Hooks & Runs

264 - Texans in the Hall: Joe Morgan

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 to Cincinnati after the 1971 season is perhaps Houston's most ill-fated (and bone-headed) trades. Morgan went on to win two Most Valuable Player Awards with the Big Red Machine.Also this episode - three coaches fired already in the NCAA FBS season, the Astros are on life support, the Padres clinch, festivals are faring no better than the AstrosEpisodes Mentioned this Week133 - We Weren't Rained Out, We Were Rained In w/ Roger Metzger144 - Bill Virdon's Baseball Life w/ David Jerome & Shirley Virdon195 - Looking Back at Houston's 1963 All-Rookie Lineup232 - It Ain't Over 'Til It's Over: The 1973 New York Mets w/ Len Ferman, The Sports Time TravelerTM244 - Power Outage! The 1979 Houston Astros258 - "I Was a Kid Too Back Then" w/ Rick WisePlease consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025. 

263 - The Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker Gambling Scandal of 1926 w/ Dan Taylor

The fallout from the 1919 World Series gambling scandal rocked the baseball world when the affair broke into the public's view late in the 1920 season. Just when baseball emerged from that threat, two of baseball's biggest stars, Ty Cobb and Tris Speaker, found themselves immersed in betting scandal arising from a seemingly meaningless game late in the 1919 season. The scandal led to acrimony, finger-pointing and three major resignations. Ultimately, the two stars were cleared and they returned to baseball in 1927, but the reverberations were felt for years to come. Naturally, Babe Ruth figures in the story as wellDan Taylor, the voice of the Fresno Grizzlies, wrote "Baseball at the Abyss: The Scandals of 1926, Babe Ruth, and the Unlikely Savior Who Rescued a Tarnished Game" (Rowman & Littlefield 2023) about the scandal and the stars put under the spotlight. Taylor joins us this week to talk about gambling in baseball, which has emerged the last two seasons as an on-going challenge for the sport.Dan Taylor on Twitter (https://x.com/WritinGuy)Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025. 

262 - Rube and Bill Foster: Texans in the Hall

Andrew "Rube" and William "Bill" Foster were half-brothers born in Calvert, Texas, 25 years apart. Rube (b. 1879) left home in the late 90s to pitch for barnstorming teams deep into the late teens. He established his name as a top pitcher in the circuit as well as a savvy businessman. In 1920, he organized the Negro National League, the first and leading organized Black baseball league. Bill (b. 1904) left the South in 1918 to look for work and play baseball and after catching on with the Memphis team in the NNL, eventually landed on his older brother's Chicago American Giants. He is regarded as the best left-handed pitcher in the Negro Leagues. He pitched the American Giants to titles in 1926 and 1927, then was the winning pitcher in the first East-West All-Star Game in 1933. Both brothers were inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame posthumously.Rube Foster on Seamheads, SABRBill Foster on Seamheads, SABRRobert Charles Cottrell, "The Best Pitcher in Baseball: The Life of Rube Foster, Negro League Giant (New York University Press, 2004).Errata: Henry Mathewson had zero wins in his big league career, not one.Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025. 

261 - The Bill Bevens Story: As Close as you Can Get

Bill Bevens came within one out of throwing the first World Series no-hitter in Game 4.  Also, a look at the pennant and wild card races plus some 1988 Topps baseball cards.Errata: The Giants were 14-14 in August, 9-15 in July. In the second half so far, Texas is 24-19, Seattle is 22-21 and Houston is 20-23. San Diego went 23-43 after the All-Star Break in 2021 and for some reason Craig thinks they collapse like this every year. San Diego was 43-20 in the second half in 2024. Pete Reiser won the NL batting title in 1941, not 1945. Craig was thinking of Mickey Mahler when he should have been thinking of Mike Mason. Wade Boggs played 5 seasons for the Yankees before going to Tampa; he also admitted to drinking 73 beers on a flight, not 57. Clint Hurdle turned down a football scholarship to the University of Miami, but he turned it down to sign with the Royals. Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025. 

260 - Bo Belinsky: Everything Has a Price w/ David Krell

David Krell is a returning guest and the author of "Bo Belinsky: The Rise, Fall and Rebound of a Playboy Pitcher," (McFarland & Co., 2025) the first full-length biography of Bo Belinsky. David Krell's official website (https://www.davidkrell.com)David Krell's Twitter (https://x.com/davidkrell)McFarland Books (https://McFarlandBooks.com)Please consider supporting Hooks & Runs by purchasing books, including those featured in this episode (if any were), through our store at Bookshop.org. Here's the link. https://bookshop.org/shop/hooksandruns Hooks & Runs - https://hooksandruns.buzzsprout.comEmail: hooksandruns@protonmail.comCraig on Bluesky (@craigest.bsky.social)Rex (Krazy Karl's Music Emporium) on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/people/Krazy-Karlz-Music-Emporium/100063801500293/Hosts Emeriti:Andrew Eckhoff on TikTokhttps://www.tiktok.com/@hofffestEric on Facebookhttps://www.facebook.com/ichaboderic/Music: "Warrior of Light" by ikolics (via Premium Beat)   www.premiumbeat.com/artist/ikoliksThis podcast and this episode are copyright Craig Estlinbaum, 2025.