282 - On Baseball's First Superstar w/ Thomas W. Gilbert

282 - On Baseball's First Superstar w/ Thomas W. Gilbert

Author: A podcast about baseball, music and culture. March 26, 2026 Duration: 42:33
Our guest this episode is Thomas W. Gilbert. His new book, "Death in the Strike Zone: The Mystery of America's First Baseball Hero" (David R. Godine, 2026), is the story of James Creighton, a young pitcher who pitched for amateur clubs in Brooklyn and is credited for inventing modern pitching. Gilbert's book is not only about Creighton's exploits on the field, but about the life and times of baseball in its earliest years - before the Civil War, before industrialization and before the g...

You might find yourself wondering how a perfect double play and a classic guitar riff are connected, or what a stadium anthem says about the year it topped the charts. That’s the kind of territory explored on Hooks & Runs. This isn't just a series of interviews, though you’ll hear conversations with fascinating figures from the sports and music industries. It’s also a place for thoughtful commentary, where the co-hosts draw lines between the crack of a bat and a cultural moment, between a legendary concert and a legendary season. They dig into both current headlines and forgotten history, finding the stories where pop culture and the national pastime intersect. Each episode feels like a relaxed, insightful conversation that could start with a baseball statistic and end with a music theory debate. New installments of this podcast arrive roughly every Thursday, offering a consistent dose of their unique blend. If you’ve ever felt that the narratives of baseball and the rhythms of music speak a similar language, this podcast provides the commentary to translate.
Author: Language: en-us Episodes: 100

Hooks & Runs
Podcast Episodes
272 - The Spirit of Radio w/ Dave South [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:15
Dave South was the radio voice of Texas A&M Athletics from 1985 to his retirement in 2018. He is the author of "You Saw Me on the Radio: Recollections and Favorite Calls as the Voice of Aggie Athletics" (Texas A&M Univ.…
271 - Hard Caps, Soft Caps, Salary Floors and Baseball Cards [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 40:08
This week on the podcast - a bizarre ending to a high school football game, the soon to be expired Collective Bargaining Agreement has baseball fans scrambling to learn about salary caps, and we open another set of baseb…
270 - "Second Base? That's My Best Position!" w/ Trenidad Hubbard [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 49:16
Trenidad Hubbard played 10 Major League seasons in a 19-year professional baseball career. A Chicago native, Hubbard played college ball at Southern University, was drafted by Houston in the 12th round in 1986, and climb…
269 - Ralph Branca: Baseball's Everyman w/ Bob Mitchell [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 48:53
Bob Mitchell is a retired professor, award winning advertising creative and tennis teaching pro. He has published 13 books and countless essays and articles, including his most recent book, "Ralph Branca and the Meaning…
268 - Baseball & Music w/ Bill Nowlin [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:01:47
Bill Nowlin was a co-founder of Rounder Records in the early 1960s and is a co-founder of Down the Road Records. He most recently co-edited "Native American Major Leaguers," (Society for American Baseball Research, 2025)…
267 - The 1971 Astros and the Art of What If w/ Samuel Barrett [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 53:13
Samuel Barrett is author of "Orange Crush: The Neglected 1971 Houston Astros" (Huntsville Independent Press 2025). Barrett examines the series of questionable player deals Houston GM Spec Richardson orchestrated during h…
266 - Benny Kauff: "An Apparent Injustice Has Been Done" [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 50:39
Ohio native Benny Kauff made his Major League debut in 1912. He jumped to the Federal League in 1914 where he emerged to stand among that circuit's best hitters. After the Federal League folded, Kauff signed with John Mc…
265 - "They All Though I Was Crazy Anyway" w/ Scipio Spinks [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 52:37
Scipio Spinks rose from junior college ball in Chicago to the Major Leagues with Houston and St. Louis. He pitched 5 seasons before injuries derailed his promising career. Spinks talks about his pitching in the late 60s…
264 - Texans in the Hall: Joe Morgan [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 51:12
Joe Morgan, a native of Bonham, Texas, a small town near the Oklahoma border, is generally regarded as baseball's greatest second basemen in the post-World War II era. Originally Colt-.45 then Astro, Houston traded him t…