Shows / Back When There Was Baseball
Back When There Was Baseball
Step into the golden era of America's Pastime with "Back When There Was Baseball." Uncover the untold stories, thrilling triumphs, and heart-wrenching trials of the sport's most iconic figures, spanning from the mid-1960s to the mid-1980s - a transformative era when the baton was gracefully handed from titans like Hank Aaron, Orlando Cepeda, Mickey Mantle, and Willie Mays to the new generation of legends like Johnny Bench, George Brett, Mike Schmidt, and Nolan Ryan. Each episode of "Back When…
Episodes
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Jack Brohamer
We are discussing utility infielders on today's podcast. When you think of utility infielders in the 1970s era, Jack Brohamer comes to mind. Utility infielders…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Mac Scarce
Mac Scarce joins us on the podcast this week. Mac came out of Florida State University and is the only pitcher we interviewed that was a reliever his entire…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Mike Garman
Mike Garman is our guest this week. Mike pitched in the Majors from 1969-1978 and was the 3rd overall pick out of the 1967 MLB Draft by the Boston Red Sox. He…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Ron Hunt Tribute
We are fortunate to have Tad Myre as our guest this week. Tad wrote the SABR article on Ron Hunt. Ron passed away on July 15, 2026, at the age of 85. He played…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Joe Sambito
We are privileged to speak with pitcher Joe Sambito this week. Joe took part in two of the best League Championship series in history (1980 NLCS…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Ernie Camacho
Ernie Camacho joins us on the podcast this week. Ernie signed with the Oakland A's after being drafted in the 1st round of the 1976 June Draft out of Hartwell…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Rick Bladt
Rick Bladt joins us on the show this week. Rick played in the Major/Minor Leagues from 1966-1977. He was a non-drafted free agent in 1966 signed by the Chicago…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Charlie Leibrandt
This week on Back When There Was Baseball, Rex and Steve take a look back at a "control/finesse" pitcher, which you don't see very often in today's game. His…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Steve Luebber
Steve Luebber joins us this week. Steve played in the Major/Minor Leagues from 1967-1988. He made his Major League debut with the Minnesota Twins in 1971 and…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Randy McGilberry
Former Major League pitcher Randy McGilberry joins us this week. Randy was drafted by the Kansas City Royals in 1975 out of Louisiana Tech University. He made…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Jack McKeon
Former Major League manager Jack McKeon joins us this week. Jack signed his first contract in 1949 and played several years in the Minor Leagues but never made…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Jim Lefebvre
Our guest this week is the 1965 National League Rookie of the Year. His name is Jim Lefebvre and he played with the Los Angeles Dodgers from 1965-1972 then…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Jim York
Jim York joins us on the podcast this week. Jim had a storied road to his signing with the Kansas City Royals. He started his college career at Cerritos Junior…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Willie Lozado
Willie Lozado joins us on the podcast this week. Willie played his high school baseball in Brooklyn, NY, then migrated to Miami Dade College. He was signed as…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Pete LaCock
Pete LaCock joins us this week on the podcast. Pete went to William Howard Taft Charter High School in Woodland Hills, CA surrounded by Hollywood stars as his…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Leo Mazzone
We are blessed to have one of the greatest pitching coaches of all time with us this week. Leo Mazzone joins us to talk about his career as a pitching coach…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Dave Phillips
Do you remember the Disco Demolition Night in 1979? If so, the crew chief of that event is our guest this week. His name is Dave Phillips and he was an umpire…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Don Money
Don Money joins us on the podcast this week. Don played in the Majors from 1968-1983. He started out in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization but got his break…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Jim Kern
We are pleased to host one of the best relief pitchers in MLB history. Jim Kern joins us this week. He won the American League Rolaids Relief Man Award in 1979…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Father's Day Special
Two members of the PennSports.live family had fathers who played in the Minor Leagues and this episode will honor those fathers. My co-host, Steve Schaaf's…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Tom Carroll
Our guest this week is Tom Carroll who played most of his career in the Cincinnati Reds system. Tom was a 6th round draft choice in 1970 out of North Allegheny…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Art Kusnyer
Art Kusnyer joins us this week. Art was a catcher and bounced around the Minor/Major Leagues from 1966-1979 with the Chicago White Sox, California Angels…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Nancy Finley
We are celebrating the Oakland A's dynasty (1972-1974) this week with our guest Nancy Finley. The A's won the World Series 3 consecutive years (1972-1974) and…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Wayne Causey
Wayne Causey joins us this week. Wayne was one of the "Bonus Babies" in the 1953-1957 rule, which meant that he had to be up with the parent club (Baltimore…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Al Worthington
We have a rare treat for you this week. Our guest played with Willie Mays, Orlando Cepeda, Ted Williams, Pete Rose, Frank Robinson, Tony Oliva, Harmon…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Leron Lee
Leron Lee joins us this week as we take a look Back When There Was Baseball. Leron played in the Majors from 1969-1976 with the Cardinals, Padres, Indians and…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Bill Haller
American League Umpire, Bill Haller, passed away on August 20, 2022. We are re-airing this podcast conducted in 2020 as a tribute to Bill. Bill umpired in the…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Al Woods
Al Woods joins us on the podcast this week. Al played in the Major/Minor leagues from 1973-1986 with the Minnesota Twins and Toronto Blue Jays. He debuted with…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Pat Zachry
Pat Zachry passed away on April 4, 2024 at the age of 71. We re-air this podcast to honor him. Our guest this week is one of the winners of the 1976 National…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Darrel Chaney
We travel back to the 1970s with our guest this week. Darrel Chaney played in the Majors from 1969-1979. He started out his athletic career as a Parade All…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Don Cooper
We merge modern day baseball with baseball played 40+ years ago when we go Back When There Was Baseball. Don Cooper joins us this week. Don played in the…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: John Doherty
We take the time machine back to the early 1970s with our guest John Doherty. John was drafted in the 1st round of the 1970 MLB January Draft - Secondary Phase…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Curt Kaufman
Curt Kaufman joins us this week. Curt received a scholarship out of high school to play baseball at Iowa State University. After that he was signed as a…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Doug Rau
Doug Rau joins us this week. Doug had a good collegiate career at Texas A&M which earned him a #1 draft pick of the Los Angeles Dodgers in the secondary phase…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Rudy Meoli
Rudy Meoli joins us this week. Rudy played in the Major and Minor Leagues from 1969-1979 for several teams (California Angels, Chicago Cubs and Philadelphia…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Rich Garcia
American League umpire Rich Garcia joins us this week. Richie was one of the most highly respected umpires of his time period (1976-1999). During his career…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: John Werhas
We take the time machine this week Back When There Was Baseball to the mid-1960s with our guest John Werhas. John was signed in 1960 by the Dodgers after being…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Art Howe
There were a few players in the 1970s whom Rex was told to emulate if he wanted to play Big League Baseball. Art Howe was one of them and he is our guest this…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Ellis Valentine
When you talk about the greatest outfield arms in the history of the game players such as Roberto Clemente, Dave Parker and Ichiro Suzuki come to mind…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Tom Murphy
Tom Murphy joins us this week. Tom played in MLB from 1967-1979 with the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: John Morlan
John Morlan is our guest this week. He played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 1971-1977 with stints in the Major Leagues in 1973 and 1974. John is…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Skip Lockwood
Our guest this week is former MLB pitcher Skip Lockwood. Skip signed with the Kansas City A's in 1964 for the unbelievable sum of $135,000. He started out at…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Doug Corbett
Doug Corbett joins us this week. Doug played college baseball at the University of Florida but was not drafted. He signed with the Kansas City Royals for $500…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Mike Stenhouse
We travel Back When There Was Baseball this week to the 1980s with our guest Mike Stenhouse. Mike was one of the best hitters in Ivy League history coming out…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Sam Ewing
Our guest this week was All-Everything out of the University of Tennessee before he entered the professional ranks. Sam Ewing hit .412 during his career at…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Jim Lyttle
Jim Lyttle joins us on the podcast this week. Jim played in the Majors from 1969-1976. He then had a successful career in Japan from 1977-1983. Jim played with…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Dyar Miller
Dyar Miller joins us this week. Dyar graduated from Utah State and was signed by the Philadelphia Phillies in 1968 after he was not drafted. Dyar played from…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Duke Sims
Who was the last player to hit a home run in the original Yankee Stadium (1973) before the massive remodel? His name is Duke Sims and he is our guest this…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Mike Paul
Mike Paul joins us on the podcast this week. He came out of the University of Arizona and was drafted in the 20th round in 1967 by the Cleveland Indians. He…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Ken Frailing
Ken Frailing passed away on August 25, 2022. We re-air this podcast in honor of him. Ken Frailing is our guest this week. Ken pitched from 1966-1978 in the…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Bart Zeller
Bart Zeller joins us this week. He was with the St. Louis Cardinals organization his entire career. Bart was a catcher and only appeared in one game with the…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Bill Melton
Bill Melton passed away on December 5, 2024. We are re-airing this podcast in honor of him. Who was the American League home run leader in 1971? If you do not…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Eddie Leon
Eddie Leon is our guest this week. He played in the Major Leagues from 1968-1975 with the Cleveland Indians, Chicago White Sox and New York Yankees. His…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Kevin Kobel
Kevin Kobel joins us this week. Kevin came out of Athol Springs, NY which is south of Buffalo on Lake Erie. This is obviously not a good weather area for…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Tommy McCraw
Tommy McCraw is our guest this week. Tommy, or Mac as he likes to be called, played in the Majors from 1963-1975 with the Chicago White Sox, Washington…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Rance Mulliniks
Our guest this week is Rance Mulliniks. Rance played from 1977-1992 for the California Angels, Kansas City Royals and the Toronto Blue Jays. He was traded to…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Tim Foli
Tim Foli joins us on the podcast this week. Tim played in the Majors from 1970-1985. His statistics don't jump out at you, but he was a very good defensive…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Steve Kealey
Steve Kealey joins us this week on our look Back When There Was Baseball. Steve came out of Torrance, California in the mid-1960s where there was a boatload of…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Mike Epstein
Our guest this week is Mike Epstein. Mike played in the Majors from 1966-1974 with various clubs and was part of the 1972 Oakland A's world championship team…
Back When There Was BaseballBack When There Was Baseball: Dave Ford
Dave Ford joins us this week. Dave was a 1st round draft pick in 1975 by the Baltimore Orioles. He was one of the many hot prospects and dominant pitchers that…