50 min listen
The Story of Willard "Home Run" Brown | Featuring the Late Willard Brown
FromBlack Diamonds
ratings:
Length:
41 minutes
Released:
Sep 7, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Description
He was Ese Hombre. He was Sunny. He was Home Run Brown. He was Special Services for the US Army at the invasion of Normandy. And he was the Negro Leagues' greatest power hitter of the 1940's.Meet Willard Brown, through the stories of Bob Kendrick and the archived voice of Brown himself. Hear how the late Hall of Famer planned to be a Kansas City Monarch from an early age, and ended up rewriting their record books. Hear about his legendary tape-measure shots, and game-winning heroics, his larger-than-life persona in his career in Latin America, and the joy he brought to European troops hitting home runs for the Army in World War II. And don't miss the story of Willard Brown's historic, yet ill-fated, stint as the first Black player (alongside Hank Thompson) in St. Louis Browns history, and why it paled in comparison the competitive levels of the Negro Leagues. Interviews with Willard Brown recorded June 22, 1982, and appear courtesy of the Louie B. Nunn Center for Oral History, University of Kentucky Libraries Follow Bob Kendrick on Twitter - @nlbmprezTo support the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum and preserve the legacy of Buck O'Neil, please visit ThanksAMillionBuck.comVisit the Negro Leagues Baseball Museum in Kansas City - NLBM.comSee and Support the Dream of the NEW Negro Leagues Baseball Museum - Pitch for the Future
Released:
Sep 7, 2023
Format:
Podcast episode
Titles in the series (85)
"So Much More Than Just Mr. Cub": Fergie Jenkins, Ron Rapoport, and Bob Kendrick on the Complicated Career of Ernie Banks: Bob Kendrick is joined by biographer Ron Rapoport, as well as archived interviews with Ernie Banks himself, to discuss the lasting impact of the Negro Leagues career of the man who became Mr. Cub. Hear stories of Buck O'Neil's mentorship in Kansas City (0:51), Ernie's humble beginnings and a one-in-a-lifetime scouting discovery by Cool Papa Bell in Dallas (5:49), the battle to convince Ernie to leave Kansas City for Chicago in 1953 (12:15), his isolation in segregated Chicago and how it shaped his persona (15:12), and the birth of Mr. Cub (17:54). Then Hall of Famer Fergie Jenkins joins Bob (29:42) to share his favorite memories of his late teammate. by Black Diamonds