Baseball

Baseball Earns Trip to World Series

Anonymous — Mon, 06 Nov 2023 07:00:00 +0000

Baseball Earns Trip to World Series Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 11/06/2023 - 00:00

Andrew Daigle

CU Boulder club baseball capped a historic 2023 season with a postseason run to the National Club Baseball (NCBA) World Series May 26–June 1 in Alton, Illinois. In the double-elimination World Series tournament, the Buffs lost their opener 0-3 to defending national champion Florida State on May 27. CU rebounded the next day to defeat No. 1 seed Utah State 4-3 before being eliminated 1-4 on May 29 in a rematch against Florida State.

Colorado finished with a Mid-America West conference record of 11-1.

The Buffs earned the No. 2 seed in the Mid-America Regionals May 12–14 in Kearney, Nebraska. They won the double-elimination tournament and a World Series ticket by defeating Nebraska twice and then No. 1 seed Iowa State in back-to-back, same-day elimination games.

“We focus on winning but still having fun,” said All-American Third Team catcher Blake Carey (BusAd’24).

Baseball is a club sport at CU. It doesn’t receive funding like varsity sports. Student recreation fees, player dues and donations support the team. Players organize practices and travel, as well as recruiting teammates and coaches.

“I love the relaxed vibe,” said second baseman Mac Padilla (CTD’24). “But still, our seniors developed a culture to be the best team possible, not just a club of friends.”

The Buffs scored several all-time feats: first regional championship, first NCBA World Series appearance and win, and highest-ever final ranking — No. 6 in the NCBA D1 Top 20.

In a season of highlights, multiple players recalled a single moment at the World Series. Shortstop Cameron Scheuer (Comm’23) won the 2023 Easton Baseball Longball Challenge on May 28.

“Watching Cam win the home run derby was incredible,” said first baseman Andrew Garcia (BusAna’25). “The entire team and their families were cheering him on.”

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Photos courtesy Ritchman Sideline Pass Photography and Mirimar Sideline Pass Photography

The club sport received its highest ranking last season.

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Fall 2023

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Letters from Forever Buffs

Anonymous — Mon, 11 Jul 2022 06:00:00 +0000

Letters from Forever Buffs Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 07/11/2022 - 00:00

Big Green

Imagine our delight at seeing the flowers that my wife, Robin Cantor (Fren’87), and I left at the base of the tree that we have called “Big Green” for over 30 years. We loved that tree, and were sad to see it go. Knowing that it was a Methuselah of its kind and mother to young clones on campus will always be comforting. Kudos to [forestry supervisor] Vince Aquino and his team for taking such good care of our friend all those years.

Evan Cantor (MEdu’93)
Boulder

Humans as the Problem

I always look forward to receiving my Coloradan alumni magazine. I was particularly interested in the article regarding d’Andre Willis, CU Boulder’s architect. Boulder’s campus is certainly an architectural jewel.

In this article, Willis comments on the “negative impacts that buildings have made to climate change.” What we must realize is that buildings don’t use energy … people do! Until such time as we, the humans who inhabit these structures, accept a wider range of indoor temperatures, operable windows, lower electric illumination levels and a reduced use of electronics (remember blackboards — now replaced by electronic white boards) we are ignoring the real problem … us.

Kirk Davis (ArchEngr’72)
Portland, Oregon

CU’s Natural History Museum

“Growing a Museum” on page 12 [Spring 2022] was of personal interest! My mother, Almira Kupka, married Ernst Kemper in Boulder on July 27, 1926, and they rented a place at 750 12th Street while she attended classes, and Ernst pursued a business featuring car ride tours that approached the summits of Pikes Peak and Mount Evans. Almira told me that Hugo Rodeck (BioChem’28; MA’29) knew her family.

During the summer of 1962, my father, my wife, Tricia, and I traveled near Limon, Colorado, to explore a steep-walled arroyo and look for Stone Age tools. Tricia saw a horn projecting from the wall above our heads. The horn was attached to a bison skull buried upside down very close to the eroded clay wall.

The skull was removed and became a valuable part of my father’s collection of artifacts. He died in 1966, and the collection became mine. In 1968 I contacted Hugo to find out if the Henderson Museum would accept the skull as a donation. Hugo drove to Lakewood and took it from our basement. The skull was examined and judged to be a “keeper” because the sinus structure was complete. I assume the skull is still somewhere in the Henderson Building.

Ernst Anton Kemper (ChemEngr’59)
Lakewood, Colorado

Radcliffe Distinction

Thanks for the fine end piece on Joyce Lebra’s life and work. I wish I had known her while studying at CU.

Just a minor correction — she could not have received a degree from the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

Prior to 1963, women studying at Harvard received their degrees from Radcliffe College; their deans were from Radcliffe while all their professors were from Harvard.

From 1964 through 1977 the women were still admitted by Radcliffe, taught by Harvard and received diplomas from both Harvard and Radcliffe.

In 1977 Radcliffe was merged into Harvard. Radcliffe’s physical assets eventually became the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard University. It is also known as the Harvard Radcliffe Institute.

Terry Vogt (MBA’75)
San Francisco

Thanks, CU

Great issue for spring. As I was reading, I thought, “I’m really glad I went to CU.” My decision to attend was more a matter of serendipity than rational decision. My parents thought I was too young to go out of state, so I simply went with the largest college around. Now I see how much I benefited from the diversity, the emphasis on excellence and the intellectual atmosphere there. The issue held numerous examples of these qualities. So I’m finally saying, “Thanks, CU.”

Bonnie Fine McCune (Psych’66)
Denver

CU Baseball

Bryan Karlan (RealEst’92) — No. 6 — sent in this 1985 baseball team photo. The baseball team had been cut from CU’s athletic budget, he wrote, and were sponsored by the Student Union. They played several Big 8 universities as well as other schools like the Air Force Academy. “We were a pretty motley crew,” he said.

Tulagi Nights

I enjoyed seeing The Sink and Tulagi signs in your photos. I was manager of Tulagi several years in the mid-1960s. We filled the dance floor weekend nights with dancers to our bands’ music. Monday nights we did nickel beer for an hour, and we would have a line from the front tap at the bar all the way across the dance floor to the bandstand of folks lining up to get their 5-cent beer. At the time, we were the largest-volume draft beer outlet for Coors.

Dave Edstrom (DistSt’67)
Roanoke, Texas

Wow…

I loved this past Coloradan. Wow … it was an incredible overall piece, but specifically, the Marshall Fire story was incredibly honoring of the magnitude of disaster and impact to our community. I read it from cover to cover.

Leah Murphy
Broomfield, Colorado

**Life as the Colorado Daily Photo Editor**

I was the photo editor for the Colorado Daily during some of my years at CU in the early 1970s. I send you a few memories to consider for the Coloradan.

While I was on staff, the offices were in the UMC and the publication darkroom was on the floor below. The photography job worked out well for me because I could work the assignments around classes and I could study in the darkroom while I waited for film to develop and prints to dry. The photo deadline was usually around 10 p.m.

To increase income, I asked to add advertising sales to my job as the commissions were good. I covered parts of Boulder that did not have representation at the time, that is, further away from the campus. It was an easy sell for me as I told prospective clients that about 25% of the Boulder workforce (at the time) were employed by CU and picked up the paper.

Between the two jobs, plus selling cameras part-time at Jones Drug and Camera on The Hill and some periodic cooking jobs at local restaurants and sub shops, I was able to get through the first four years without debt paying out-of-state tuition. Back then, it could be done.

Glen Freiberg (EPOBio’74; MA’76)
Rancho Santa Fe, California

Correction

In the Spring 2022 issue of the Coloradan, we misspelled illustrator Brian Rea’s name in the “7 Ways Work Will Change Forever” feature. We regret the error.

Submit feedback to the editor

Photos by Glenn Asakawa (cottonwood); Ernst Kemper (skull); courtesy Glen Freiberg (concert); Bryan Karlan (baseball); Coloradan archives (The Sink)

Readers react to the spring issue of the Coloradan.

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Baseball in 1893: CU Vintage Jersey

Anonymous — Fri, 02 Jul 2021 06:00:00 +0000

Baseball in 1893: CU Vintage Jersey Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/02/2021 - 00:00

Kelsey Yandura

In April 1893, Edwin John Ingram (A&S1893; Law1895) stepped onto the field for CU’s third varsity baseball season. The team donned new uniforms, funded by a musical concert with the university banjo and glee clubs. Ingram, captain of the team and famed for his tricky curveball pitch, led the “varsity nine” in an undefeated season. The final game was a nail-biter against the University of Denver — the wind was fierce, and the team was down three of their regular players. Then, the wind stopped and the team got down to business, scoring five runs in the sixth inning and pulling through to win the pennant.

The Material

Lightweight wool flannel.

The Player

The jersey belonged to star pitcher and team captain Edwin John Ingram (A&S1893; Law1895), who later became a Boulder County judge.

The Style

The jersey originally had long sleeves until they were cut short and hemmed by hand.

The Sport

CU baseball was a 90-year tradition, running 1890 to 1980. The final game was May 6, 1980.

The Year

This jersey is from 1893. The Hale Science Building, CU’s eighth building, was nearly finished.

The Gift

The jersey was donated by C. F. Alan Cass (A&S ex’63 ;HonDocHum’99), Ingram’s grandnephew and the founder and curator of the Glenn Miller Archives.

Photo by Mona Lambrecht, CU Heritage Center

Submit feedback to the editor

In April 1893, Edwin John Ingram stepped onto the field for CU’s third varsity baseball season.

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Summer 2021

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What's in My Phone: Tom Zeiler

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Jun 2020 06:00:00 +0000

What's in My Phone: Tom Zeiler Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/01/2020 - 00:00

Tom Zeiler is a CU Boulder professor of history and director of the international affairs program. He writes on World War II, international economy, and sports and diplomacy. He also teaches the campus’s popular “America Through Baseball” course.

How soon after waking up do you look at your phone?
Within an hour, if I remember.

Would you rather text or call someone?
Either way, but lean toward call — my fingers always hit the wrong keys while I text. Steve Jobs plagues me.

Location of last selfie?
Deer Valley, a Utah ski resort.

The last baseball-related photo you’ve taken?
Coors Field, September game.

Last person you called?
My spouse, Rocio.

First thing you’d do if you lost your phone for a day:
Probably rejoice, then go to the computer.

Does anyone else have your passcode?
Everyone has my passcode, including people who I’ve worked with, just like everyone knows where the key to our house is.

App you wish you had the inner strength to delete?
MarketWatch — why do I care about the Dow Jones average? It’s gone wild for years anyway and doesn’t seem to indicate how the real economy is going.

Duration of longest call last week?
Two hours, with my mom.

Most-used apps:

The New York Times

The Score

Colorado Public Radio

Most-used emoji:

Photo by Glenn Asakawa

America Through Baseball is one of CU's most popular history course. Tom Zeiler is the mastermind behind the class.

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Alumni News Briefs

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

Alumni News Briefs Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 02/01/2020 - 00:00

2020 Trips

Italian Riviera
Oct. 10-18, 2020

China and Tibet
Oct. 10-25, 2020

Soldiers and Spies
Oct. 11-17, 2020

Himalayan Kingdoms
Oct. 16-30, 2020

Cosmopolitan Havens
Nov. 3-11, 2020

Buffs at the Ballpark

The Alumni Association is hosting two Buffs at the Ballpark events this year. Both games include a pre-reception with complimentary appetizers and tickets in a CU group section. The first game is Saturday, May 16, in Miami for the Rockies versus Marlins matchup. First pitch is at 6:10 p.m., and the pre-reception starts at 4 p.m. The second game is Saturday, June 27, in the Twin Cities for the Rockies versus Twins game. First pitch is at 1:10 p.m., and the pre-reception starts at 11 a.m. For pre-reception locations and more information, visit www.colorado.edu/alumni.

Chapter and Club News

Three new alumni chapters have launched: Silicon Valley, led by Lauren Keeler (Psych’07) and Bob Mickus (MechEngr’86); Las Vegas, led by Sharron Gegenheimer (Econ’83) and Mark Moskowitz (PolSci’09); and San Antonio, led by Andrew Douglass (Fin’98). … Michelle Foley (Bus, Span’03) is now leading the Portland chapter, Michelle Mink (MTeleComm’95) is the new San Diego chapter leader and Leilani Conklin (Mktg’15) has joined David Markle (Soc’12) as a chapter leader in Honolulu. … The Chicago alumni chapter, led by Joe Putnik (Fin’14), was named the 2019 volunteer organization of the year. … The new Forever Buffs Center West club launched for Center of the American West alumni and any other interested alumni or community members. … Seven clubs hosted reunions at Homecoming Weekend in November. Look for information about this fall’s Homecoming Weekend at www.colorado.edu/homecoming.

Cheer on Buffs Basketball in Vegas

Support the CU men’s and women’s basketball teams as they play in their Pac-12 Tournaments in Las Vegas. The women’s tournament is March 5-8 and the men’s is March 11-14. The Alumni Association will host a free Buffs Bash prior to each CU game, starting 2.5 hours prior to tipoff. Visit www.colorado.edu/alumni for Buffs Bash venues and game tickets.

Lead a CU Volunteer Project

Spearhead a service project in your community for Buffs Give Back — the Alumni Association’s annual weekend of community service — May 16-17. If you’re interested, contact alumnivolunteers@colorado.edu or call 303-492-8484.

Buffs at the Ballpark, Chapter News and Buffs' Basketball in Vegas

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Winter 2020

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A Voice for the Giants

Anonymous — Sat, 01 Feb 2020 07:00:00 +0000

A Voice for the Giants Anonymous (not verified) Sat, 02/01/2020 - 00:00

Christie Sounart

As the in-game video host for the San Francisco Giants, Therese Vinal (Jour’08) — a former CU volleyball player — provides live entertainment for Oracle Park’s 42,000 fans. She also interviews key players, coaches and special guests during pre- and post-game shows. Here’s a look into what it all takes.

What piqued your interest in sports?

Growing up with a high school football coach as a father and a physical education teacher as a mother, my love for sports started really young. Sports was a chance to bond with my parents, my siblings and even extended family members, and later it became my outlet for making friends.

What’s a Giants game day like?

For a 6:45 p.m. game, I usually arrive to the ballpark at 2:30 p.m. for prep work and production meetings. Then an hour before first pitch, I am on the field for the pregame show. During the game, I am running around the ballpark to different sections for promotional giveaways, gameshows and interviews.

Around the sixth inning, I leave the ballpark and head to NBC Sports Bay Area studios to prepare for the television show Triples Alley. From the time I arrive at the studio until an hour after the last out, I am producing and prepping for our half-hour long show with my co-hosts Carmen Kiew and Cole Kuiper. Our show issimulcast on television and Facebook so fans can engage live with us on air. Then, we have a quick post-show wrap up and I head home, typically around midnight or later.

What’s a favorite moment in Oracle Park so far?

Opening Day is really special. It is always over the top with decor and entertainment, plus the excitement for a new season just gives buzz to the ballpark.

How do you handle hectic moments?

There are times where I'll have a live hit in back-to-back half innings, and you just never know how fast or how slow that half inning between the two live shots will go. Sometimes we are running to get to the next live shot in the ballpark. There's also times when equipment isn't working correctly or content changes moments before the live shot. I find myself just taking a deep breath, smiling and remembering this is sports entertainment. It's supposed to be fun.

What do you do during the offseason?

During the offseason I am on call for NBC Sports Bay Area. This offseason I am filling in for their 49ers pregame and postgame shows. I also emcee special events and teach group fitness classes.

What else should we know about you?

My son was born in September 2018 so this was my first season as a working mom. You are never really off the clock, but at least with my "mom job" I get paid in hugs and kisses. Can't beat that.

Interview condensed and edited. Photo courtesy Therese Vinal

As the in-game video host for the San Francisco Giants, Therese Vinal provides live entertainment for Oracle Park’s 42,000 fans.

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Feedback

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Oct 2019 06:00:00 +0000

Feedback Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 10/01/2019 - 00:00

Duly Noted

Two entries in the In Memoriam section [Summer 2019] should not go unremarked. Lynn Baker (PE’67) was a standout on the CU basketball and track teams, and went on to play semi-pro basketball for the Phillips 66ers. In 1967, just before I joined the faculty of the CU English department, I finished a close second to Lynn in the National AAU Pentathlon Championships in Indianola, Iowa. Lynn spent a long career teaching in the Boulder County schools.

Bill Brundige (A&S’70) was a first-team All-American for Buffs football in 1969 and also the top shot putter on the track team. He was drafted in the second round of the NFL draft by coach Vince Lombardi of the Washington Redskins. Bill was a starter throughout his eight-year pro career and made one of the most famous plays in Super Bowl history when he blocked a field goal attempt that led to a Redskins touchdown in Super Bowl VII.

In the same issue, my old friend Paul Danish recounted the history of the Colorado Daily, originally called The Silver & Gold. What Paul didn’t relate was that the name was resurrected in 1970 as Silver & Gold Record, an enterprising biweekly newspaper published by the Faculty and Staff Councils. I edited the S&G for three years in the mid-70s, during which time we broke the news that Boulder campus officials intended to tear down Woodbury Hall as part of a redevelopment plan. The story inspired campus-wide protests that led to the preservation of that historic landmark. S&G was published for almost 40 years before being shut down in 2009 during a round of budget cuts.

David Merkowitz
Clarksville, Md.

President

I was disappointed to see the letter [Summer 2019] regarding “New CU President” from Robert Porath (A&S’69).

His criticism of Mark Kennedy before he even started his assignment as CU’s president is totally inappropriate. Decidedly, Bruce Benson (Geol’64; HonDocSci’04) is a hard act to follow, but he brought the university to heights we could never have imagined. Could Mr. Porath perhaps give Mr. Kennedy a chance to perform before he condemns him? His conduct is unbecoming that of an educated and fair-minded person.

Susan Wright (Bus’61)
Denver

Latin Lesson

I was interested in the letter in the recent Coloradan regarding the inscription above the original Norlin Library entrance [Summer 2019] — “Who knows only his own generation remains always a child.”

George Norlin, before becoming a courageous CU president, was a well-respected Classicist and editor of the orator Isocrates. It is fitting therefore that an English paraphrase from Cicero should grace the library that bears Norlin’s name.

The original reads as follows: Nescire autem quid antequam natus sis acciderit, id est semper esse puerum (Cicero, Orator 120). Literally translated: “But to not know what happened before you (masculine singular) were born, that is to always be a boy.”

In the inscription, the clause “Who knows only his own generation” is modeled on ancient Greek and Latin syntax and style. In those languages, when a relative pronoun (“who”) would serve the same function (here, the subject) as an antecedent personal pronoun (“he”), the antecedent is commonly omitted. The relative clause then becomes an indefinite relative clause and serves as the noun-equivalent subject of the main clause, “remains always a child.”

Some of your readers were right: A relative clause without an antecedent is not acceptable modern American English usage. But George Norlin might say that the true point of interest here is that CU students could not recognize the allusions, either to the classical source or the erudite imitation of Latin style, thus proving both Cicero’s original and the library inscription quite apropos.

Peter Cohee (MClass’89; PhD’94)
Milton, Mass.

Woodstock

[Re: THEN — Woodstock; Summer 2019] I had just moved back to New York City in August 1969. I had a good friend and former boss there named John Myers. He was also my statistics professor at CU in 1962. While visiting him after Woodstock, he told me he had loaned a brand-new sleeping bag to a friend going to Woodstock. He then described what was returned to him as a round ball of mud and cloth. That is my only Woodstock story.

Patrick Shima (Econ’63)
Alamosa, Colo.

Baseball

It would be nice to see the athletic department reinstate baseball and begin softball at CU. All Pac-12 schools have baseball teams as well as softball. CU needs to join the rest of the league. Having baseball would also allow for athletes who excel at both football and baseball to enroll at Boulder rather than at other schools offering both sports. Thanks for the consideration.

Jack Price (PE’66)
Camas, Wash.

Ralph Carr

You almost missed the boat on Ralph Carr’s (A&S1910 Law1912) watch [THEN, Spring 2019]. It is true that he opposed the internment camps publicly, but he did much more. As governor he declared that no Colorado Japanese American would be put in an internment camp, and he invited Japanese-American citizens from other states to come to Colorado to avoid internment.

Vern Smith (Engl’51; PhDEdu’66)
Bloomington, Ind.

Lettters edited for length and clarity.

Corrections: On page 11 of the summer issue, we misspelled Sewall in one instance and also misstated the date a Sewall Hall fountain was installed. It went up in the mid-1930s, not the 1960s. The errors have been corrected online. In the photo of Maddie McNamee (EnvEngr'19) and Riley Kenyon (MechEngr'19) in the "Table of Contents" of the summer issue, we printed the incorrect major for Maddie. It is environmental engineering, not environmental studies.

Lynn Baker, Bill Brundige, The Silver & Gold, CU's new president and more.

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10 Fun Classes at CU

Anonymous — Fri, 19 Jul 2019 21:31:55 +0000

10 Fun Classes at CU Anonymous (not verified) Fri, 07/19/2019 - 15:31

Joshua Nelson

Which one would you take?

1. Energy and Interactions (EDUC 1580): It's physics, but for future elementary-school teachers.

2. America Through Baseball (HIST 2516): The history of America's pastime, and how world events have affected it.

3. Geology of Colorado (GEOL 1040): A geological history of the state that's sure to impress.

4. Yoga, Ancient and Modern (RLST 2612): In sum: Yoga's been around for a long time.

5. Wild West Soundscapes (MUEL 2742): From hymns to folk to Hollywood soundtracks, a musical overview.

6. Trash and Treasure, Temples and Tombs: Art and Archaeology of the Ancient World (ARTH 1509): It's all in the title.

7. Stars and Galaxies (ASTR 1200): Includes lectures at Fiske Planetarium, and a nighttime obesrvation at Sommers-Basuch Obervatory.

8. Biology and Society (EBIO 1100): Exploration of social issues such as reproduction and population.

9. Mapping a Changing World (GEOG 2053): Map-reading for better awareness of nature and society.

10. DNCE (1000, 1100, 1200, 1301, 2501): Exercise for credit: CU offers Modern, Ballet, Jazz, Hip-Hop and African Dance.

These classes offer both intellectual stimulation and enjoyment.

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Long Ball

Anonymous — Mon, 01 Jun 2015 17:00:00 +0000

Long Ball Anonymous (not verified) Mon, 06/01/2015 - 11:00

Eric Gershon

View of fans at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum during a Dodgers baseball game, Los Angeles, Calif., 1957.

CU-Boulder historian Tom Zeiler introduced students to "America through baseball" nearly 15 years ago. They clamored to get in then, and still do.

Babe Ruth

The Yankees’ Babe Ruth personifies the Roaring ’20s, also known as the Jazz Age, says history instructor Martin Babicz — “big, loud and rambunctious.”

Jackie Robinson

Jackie Robinson’s 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers as Major League Baseball’s first black player prompts examination of racial attitudes in the U.S.

Cincinnati Reds

The Cincinnati Reds’ decision to change their name, briefly, to the Redlegs illustrates the depth of anti-communist hysteria in the United States in the 1950s.

Brooklyn Dodgers

The relocation to California of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants after World War II helps bring to life western migration and the rise of the sun belt.

To Zach Weinstein, Tom Zeiler’s arrival in his Jewish Studies seminar one day last winter seemed a favorable sign, especially after Zeiler sat next to him.

Weinstein (Hist, Phil’16) had always wanted to take “America through Baseball,” the hugely popular course that Zeiler, a CU-Boulder history professor, pioneered on campus. But the timing had never worked out.

It suddenly seemed it might: Zeiler, who was observing the seminar, revealed he would offer the baseball course as an on-campus lecture for the first time in years and in its biggest incarnation yet, 250 students.

“I’m lucky that I’m still here,” says Weinstein, 25, who started at CU in 2007, left to work, then came back.

Zeiler developed “America through Baseball” in 2000, while researching a book about baseball and cultural diplomacy. He thought the course might broaden undergraduate appetites for meaty topics in American history — urbanization, nationalism, labor strife, the Roaring ’20s, race relations, the Cold War and globalization.

It proved a hit.

“People from all different majors want to take it,” says Weinstein.

Over time, Zeiler has offered the course as a lecture, a seminar and, most often lately, a full-credit online course. When he taught it in baseball-crazed Japan during a Fulbright fellowship, the president of Japan Women’s University dropped in, he says. So did Bobby Valentine, the former New York Mets manager, then working in Japan.

Eventually, CU history instructor Martin Babicz (PhDHist’09) also began offering the course, as a freshman seminar.

Whatever the format, “America through Baseball” is not about box scores.

“This is American society and history,” Zeiler, an expert in U.S. diplomatic history and director of the Program on International Affairs, tells students. “You don’t come in here because you have a baseball mitt.”

For the professors, baseball offers both a framework and a bounty of personalities for dramatizing and personalizing American history.

The careers of 19th-century player-businessmen Albert Spalding and John Montgomery Ward lead to discussion of baseball’s growth as a complex capitalist enterprise and the rise of labor unions, for example. Babe Ruth, larger than life, personifies the Roaring ’20s. And Jackie Robinson’s 1947 debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers as Major League Baseball’s first black player prompts examination of racial attitudes.

In the same way, the Cincinnati Reds’ decision to change their name, briefly, to the Redlegs illustrates the depth of anti-communist hysteria in the 1950s. And the relocation to California of the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Giants after World War II helps bring to life western migration and the rise of the sun belt.

When Zeiler first proposed the course, some colleagues questioned its academic merit, he says. But like baseball-minded professors before and after him, he prevailed. San Francisco State, Kansas State, the University of Iowa, the University of Chicago, Tufts and Harvard, among others, all offer or have offered baseball-related courses.

Interest in baseball as a vehicle for teaching American history is now so widespread that publisher Rowman & Littlefield has hired Zeiler and Babicz to write a textbook tentatively titled National Pastime: United States History through Baseball.

CU students of all kinds take the course — baseball aficionados and novices, accounting majors and engineers, the simply curious and the intensely motivated. Zeiler says at least half the students are women. Babicz finds that many students perform better than their counterparts in his conventional American history survey.

For Weinstein, the main appeal is the unusual approach to the material and a sense of its potential, he says, to “confront me with something I don’t normally think about.”

The course works its influence beyond the classroom, too. Lisa Mercadante (IntlAf’09) couldn’t fit it into her schedule — but its existence alerted her to Zeiler, who advised her honors thesis about MLB’s effect on the Dominican Republic, a key source of players today.

Now a graduate student and teacher of English as a second language, Mercadante is exploring roles with professional baseball teams as a mentor for foreign players.

“America through Baseball,” like sport itself, brings people together. Jesse Lopez (Acct’15) took the course online, visiting his father nightly to share the experience. The former Marine, 30, says it deepened his understanding of racism in America.

“It was incredible to read things and then have my father explain what he was going through at that time or his understanding of it,” says Lopez.

In the fall, Zeiler anticipates another full house for “America through Baseball.”

“Everyone in the class is eligible for an A,” he jokes. “It just doesn’t work out that way.”

Photography by Camerique/Getty Images (fans at Dodgers baseball game); Ralph Morse/The LIFE Picture Collection/Getty Images (Babe Ruth at Yankee Stadium); © Bettmann/CORBIS

CU-Boulder historian Tom Zeiler introduced students to "America through baseball" nearly 15 years ago. They clamored to get in then, and still do.

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Profile: Alanna Rizzo

Anonymous — Tue, 01 Mar 2011 16:43:12 +0000

Profile: Alanna Rizzo Anonymous (not verified) Tue, 03/01/2011 - 09:43

Mary Coffin Evans

In a male-dominated sports world, Alanna Rizzo (Bus’97, MJour’03) of Fox Sports Net(FSN) stands out in her role as a sideline reporter for the Rockies. But she believes a woman is equally respected and treated in her field if she’s willing to work hard and do her homework.

Alanna’s responsibilities with the Rockies begin during their spring training in February and March. From then through October, she covers 135-140 games from the sidelines, including 81 from the road.

“That is a lot of games,” she concedes. “The schedule is an absolute grind. Baseball is a marathon during a very long season. They play every day.”

Her interviews focus on day-to-day issues such as what a player is working on rather than the win-loss picture.

She feels very fortunate for the support she receives from Rockies players like Clint Barmes, Ian Stewart, Huston Street and Carlos Gonzales. She acknowledges it would be easier to cover a team she didn’t care about and knows she has to be objective in her interviews.

“You want them to win,” she says. “It’s better for the fans, the team and organization when they win.”

Alanna paid her dues through two positions before moving home to Colorado to work at FSN. In her first job at KAUZ-TV in Wichita Falls, Texas, she did a little bit of everything from shooting her own video to editing and writing. Although a good learning experience, “Those were nine very long months,” she remembers.

At her next assignment, WISC-TV in Madison, Wis., she covered University of Wisconsin men’s and women’s basketball, football, hockey, high school sports, the Green Bay Packers, Milwaukee Brewers and Milwaukee Bucks. She did a lot of her own shooting and editing.

During a vacation in Colorado in July 2007, Alanna interviewed with FSN and was hired as an independent contractor.

“It was a little scary, and I’m not much of a risk taker,” she notes. In January 2009 she became a full-time employee.

In addition to the Rockies she has covered men’s and women’s basketball for CU and University of Denver, along with DU’s hockey games and occasional high school football games.

Her only regret is not majoring in journalism for her bachelor’s degree.

“I think I’d be a lot farther ahead in my career if I’d started 10 years earlier,” she says. “I’m here to stay as long as they’ll have me.”

Photo by FSN Rocky Mountain

In a male-dominated sports world, Alanna Rizzo (Bus’97, MJour’03) of Fox Sports Net(FSN) stands out in her role as a sideline reporter for the Rockies.

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