286 - The Magical 1926 St. Louis Cardinals w/ Kevin J. Abing

286 - The Magical 1926 St. Louis Cardinals w/ Kevin J. Abing

Author: A podcast about baseball, music and culture. May 12, 2026 Duration: 52:48
Author and historian Kevin J. Abing is our guest this week to talk about the 1926 St. Louis Cardinals, on the 100th Anniversary of the team's first World Series championships. Abing is author of "Baseball Magic and Mayhem in St. Louis: The 1926 Cardinals, World Series Champions" (McFarland Press, 2026). Abing's meticulously researched book tells the story of the Cardinal's rise from National League doormat to dominance and the team's magical 1926 season. Previous episodes discussed are ...

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: 50

Hooks & Runs
Podcast Episodes
303 - Bob Dylan Comes to Town: Dylan in Cincinnati w/ Graley Herren [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:05:15
Dr. Graley Herren is Professor of English at Xavier University and author of the new book, Dylan in Cincinnati (University Press of Mississippi, September 2026). He joins us this week to talk about the book and all thing…
300 - Take This Job and Shove It. [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 44:25
Craig and Rex take on the big issues of the day for episode number 300 - Joshua Baez's historic debut, Ritchie Blackmore's return to Deep Purple (for one song), Tommy John's passing causes reassessment of his Hall of Fam…
299 - The Al Rosen Phenomenon: That One Glorious Season (or Two) [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 59:20
This week Craig and Rex take a look at players that led their league in home runs after 1920 but hit less than 200 career home runs. The list includes one Hall of Famer (George Kelly), some that came close (Jake Daubert)…
298 - Texans in the Hall: Louis Santop and Biz Mackey w/ Thomas Kern [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 55:51
This week we resume our series Texans in the Hall by looking at the lives and careers of two great Texan ballplayers - Louis Santop and Biz Mackey. Santop and Mackey were both born in the Texas in the late 19th Century a…
295 - Baseball Back in the Day w/ John Ferling [not-audio_url] [/not-audio_url]

Duration: 1:03:31
Professor John Ferling (University of West Georgia) joins the podcast this week to talk about his new book, Baseball As It Was: Building Champions Before Free Agency Changed Everything (Tatra Press, May 2026). The book e…