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We go North of the border this week for the curious story of the dramatic and chaotic origins of the National Hockey League with hockey historian and long-time Windsor Star sports columnist Bob Duff ("The First Season: 1917-18 and the Birth of the NHL").
While today’s NHL is a global powerhouse celebrating over a century of hockey history, its very first season (1917-18) was a near disaster. Born out of a backroom maneuver to oust controversial Toronto owner Eddie Livingstone, the league’s inaugural outing was anything but smooth.
From a player shortage caused by World War I conscription, to the sudden collapse of the four-team-league's Montreal Wanderers after their arena burned down, to competition from the rival Pacific Coast Hockey Association, to various threats of revenge from Livingstone - the NHL teetered on the edge of failure. And yet, against all odds, it survived.
"The Duffer" walks us through that unlikely initial NHL season, the struggles that nearly ended it before it truly began, and the league's first-ever Stanley Cup championship - as the "Toronto Hockey Club" (or was it "Arenas" or "Torontos"?) bested the PCHA's Vancouver Millionaires in a best-of-five final.
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America’s pastime has long been more than just a game - it’s a reflection of the country itself. But what happens when the heart and soul of small-town baseball is threatened by the forces of modern sports economics?
We sit down with New York Times-bestselling author ("The Prisoner in His Palace") and former Army Ranger Will Bardenwerper to discuss his new book "Homestand: Small Town Baseball and the Fight for the Soul of America" - a poignant memoir that explores the fate of minor league baseball in Batavia, New York, and what it reveals about the state of America today.
Bardenwerper takes us behind the scenes of a declining Rust Belt town’s fight to keep its baseball tradition alive after Major League Baseball's contraction of Batavia's beloved Muckdogs (née Clippers, Pirates, Trojans & Indians) - along with its history-laden circuit, the Class-A New York-Penn League - in 2020.
Through rich storytelling and a cast of unforgettable characters, Bardenwerper paints a picture of resilience, community, and the enduring magic of the game. As Batavia fights to keep baseball alive, Homestand captures not just the town’s defiance in the face of MLB’s power grab, but also the broader struggles of small-town America against economic forces beyond its control. We also explore Bardenwerper’s unique perspective as a veteran, journalist, and author - connecting themes of war, political division, and the still uniquely unifying power of a simple summer night at the ballpark. + + + SUPPORT THE SHOW:
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Strap in and try to keep up, as we attempt to follow the peripatetic 58-year journey of one of the NBA's most wandering franchises - with New York-area sports beat reporter Rick Laughland ("A History of the Nets: From Teaneck to Brooklyn").
Today's Brooklyn Nets club began its life in 1967 as the New Jersey Americans - a charter member of the American Basketball Association, playing at the Teaneck Armory. A year later, they moved to Long Island (LI Arena, then Island Garden, then Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum) to become the New York Nets, winning two ABA championships (1974, 1976) behind superstar Julius Erving.
Absorbed into the NBA in 1976, the team struggled financially and was forced to sell Erving, leading to early-season struggles. In 1977, they relocated to the Garden State as the New Jersey Nets, playing at Rutgers Athletic Center (now Jersey Mike's Arena) before moving to Brendan Byrne (aka Meadowlands) Arena in 1981.
After almost becoming the "Swamp Dragons" in 1994, the early 2000s saw breakthrough success with Jason Kidd, Kenyon Martin, and Richard Jefferson - making back-to-back NBA Finals runs in 2002 and 2003.
Before a brief move to Newark's Prudential Center (2010–12), the team relocated to Brooklyn's purpose-built Barclays Center, with a complete franchise name, logo and color-scheme rebrand. Initially building around Deron Williams, they later pursued star power with Kevin Garnett and Paul Pierce, followed by Kevin Durant, Kyrie Irving, and James Harden in 2019–2021.
Still bereft of an elusive NBA title, will the Nets continue to ply their trade in Brooklyn - or will they eventually return to their nomadic ways?
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We're positively kvelling over the brand new anthology from this week's guest Eric Gouldsberry - "Our Life and Times with the Earthquakes" - which vividly (and lovingly) portrays the thrilling early days of the original San Jose Earthquakes franchise (1974-84) of the old North American Soccer League, and the transformative impact it brought to the Bay Area's fast-growing Santa Clara Valley.
Through his personal journey as a devoted fan and with never-before-seen images captured by his father - "official unofficial" team photographer Ray Gouldsberry - Eric brings to life the magic of a team that ignited an untapped soccer fan base in the South Bay and helped define the 1970s-era pro version of the "beautiful game" in America.
We explore the club's ingenious marketing tactics, pioneering players, eclectic fans, and the various highs and lows of the original Earthquakes both on and off the field - all set against the meteoric rise and ultimate collapse of the enigmatic NASL.
It's all here: cozy Spartan Stadium, its painted field, cheer instigator (and Episode 7 guest) "Krazy" George, the "Shakers," indoors at the Cow Palace - plus, the little-known origin story of 1978's expansion Oakland Stompers and the intense-but-brief rivalry that time forgot!
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After a decidedly meh NBA All-Star Weekend, we rewind back to one of the league's most influential historical tributaries - the American Basketball Association (1967-76) - and the criminally little-known story of how its demise left a generation of pioneering pro players out in the cold.
Michael Husain is the writer, director, and co-producer of the groundbreaking documentary The Waiting Game - which spotlights the relentless efforts of the determined non-profit Dropping Dimes, as it fights to help reclaim the overdue benefits and back pay the forgotten star athletes of the ABA were promised as part of their absorption into the NBA in 1976.
It's a story of players who helped shape the style, pace and culture of modern basketball, but now struggle to afford life-saving medications, avoid eviction, and secure basic financial stability - even as the NBA rakes in over $10 billion annually.
Husain shares exclusive insights into the making of the film, the enduring legacy of the ABA, and the still-ongoing battle for justice and recognition for its players, and their contributions to the evolution of the game.
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We hearken back to baseball's humble beginnings this week, as author/historian Jeff Orens ("Selling Baseball: How Superstars George Wright and Albert Spalding Impacted Sports in America") takes us on a journey through the late 19th century, when the game was rapidly evolving from a casual pastime to America's national sport - with two larger-than-life figures at the center of its transformation.
In Orens' telling, players-turned-sports-businessmen George Wright (Cincinnati Red Stockings, Boston Red Stockings, Boston Red Caps, Providence Grays, and later, Wright & Ditson Co.), and Albert Spalding (Rockford Forest Citys, Boston Red Stockings, Chicago White Stockings, and his eponymous sporting goods company still in business today) were the first superstars of "professional" baseball - driven by a competitive rivalry on the field and complementary marketing skills off it, helping modernize the game/industry we know today.
And our conversation doesn't shy away from controversy, either. We'll delve into Wright's and Spalding's roles in perpetuating the infamous "Doubleday myth," which erroneously credited Civil War hero Abner Doubleday with inventing baseball. Orens provides insight into how these influential figures helped legitimize this false narrative, shaping/tainting baseball's origin story for generations to come.
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Ain't no stoppin' us now this week as we lay down the indoor soccer turf and roll out the red carpet for one of the Major Indoor Soccer League's steeliest defenders and long-time St. Louis Steamers fan favorite Carl Rose.
Known best for his seven stellar seasons (1979-86) with the MISL's most commercially successful franchise, Rose actually began his pro indoor career along with the debut of the league itself (1978-79) as a member of the inaugural title-winning New York Arrows.
A two-time indoor All-Star, Rose earlier plied his soccer trade outdoors with the Canadian National Soccer League's Toronto Emerald - including call ups for the nation's 1975 Pan-American and 1976 Olympic squads, alongside future NASL & MISL teammates Jack Brand, Bob Bolitho, Peter Roe, Tino Lettieri, Wes McLeod, and Jimmy McLoughlin.
We tackle all of that and lots more - including Rose's challenges overcoming a serious career-ending injury and becoming a standout youth coach in St. Louis - as well as his hot takes on the state of the game in the US.
His new memoir "A Resilient Spirit" is a great read, and is available wherever good books are found (or the link below!).
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We throw another Duraflame into the hot stove this week for a look back at the sterling, but oddly overlooked career of one of baseball’s greatest "golden age" hitters.
Biographer Jerry Grillo ("Big Cat: The Life of Baseball Hall of Famer Johnny Mize") helps us sort out the intriguing story of batting titan Johnny Mize - whose 15-year major league journey playing for the St. Louis Cardinals, the New York version of the Giants and five World Series-winning seasons (1949-53) with the New York Yankees - generated ten All-Star Game appearances, and a plethora of National League titles in home runs (4x), RBIs (3x) and hitting (1939) - despite missing three full seasons (1943-45) for wartime service with the US Navy.
Widely considered a cinch for the Hall of Fame upon his retirement in 1953, Mize's path to Cooperstown instead took 28 years until a Veterans Committee vote in 1981 finally brought him into the pantheon of the sport's greats.
Find out why the pride of Demorest, Georgia's road to baseball immortality took so long, why one of the sport's greatest underappreciated hitters unquestionably belongs in the Hall - and how the "Big Cat" unwittingly helped influence today's billion-dollar trading card industry!
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[While Tim gets off the mat after a bout with a vaccine-resistant strain of the flu this week, we go back to April 2018 for this classic ARCHIVE RE-RELEASE with the pied piper of classic football history!]
Upton Bell grew up at the knee of the National Football League’s second-ever commissioner – his father, the legendary Bert Bell – who not only saved professional football from financial ruin in the aftermath of World War II, but also became one of its greatest innovators. Originator of the iconic phrase “on any given Sunday,” the senior Bell created lasting contributions to the NFL, such as the first pro football draft, scheduling parity, television revenue-sharing, and sudden-death overtime.
For the junior Upton, it was a priceless childhood amidst pro football’s formative years – begun while watching his father draw up the league schedule each year using dominoes at the kitchen table – steeped in the personalities, lore, and economic pragmatism of a game that would ultimately dominate the American professional sports landscape like no other.
In a seemingly preordained career, Upton Bell (Present at the Creation: My Life in the NFL and the Rise of America’s Game) has been an owner (the wacky World Football League’s Charlotte Hornets), a general manager (the NFL’s New England [née AFL Boston] Patriots), a player personnel director (the 1960s NFL-dominant Baltimore Colts), and long-time sports commentator/talk radio host – remaining a true and insightful “football guy” throughout.
In this very revealing conversation, Bell joins Tim Hanlon to discuss his personal and professional journey through the sport he loves; the lessons learned and insights gleaned from his unique purview into the pro game’s coming-of-age era; the current state of the NFL and where it might be headed; and heretofore untold stories about the stranger-than-fiction WFL.
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Spurred on by a hugely intriguing article in The Athletic penned last November by Episode 274 guest Pablo Maurer (as well as another by Guardian soccer writer Jack Williams back in 2016), we delve into the fascinating story of the visionary, yet controversial 1990s American pro soccer league that never was - League 1 America - with its mastermind Jim Paglia.
Born in the wake of the 1989 awarding of the 1994 FIFA World Cup to the United States, League 1 America was an ambitious attempt to reimagine a post-Cup pro soccer league for an American audience that gravitated toward fast-paced, high-scoring sports like football and basketball. Paglia’s vision centered on blending traditional soccer elements with entertainment-focused innovations and dedicated mall-like facilities, aiming to build a league that prioritized marketability and fan engagement above all else.
The league’s format featured radical rule changes, including shootouts to resolve ties, shortened match durations, and scoring modifications to encourage more goals and continuous action. Paglia also planned to lean heavily on corporate sponsorships, creating a business model that integrated entertainment and commercial viability, with aspirations of competing against America’s major sports leagues for both fans and television audiences.
Despite its innovative ideas, League 1 America never materialized. The league faced a skeptical sporting landscape, with the demise of the North American Soccer League in the mid-1980s still fresh in the public’s memory and doubts about soccer’s viability as a mainstream American sport. Financial hurdles, coupled with resistance from soccer traditionalists and a lack of institutional support, doomed the project before it could get off the ground. Critics dismissed Paglia’s vision as an overly commercialized distortion of soccer’s essence, while fans of the global game balked at the Americanized rule changes.
Yet, the story of League 1 America remains a fascinating “what if” in the history of U.S. soccer. A number of its ideas - especially the building of experience-driven soccer-specific stadiums - can be seen in today's Major League Soccer. Paglia’s efforts highlighted both the challenges and opportunities of growing soccer in the U.S., underscoring the tension between preserving the sport’s global traditions and adapting it to local tastes. Today, as soccer continues its steady rise in America, League 1 America serves as a reminder of the bold experimentation and resilience that helped lay the groundwork for the sport’s future.
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Renowned Presidential speechwriter-turned-sports-historian Curt Smith joins the podcast this week for an erudite look at the not-so-obvious concentricity between the story of baseball in America with both the growth of broadcasting and the evolution of electoral politics. Drawing from some of his most seminal works on baseball history - most notably 1987's iconic Voices of the Game, the anthological Memories from the Microphone, and the newly updated-in-paperback The Presidents and the Pastime - Smith helps put the game into richer cultural perspective, with astute observations of its unmistakable intertwinement with media and government.
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It's our year-end Holiday Roundtable Spectacular - featuring a look back at the year's newest additions to "what used-to-be" in professional sports (RIP MLB's "Oakland" Athletics & the NHL's Arizona Coyotes), and a predictive glimpse into what might be in store for 2025 - with two of our favorite fellow defunct sports enthusiasts: Steve Holroyd (Crossecheck, Philly Classics & Episodes 92, 109, 149, 188 & 248); and Paul Reeths (OurSportsCentral.com, StatsCrew.com & Episode 46).
Buckle up for our yearly mélange of amusement and bemusement at the fringes of the pro sports establishment, as we simultaneously marvel at and lament some of the most curious events of the past year, debate who and what might be next to stumble into oblivion, and conjecture about future scenarios for the next generation of defunct and otherwise forgotten pro sports teams and leagues - including:
Spring football's unified UFL Arena Football League 2.0 RIP (and Arena Football One 2025) MLB's now-Sacramento-and-someday-Las Vegas (maybe) Athletics The NHL's Utah Hockey Club (fka Arizona [née Phoenix] Coyotes, via the WHA's original Winnipeg Jets) Major League Cricket Baseball's genre-bending Savannah Bananas - and its soon-to-launch Banana Ball Championship League Indoor soccer's new Baller League Premier League Lacrosse's pivot to city teams and a new women's division The new League One Volleyball (LOVB) takes on the 2nd-year Pro Volleyball Federation (PVF) NWSL soccer PWHL hockey
PLUS: Can Diamond Baseball Holdings (41 MiLB teams and counting!) be stopped?
AND: Will Michael Jordan, et al. break up the NASCAR stock car monopoly?
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It's a holiday gift-wrapped conversation with American soccer pioneer and US National Soccer Hall of Famer Johnny Moore - whose professional career as a player and coach across the original versions of both the North American Soccer League (San Jose Earthquakes, Oakland Stompers), and Major Indoor Soccer League (Detroit Lightning, San Francisco Fog, Phoenix Inferno & a one-game/one-goal stint with the Kansas City Comets), and as General Manager of the original Major League Soccer incarnation of the 'Quakes (formerly Clash, now Houston Dynamo) - is the stuff of legend.
Also: the "outlaw" 1969 Oakland/California Clippers; San Francisco's infamous Cow Palace; the mid-70s US Men's National Team; the real origin story of the NASL 35-yard line (and Shootout); and how Mexico's Club America almost became another Chivas USA.
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We welcome pro football historian (and Buffalo Bills memorabilia patron) Greg Tranter ("The Providence Steam Roller: New England's First NFL Team") to our microphones this week for a look back at the oft-forgotten Providence Steam Roller - which competed in the early-days National Football League from 1925-31.
Based in Providence, RI, the Steam Roller holds a unique place in gridiron history as the first and only team from the Ocean State to win an NFL championship. The team's unusual name reflected the industrial character of the region and was derived from a local steamroller manufacturer.
The Steam Roller played their home games primarily at the Cycledrome, an outdoor stadium primarily designed for bicycle races, which provided a distinctive playing venue. In inclement weather, the team occasionally used the Providence Auditorium, making them one of the few teams to ever host an indoor NFL game.
The club was renowned for its tough, physical play -especially in 1928 when, under the leadership of player/coach Jimmy Conzelman, the Steam Roller achieved its greatest success by winning a closely contested (and ultimately board room-decided) NFL title over the Frankford (PA) Yellow Jackets.
Despite their championship success, the Steam Roller struggled with the financial challenges common to early NFL teams, particularly during the Great Depression. In 1931, the franchise folded due to declining attendance and steepening losses at gate.
Though short-lived, the Providence Steam Roller left a lasting legacy as a reminder of the NFL's early days, when the league was still establishing itself in small and mid-sized cities across the United States.
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We jump aboard this NFL season's biggest bandwagon with a look back at one of the league's most enduring, yet historically mediocre franchises - and the only club operational for the entirety of the post-AFL era to never appear in the Super Bowl.
Bill Morris ("The Lions Finally Roar: The Ford Family. The Detroit Lions, And The Road To Redemption In The NFL") joins the podcast to help us wallow in the colorful, but supremely confounding history of pro football's Detroit Lions - especially during the last 60+ years of family majority ownership begun in earnest by William Clay Ford Sr. back in 1963.
From the "Curse of Bobby Layne" to Billy Sims, from Barry Sanders to Matt Millen, and from the Pontiac Silverdome to 2008's historic 0-16 season - it's all here!
Plus, we speculate whether this year will finally see the Lions return to NFL championship glory.
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Former NBA All-Star Michael Ray Richardson and his co-author Jacob Uitti (Banned: How I Squandered an All-Star NBA Career Before Finding My Redemption) join the show to discuss Richardson's riveting new memoir that chronicles his extraordinary journey on and off the basketball court.
Hailed as “the next Walt Frazier” coming out of the University of Montana as a first-round pick (fourth overall) in the 1978 NBA Draft, "Sugar" was a force to be reckoned with, leading the league in both assists and steals in just his second season - still New York Knicks team records to this day - and earning four All-Star appearances and two All-Defensive team honors. But behind the scenes, his career was overshadowed by personal struggles with drugs and alcohol, leading to a historic lifetime ban from the NBA in 1986 while a member of the New Jersey Nets.
Richardson shares how he rebounded from that moment, finding redemption through subsequent stints as a player and coach in places like the CBA (Albany Patroons, Oklahoma Cavalry); USBL (Long Island Knights); Premiere Basketball League; and a prolific 14-year professional league run in Europe, where he guided teams to championships and redefined his legacy.
Now running youth basketball clinics and reflecting on his journey, Richardson proves that resilience and accountability can turn even the darkest chapters into a comeback story.
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Baseball history writer Scott Longert ("Love and Loss: The Short Life of Ray Chapman"), joins the show for an in-depth look at the life and legacy of Cleveland Indians shortstop Ray Chapman (1891-1920) whose tragic story continues to resonate more than a century later.
Chapman rose from humble beginnings to become one of the American League’s top shortstops of the 1910s. His exceptional talent on the field, coupled with his marriage to heiress Kathleen Daly, positioned him for a life of privilege and success. Yet, his promising future was cruelly cut short during the 1920 pennant race when a high fastball from Yankees pitcher Carl Mays tragically ended his life.
Longert goes beyond the familiar narrative of Chapman’s untimely death to paint a broader picture of his remarkable yet brief life, from his rise as a baseball star to his pivotal role in what would ultimately become the Indians' first-ever World Series championship season. Longert also explores the heartbreaking ripple effects of the tragedy, including the devastating toll on his widow and young daughter.
Join us as we delve into Chapman’s enduring legacy as a Cleveland icon, the chilling events of that fateful game, and his lasting impact on baseball and its history.
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Author/biographer Debbie Sorensen (Beyond the Jump Shot: The Elevated Life of Kenny Sailors) delves into the story of basketball pioneer Kenny Sailors (1921–2016), one of the most unheralded influencers in both the collegiate and pro game.
Widely credited with popularizing the modern-day jump shot, Sailors first stunned audiences in the early 1940s when he elevated mid-air to shoot over taller defenders - a revolutionary move in an era dominated by set shots. His innovation not only expanded offensive possibilities but also became a fundamental skill in basketball at all levels.
As a standout player for the University of Wyoming, Sailors led his team to the NCAA Championship in 1943, earning Most Outstanding Player honors. His game-changing jump shot helped transform basketball into the fast-paced, dynamic sport we recognize today. After serving in World War II, Sailors had a successful professional career in the ascendant Basketball Association of America (BAA) - most notably with the Cleveland Rebels and Providence Steamrollers - as well as in the first two years of the NBA (the original NBL-absorbed Denver Nuggets, and BAA-originated Boston Celtics & Baltimore Bullets).
Beyond his contributions on the court, Sailors was an advocate for youth sports and the importance of education, spending decades mentoring young athletes. His legacy is celebrated not only for his role in evolving the sport but also for his character and sportsmanship. Inducted into the National Collegiate Hall of Fame in 2012, Kenny Sailors remains a towering figure in basketball history - though, criminally, still not in the Naismith Memorial Basketball Hall of Fame.
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We gear up for the impending launch of the new six-team Women's Pro Baseball League (set to debut in summer of 2026) with another look back at the original All-American Girls Professional Baseball League (1943-54) with sports history writer Jim Sargent.
In "We Were the All-American Girls" (2013), Sargent culled insights from over three dozen interviews with former AAGPBL players, detailing the league’s evolution from underhand pitching with a 12-inch ball in 1943 to overhand pitching and a standard baseball by 1954, its final year. Conducted between 1995 and 2012, these interviews captured memorable games, career highlights, and the deep bonds among players, opponents, and fans. Many players also reflected on how the 1992 film A League of Their Own revived the league's legacy, reigniting public interest nearly 40 years after its last game.
In "The South Bend Blue Sox: A History of the All-American Girls Professional Baseball League Team and Its Players" (2011), Sargent describes the league through the eyes of the players and management of the South Bend Blue Sox - one of only two teams to play all 12 seasons of the league's existence, including two titles (1951 & 1952).
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With apologies to ice hockey's legendary Lord Stanley, no sport is more synonymous with the awarding of championship cups than soccer.
Long ingrained in the international culture of the sport, the hardware that overwhelmingly awaits the various victors of league titles (e.g., Italy's Serie A Coppa Campioni d'Italia or North America's MLS Cup); major club tournaments (like England's FA Cup or the US' Open Cup); and important international competitions (such as CONCACAF's gaudy Gold Cup and the planet's ultimate prize, the FIFA World Cup) is an often-iconic "cup" - even if the form factor doesn't even resemble one.
We go in the opposite direction this week with soccer author Simon Turner ("Tinpot: Football's Forgotten Tournaments") as we celebrate some of the lesser-known and now-defunct soccer cups of the past - including three with intriguing American connections: the 1976 Bicentennial Cup; the 1990s US Cup; and England's rollicking MISL-inspired "Soccer Six" indoor tournament.
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BUY THE BOOK (AND SUPPORT THE SHOW!): "Tinpot: Football's Forgotten Tournaments " (2024): https://amzn.to/3UA3pYu FIND AND FOLLOW: Website: https://goodseatsstillavailable.com/ X/Twitter: https://twitter.com/GoodSeatsStill Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/goodseatsstillavailable/ Threads: https://www.threads.net/@goodseatsstillavailable Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/GoodSeatsStillAvailable/ YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@goodseatsstillavailable - Visa fler
