There are many ways in which people connect with the past. It could be reading a book, looking at photographs, or visiting a site or museum. In our Interactive Exhibit Design course, we have been encouraged to select an item we might find lying around our house, and by performing an action, imagine that this object somehow connects us to the past. With the aid of imagination and a little magic - this ordinary item becomes a "history appliance."
My colleagues have come up with some truly innovative ideas. There are objects for every interest: the traveler, the java junkie, the fashionista, the meteorologist, and even those who would like to do more than just curl up with a good book. With all these entertaining ideas, it is clear that we could take this "history appliance" in any possible (or seemingly impossible) direction we wanted. However, there was one suggestion that caught my eye as I was reading the assignment, and as much as I brainstormed - I was continually drawn back to my original idea. The suggestion: "an item of sports equipment" - the idea: a baseball bat.
Now, I had started to feel that baseball has played a much larger role in this blog than it actually does in my life. Don't get me wrong - I'm a fan, and I interned at the Hall of Fame - but there are many other things that interest me, and I am certainly no baseball or sport historian. But once this idea popped in my head I couldn't shake it.
Have you ever wondered what it would be like to hit that game-winning, record-breaking home run? (For my Canadian friends, it's the equivalent of a hat trick.) With this bat you could experience that feeling. Simply slip on this batting helmet (equipped with surround sound headphones), pick up the "Wonderboy", and swing for the fences!
The bat will gauge your swing and respond with the appropriate home run experience. Perhaps yours is the "Shot heard round the world," and you hear this:
Or are you a lefty? Take a swing and experience Roger Maris breaking Babe Ruth's record:
You could even tailor your experience, if there is a particular announcer you want to hear. Consider Hank Aaron's 715th home run. You could choose to hear Curt Gowdy (NBC), Milo Hamilton (Braves Radio Network), or Vin Scully (Dodgers Radio Network.)
For a more authentic experience, you can even opt out of the announcers, and keep it to the roar of the crowd and cheers of your teammates. For a more in depth experience, screens could project the image of the stadium as you round the bases. There are so many places the "Wonderboy" could take you.
There is something magical about listening to an exciting moment in sports history. It's the kind of experience that makes the hair on your arms stand up. The combination of your favorite player and that amazing announcer:
And then there are those moments I would rather not recreate with the "Wonderboy"...
For those of you not familiar with Movember (as I wasn't prior to this year), it is a world-wide movement to raise funds and awareness for men's health, specifically prostate cancer. At the beginning of November, previously clean-shaven men start growing moustaches and register on the Movember website (USACanada) to track their progress and raise money. Turns out it is pretty well known in Canada because last year the NHL got in on it (hockey, go figure.)
Lindsay got the ball rolling on her blog, tackling the topic with famous historical moustaches. While brainstorming future posts, she solicited suggestions from the rest of the public history crew. Soon names of political leaders, actors, athletes, and artists were flying about the room, everyone advocating their choices. It became apparent that perhaps this topic was pretty broad for just one blog. So a few of us have decided to do spin-offs.
As the Token American, I knew I had a responsibility tackle a specific area: moustaches in baseball.
Those of you who know me personally, know that there is only one man to start off this series for me - Michael Jack Schmidt.
Iron Mike
Ask your average Phillies fan who is the best player the club has ever seen, and most will say Mike Schmidt. Schmidt spent his entire 18-year career in Philadelphia, along the way earning three National League MVPs, 12 All-Star nods, 10 Gold Gloves, and was named the The Sporting News Player of the Decade for the 1980s.
Known for his slugging as much as his fielding, he racked up 548 career home runs, hitting 40 or more in three separate seasons, and at least 30 home runs 10 other times. His success is frequently attributed to his signature stance in which he would nearly turn his back to the pitcher and wave his derriere while waiting for the pitch. In 1976, he hit four consecutive home runs in a single game, and his 48 round trippers in 1980 set a major league record for a third baseman.
On May 26, 1990 - just shy of one year after making his last MLB appearance, the Philadelphia Phillies retired Schmidt's uniform number 20. Later they erected a statue of him outside the third base gate at Citizens Bank Park.
In 1995, Mike was inducted in the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, New York. He earned an amazing 96.52% of the votes cast.
While his amazing skills on the diamond saw him into the Baseball Hall of Fame, his well known facial hair would also undoubtedly earn him a spot in any Moustache Hall of Fame. So widely known, Nike has already immortalized it on a t-shirt.
