Steve BabineauLegendary Boston sports photographer Steve Babineau (" Behind the Lens: The World Hockey Association 50 Years Later ") joins the pod this week to discuss his new, lovingly-curated collection of largely never-before-seen images of the colorful 1970s challenger hockey league that helped kick-start a life-long love for photography - and a 50+ year career behind the lens shooting some of the game's biggest stars. A teenaged "Babs" was there at the old Boston Gardens on October 12, 1972, when the inaugural puck was dropped in the history of the New England Whalers (vs. the Philadelphia Blazers, on the second-ever day of WHA action) - unwittingly capturing some of the very first images of the revolutionary circuit that would ultimately give minor-league journeymen, NHL elder statesmen and even fledgling junior hockey phenoms (like a 17-year-old wunderkind named Wayne Gretzky) a chance to not only play, but creatively thrive. And that guy Gretzky? Well, we'll let Babs tell you that story! + + + RUN (DON'T WALK) TO GET Steve's book (co-authored with Brian Codagnone) " Behind the Lens: The World Hockey Association 50 Years Later " from ECW Press NOW!0 comments0
- 292.5: The Original XFL – With Brett Forrest (Archive Re-Release)[After an entertaining "inaugural" weekend of the XFL's third incarnation, we dig into the archives for this 2019 conversation with author Brett Forrest - and a rewind to the league's original season back in 2001!] As another NFL season closes, we shift gears toward the forthcoming Alliance of American Football – the first of two new leagues attempting to again extend the pro game into viable Spring season play – where the USFL, World League of American Football and NFL Europe have famously tried before. The other – both in 2001 and in a reincarnated form coming next year – was and is the XFL, which we finally sink our teeth into for the first time this week with Wall Street Journal national security reporter Brett Forrest ( Long Bomb: How the XFL Became TV's Biggest Fiasco ). We drop this episode on the 18th anniversary of when the audacious joint venture between the Vince McMahon-helmed World Wresting Federation (now WWE) and the Dick Ebersol-captained NBC Sports opened play at a raucous Sam Boyd Stadium in Las Vegas to see the hometown Outlaws battle the already-villainous New York/New Jersey Hitmen in front of a national primetime television audience. Nearly two decades later, most who witnessed it (not to mention the tumultuous season that followed) still don’t know what to make of it. Forrest digs into: the process of tackling his then-first-ever book assignment with Long Bomb (including the pre-season magazine article from which it came); some of the curious characters (the seemingly-legitimizing presence of Dick Butkus, the unwitting marketing genius of Rod “He Hate Me” Smart, the hungry group of eager players simply wanting one last shot at playing pro football) he encountered along the way; and the less-than-enthusiastic response of McMahon to the idea of a book about the league in the first place. Be sure to check out the great XFL shirts and replica jerseys from our friends at 503 Sports!0 comments0
- 292: Minor League Baseball's New York-Penn League - With Michael SokolowOn the eve of the most significant changes to Major League Baseball's rules and scheduling, we continue our lament of 2021's radical streamlining of the minor leagues and obsess about the demise of its oldest circuit - the New York-Penn League - with City University of New York history/philosophy/political science professor Michael Sokolow (" Bush League: The Brooklyn Cyclones, Staten Island Yankees, and the New York-Penn League "). A staple of upstate New York and interior Pennsylvania summers dating back to 1939, the Class D-turned-Short-Season-Class-A NYPL represented 82 years of small-market America's pastime in the cradle of its historical birthplace - until MLB's grand realignment plan led to its disbandment in 2020. We talk about the league's history, what led to its ultimate demise, as well as explore two of the NYPL's most curious teams - the New York Mets-owned Brooklyn Cyclones (originally the St. Catherines [ON] Blue Jays, and now part of MiLB's High-A South Atlantic League), and the former Oneonta, NY-relocated Staten Island Yankees (now reincarnated as the independent Atlantic League FerryHawks) - in an attempt to bring the "big time" minor league game to New York City's outer boroughs. + + + PRE-ORDER " Bush League: The Brooklyn Cyclones, Staten Island Yankees, and the New York-Penn League " from SUNY Press/Excelsior NOW!0 comments0
- 291: The Savannah Bananas - With Jesse ColeWe channel our inner yellow tuxedo this week for a revealing conversation with the inimitable minor league baseball impresario Jesse Cole - and a look into the phenomenon behind his ground-breaking Savannah Bananas franchise - as it migrates from its collegiate summer Coastal Plain League roots into an audacious (and already sold-out) cross-country barnstorming tour featuring its own wildly entertaining brand of " Banana Ball." + + + PRE-ORDER Jesse Cole's new book (with Don Yaeger): " Banana Ball: The Unbelievably True Story of the Savannah Bananas " BUY Jesse's inspirational best-sellers: " Fans First: Change The Game, Break the Rules & Create an Unforgettable Experience " AND " Find Your Yellow Tux: How to Be Successful by Standing Out " NOW!0 comments0
- 290.5: “Krazy” George Henderson [ARCHIVE RE-RELEASE][It's a quick trip to the Bay Area this week for an archive fan favorite from 2017, featuring a true American sports original!] A merica’s most famous professional sports cheerleader “Krazy” George Henderson ( Still Krazy After All These Cheers ) joins Tim Hanlon to discuss some of the wackiest adventures from his 40+ years of live performances – and how a self-described shy, mediocre schoolteacher ultimately followed his passion to a unique and storied career converting passive game-day attendees into cheering fanatics. Henderson (along with his signature drum!) recounts how a school field trip to an Oakland Seals NHL hockey game led to his first sustaining professional gig; describes how he and the NASL’s San Jose Earthquakes changed the face of professional soccer in the mid-1970s; recalls how his success with the NFL’s Houston Oilers almost led to banishment from performing at pro football games; and breaks down the chronology of the formative elements of his most famous in-stadium creation – The Wave.0 comments0
- 290: The Many Leagues of Women's Football - With Russ CrawfordWhile American tackle football has long been considered an exclusively male sport, this week's guest Russ Crawford (" Women's American Football: Breaking Barriers On and Off the Gridiron ") takes us on an eye-opening journey over the decades that highlights the persistent and still-growing interest of women playing the game - including professionally. Anecdotal evidence abounds of amateur football competitions, collegiate intramural leagues, and even an 1926 NFL halftime exhibition featuring Frankford's "Lady Yellow Jackets" - proving women's intrigue with the sport. The women’s game became more organized in 1965 with the launch of sports entrepreneur Sid Friedman's aspirational Women's Professional Football League , and later more forcefully in 1974 with the founding of the pioneering National Women’s Football League - featuring notable teams such as the Houston Herricanes, Dallas Bluebonnets, Toledo Troopers, Oklahoma City Dolls, and Detroit Demons. Today, two robust national semi-pro outdoor leagues (the 60+ team Women’s Football Alliance ; the 18-club Women’s National Football Conference) , plus an increasingly evolved/credible indoor "X League" (fka as both the infamous "Lingerie," and later "Legends" Football League) - keep the women's gridiron game alive, with undoubtedly more pioneering to come. + + + PURCHASE Russ Crawford's book " Women's American Football: Breaking Barriers On and Off the Gridiron " in either hardcover or Kindle electronic versions NOW!0 comments0
- Good Seats Still Available Jan 16 · 1h 47m 289: The New Jersey Nets - With Łukasz MuniowskiWe point our GPS towards the Garden State this week, for a return to the days of pro hoops in places like the "RAC" (Piscataway's Rutgers Athletic Center), the "Rock" (Newark's Prudential Center), and the strangely iconic Meadowlands - as we look back at 35 seasons of the oft-forgotten New Jersey incarnation of NBA basketball's peripatetic Nets franchise with sports historian Łukasz Muniowski (" Turnpike Team: A History of the New Jersey Nets, 1977-2012 "). Though replete with memorable moments both before (as the inaugural American Basketball Association's New Jersey Americans, and later the twice-champion, Julius Erving-led, Nassau Coliseum-based New York Nets) - and after (as the thoroughly rebranded, Barclays Center-domiciled Brooklyn Nets, since 2012) - it is the club's time as the New Jersey Nets that stands out to fans and scribes alike as the most colorful, bewilderingly forlorn and oddly endearing period of its existence. Join us for memories of players like Bernard "Sky B.B." King, "Super John" Williamson, Buck Williams, Sam Bowie, Derrick Coleman, Stephon Marbury, Jason Kidd, and Vince Carter - and a team that twice came this close to an NBA Finals championship (2001-02; 2002-03), unwittingly solidifying a decades-old inferiority complex that arguably still permeates the franchise today. + + + PURCHASE Łukasz Muniowski's book" Turnpike Team: A History of the New Jersey Nets, 1977-2012 " in either paperback or Kindle electronic versions NOW!0 comments0
- 288: Minor League & Independent League Baseball - With Miles WolffIn 2014, Major League Baseball's Official Historian John Thorn and veteran baseball journalist Alan Schwarz published an authoritative and thought-provoking list of " Baseball’s 100 Most Important People " - including more than its fair share of surprisingly influential figures. Nestled between National Baseball Hall of Famers "Hammerin'" Hank Greenberg and "King" Kelly at number 79 on that list is this week's guest: "More than anyone, Miles Wolff is responsible for the modern renaissance of minor-league baseball, as it emerged from the lean years of the 1960s and ’70s to the boom of the 1980s and ’90s. Wolff bought the Carolina League’s Durham Bulls for just $2,666 in 1979, nurtured it into a local success, and owned the franchise as it became a national symbol of the minor leagues after the release of the film " Bull Durham " in 1988. He sold the team in 1990 for $4 million just as the minors began to flourish again. "A baseball purist at heart, Wolff grew frustrated at the money- and marketing-driven approach exhibited by the regular minor leagues, whose clubs were beholden to the major-league organizations to which they fed players. (Communities rarely got to know the best players, because they were promoted to the next level within three or sixth months.) So in 1993, Wolff re-established the Northern League, a circuit in the upper Midwest made up of teams that operated outside the sphere of Organized Baseball. The Northern League’s six clubs signed players — often minor-league veterans on their way down or overlooked collegians — to stock their rosters. The Northern League was an instant success and spawned imitators across the country. "Wolff’s first baseball job came in 1971 as the general manager of the Double-A Savannah (Georgia) Braves, and he subsequently was a GM in Anderson, South Carolina., and Jacksonville, Florida. "Wolff also owned Baseball America, the Durham-based magazine of the minor leagues, for most of its lifetime. He bought the magazine from founder Allan Simpson in 1982 and served as president and publisher until selling the company in 2000." + + + PRE-ORDER Miles Wolff's soon-to-be-released memoir " There's a Bulldozer on Home Plate: A 50-Year Journey in Minor League Baseball " AND/OR the upcoming final (4th) edition of the indispensable " Encyclopedia of Minor League Baseball: A Complete Record of Teams, Leagues and Seasons, 1876-2019 " NOW!0 comments0
- 287.5: CISL Soccer's Indianapolis/Indiana Twisters - With Kenn Tomasch [Archive Re-Release][ We kick off our holiday break this week with a deep descent into the "Good Seats" archives - and an eyebrow-raising revisit of the enigmatic Continental Indoor Soccer League of the 1990s with former play-by-play broadcaster Kenn Tomasch! ] Former sportscaster and fellow defunct pro sports enthusiast Kenn Tomasch joins host Tim Hanlon to dig deep into the two-season saga of the Indiana (née Indianapolis) Twisters of the Continental Indoor Soccer League – the mid-90s summertime indoor soccer circuit hatched by a collective of team and arena owners from the NBA and NHL to keep their facilities humming during their respective “off”-seasons. CISL franchises controlled by entities outside the big-league fraternity were also part of the mix (accounting for half of the eventual 18 teams during the league’s five-year run from 1993-97) – including the tumultuously tenuous Twisters, who cycled through two separate ownership groups as well as a temporary spell of league receivership during its brief 21-month existence. As the radio “Voice of the Twisters,” Tomasch was there for all of it, including: A rousing home debut on June 21, 1996 at Indianapolis’ Market Square Arena that saw the club drop an entertaining 7-6 overtime decision to the Washington Warthogs; Dwindling announced home-game crowds of barely 2,000+ just months later; Co-owner Rodney Goins ceding his role as president mid-season to become an active player on the Twisters roster – debuting as US pro sports’ first-ever player-owner on August 23, 1996; Becoming “wards of the league” two weeks later when Goins and his co-owner brother suspend operations – and team radio broadcasts; New ownership, team name, logo, colors – and a surprising second-place regular season finish in 1997; Losing home-field playoff advantage due to a scheduling conflict, and ultimately an early exit from a potential title run; AND The abrupt folding of the venerable San Diego Sockers just days before the 1997 season that foreshadowed the CISL’s demise later in the year.0 comments0
- 287: Texas Stadium - With Burk Murchison & Michael Granberry In 1966, when a still- young Dallas Cowboys franchise ended six years of NFL futility with its first winning season and a championship game appearance, the team’s founder /owner Clint Murchison, Jr. was already dreaming bigger. In order to vault his club into the league's elite, Murchison knew he needed a better home situation than as a renter at the aging Cotton Bowl in Dallas’ Fair Park - one where he could eventually generate his own direct revenue streams, while simultaneously elevating fans' game-day experience. Clint, Jr.s' s son Burk Murchison and Dallas Morning News writer Michael Granberry (" Hole in the Roof: The Dallas Cowboys, Clint Murchison Jr., and the Stadium That Changed American Sports Forever ") join the podcast this week to help us delve into the history and mythology of Texas Stadium - the Cowboys' groundbreaking suburban Irving, TX home for 38 seasons (1971-2008) that not only fulfilled their owner's ahead-of-its-time vision, but also became the de facto template for modern-day sports facility expectations - for better or worse.0 comments0
- 286: Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium - With the "Ground Crew"We're back from our extended Thanksgiving break with an inside look at the venerable sports venue that single-handedly elevated 1960s-era Atlanta to "major league" status, and cemented its place among the most important American cities. Atlanta-Fulton County Stadium - known simply as "Atlanta Stadium" when it opened in 1965 - was the long-time home of Major League Baseball's Braves (1966-96), the National Football League's Falcons (1966-91), two incarnations of the North American Soccer League's Atlanta Chiefs, and college football's postseason Peach Bowl (1968-92). And nobody knew its inner workings better than the facility's hard-working "ground crew" who tended to the whims and vicissitude s of the teams, players, owners, and even fans that called the stadium home for 30+ memorable years. 1970s stadium crew members Harvey Lee Frazier and David Fisher - along with "as-told-to" author Austin Gisriel (" Ground Crew Confidential ") - join the podcast to share a bevy of little-known "behind-the scenes" memories of the facility that helped put Atlanta on the map - with the help of influential figures like Hank Aaron, Phil Woosnam, Ted Turner, the Beatles, and even high-wire great Karl Wallenda.0 comments0
Podcast hosts
No host has claimed this podcast yet, if you are the host you can verify ownership by claiming this podcast
© 2023 Good Seats Still Available
