Randall Sullivan, former contributing editor to Rolling Stone and author of The Price of Experience, and Untouchable, joins Hooks & Runs this week to discuss his latest book, The First All-Star Game: Babe Ruth, FDR and America at the Crossroads (Grove Atlantic, June 2026). The First All-Star Game chronicles a defining moment for both baseball and the nation, weaving together the sport's early lively ball history with the Jazz Age and subsequent Great Depression that gave rise to it.

Randall Sullivan at Grove Atlantic.

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This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2026.

Between players jumping contracts and entangling themselves in gambling scandals; the lack of a clear, consistent enforcement authority and conference (league) realignments, one could easily confuse current state of the NCAA with the chaotic state of 19th Century baseball.

This week, John A. Fortunato joins us to make sense of college sports today. Fortunato is a professor of communications and media management at Fordham University's Gabelli School of Business. His research interests include sports, broadcasting & communication and public relations. He comments on a wide range of topics, including name, image & likeness; the Brendan Sorsby and Darian Mensah controversies, the increasingly toothless NCAA enforcement arm, and whether or not Congress has the power to bring order to the anarchy.

Professor Fortunato at Fordham
John Fortunato, An Ethical Application to Student-Athlete Name, Image, and Likeness (NIL), Journal of Intercollegiate Sport.

Errata: The University of Houston played Idaho, not an Ivy League school, in March Madness's first round in 2026 - you'd think a "basketball junkie" would remember that. Wagner beat Maryland-Eastern Shore 78-64 on December 17, 2025, with 350 patrons in attendance. Rose Hill Gym was built in 1925 - it is the oldest Division I gymnasium still in regular use, now that Northeastern University's Matthews Arena is being demolished.

Consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if available), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns.

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on TikTok
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Eric on Facebook
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Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliks
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2026.

Chapter 1 - Paul Hofmann, Ph.D., Associate Provost for International Affairs at the University of Louisville and Society for American Baseball Research member, joins us this week to discuss Charlie Ferguson, a forgotten 19th Century baseball star. Ferguson played four seasons in his early 20s with the Philadelphia Quakers (now, Phillies) in the National League and by 1887, Ferguson's final season, he emerged as a rising two-way star, excelling both at the plate (.337 average) and on the mound (99 wins over 4 seasons).

Ferguson died from typhoid fever in April 1888 after a month-long battle with the illness. He had turned 25 years old just two weeks prior. Ferguson was regarded at the time and for many years after as one of the greatest players in baseball history.

Chapter 2 - Another gambling scandal, only not in professional baseball.

"Charlie Ferguson," by Paul Hofmann, at https://sabr.org/bioproj/person/Charlie-Ferguson/ (accessed June 9, 2026).

Consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if available), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns.

Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.com
Email: hooksandruns@protonmail.com
Craig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)
Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/
Hosts Emeriti:
Andrew Eckhoff on TikTok
https://www.tiktok.com/@hofffest
Eric on Facebook
https://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/
Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)
www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliks
This podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2026.