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The 34-Ton Bat
''The 34-Ton Bat: The Story of Baseball As Told Through Bobbleheads, Cracker Jacks, Jockstraps, Eye Black, and 375 Other Strange and Unforgettable Objects'' is a 2013 baseball book written by Steve Rushin.Rushin, Steve (2013) ''The 34-Ton Bat: The Story of Baseball As Told Through Bobbleheads, Cracker Jacks, Jockstraps, Eye Black, and 375 Other Strange and Unforgettable Objects.'' New York: Little, Brown and Company Rushin is an American journalist, novelist, and sportswriter for Sports Illustrated magazine. Rushin was named the 2005 National Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, and is a four-time finalist for the National Magazine Award. Book summary Chapter 1. The Baseball Grenade. Rushin discusses the link between the military and baseball and describes how the military endeavored to design a hand grenade shaped like a baseball which they believed would give American soldiers a natural advantage over the enemy because of t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steve Rushin
Steve Rushin is an American journalist, sportswriter and novelist. He was named the 2005 National Sportswriter of the Year by the National Sportscasters and Sportswriters Association, and is a four-time finalist for the National Magazine Award. Early life Rushin grew up in Bloomington, Minnesota, the third in a family of five kids. In 1954 Steve's father, Don, was a blocking back for Johnny Majors at the University of Tennessee. Steve's older brother, Jim, was a forward on the Providence hockey team that reached the Frozen Four in 1983. In Bloomington, Rushin watched baseball and football games at Metropolitan Stadium, where he sold hot dogs and soda to Twins and Vikings fans. He is a graduate of John F. Kennedy Senior High School in Bloomington, and Marquette University in Milwaukee. Career After reading a story by ''Sports Illustrated'' writer Alexander Wolff on the annual Gus Macker three-on-three tournament in Michigan, Rushin struck up a correspondence with Wolff. H ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Baseball Field
A baseball field, also called a ball field or baseball diamond, is the field upon which the game of baseball is played. The term can also be used as a metonym for a baseball park. The term sandlot is sometimes used, although this usually refers to less organized venues for activities like sandlot ball. Specifications :''Unless otherwise noted, the specifications discussed in this section refer to those described within the Official Baseball Rules, under which Major League Baseball is played.'' The starting point for much of the action on the field is home plate (officially "home base"), a five-sided slab of white rubber. One side is long, the two adjacent sides are . The remaining two sides are approximately and set at a right angle. The plate is set into the ground so that its surface is level with the field. The corner of home plate where the two 11-inch sides meet at a right angle is at one corner of a square. The other three corners of the square, in counterclockwise or ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Yankee Stadium
Yankee Stadium is a baseball stadium located in the Bronx, New York City. It is the home field of the New York Yankees of Major League Baseball, and New York City FC of Major League Soccer. Opened in April 2009, the stadium replaced the original Yankee Stadium that operated from 1923 to 2008; it is situated on the former site of Macombs Dam Park, one block north of the original stadium's site. The new Yankee Stadium replicates design elements of the original Yankee Stadium (including its exterior and trademark frieze), while incorporating larger spaces and modern amenities. It is the third-largest stadium in Major League Baseball by seating capacity. Although construction began in August 2006, the project spanned many years and faced many controversies, including the high public cost and the loss of public parkland. The $2.3 billion stadium, built with $1.2 billion in public subsidies, is one of the most expensive stadiums ever built. Along with baseball, the stadium has h ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Polo Grounds
The Polo Grounds was the name of three stadiums in Upper Manhattan, New York City, used mainly for professional baseball and American football from 1880 through 1963. The original Polo Grounds, opened in 1876 and demolished in 1889, was built for the sport of polo. Bound on the south and north by 110th and 112th streets and on the east and west by Fifth and Sixth (Lenox) avenues, just north of Central Park, it was converted to a baseball stadium when leased by the New York Metropolitans in 1880. The third Polo Grounds, built in 1890, was renovated after a fire in 1911 and became Polo Grounds IV, the one generally indicated when the ''Polo Grounds'' is referenced. It was located in Coogan's Hollow and was noted for its distinctive bathtub shape, with very short distances to the left and right field walls and an unusually deep center field. In baseball, the original Polo Grounds was home to the New York Metropolitans from 1880 through 1885, and the New York Giants from ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
New York City
New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the List of United States cities by population density, most densely populated major city in the United States, and is more than twice as populous as second-place Los Angeles. New York City lies at the southern tip of New York (state), New York State, and constitutes the geographical and demographic center of both the Northeast megalopolis and the New York metropolitan area, the largest metropolitan area in the world by urban area, urban landmass. With over 20.1 million people in its metropolitan statistical area and 23.5 million in its combined statistical area as of 2020, New York is one of the world's most populous Megacity, megacities, and over 58 million people live within of the city. New York City is a global city, global Culture of New ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Independence Day (United States)
Independence Day (colloquially the Fourth of July) is a federal holiday in the United States commemorating the Declaration of Independence, which was ratified by the Second Continental Congress on July 4, 1776, establishing the United States of America. The Founding Father delegates of the Second Continental Congress declared that the Thirteen Colonies were no longer subject (and subordinate) to the monarch of Britain, King George III, and were now united, free, and independent states. The Congress voted to approve independence by passing the Lee Resolution on July 2 and adopted the Declaration of Independence two days later, on July 4. Independence Day is commonly associated with fireworks, parades, barbecues, carnivals, fairs, picnics, concerts, baseball games, family reunions, political speeches, and ceremonies, in addition to various other public and private events celebrating the history, government, and traditions of the United States. Independence Day is the n ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Coogan's Bluff
Coogan's Bluff is a promontory near the western shore of the Harlem River in the Washington Heights neighborhood of Upper Manhattan in New York City. Its boundaries extend approximately from 155th Street and the Macombs Dam Bridge viaduct to 160th Street, between Edgecombe Avenue and the river. A deep escarpment descends from Edgecombe Avenue to the river, creating a sheltered area between the bluff and river known as Coogan's Hollow. For 73 years, the hollow was home to the Polo Grounds sports stadium. Namesake The promontory is named for James J. Coogan (1846–1915), a real estate developer and one-term Manhattan Borough President, who owned the land during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. The earliest known published reference to "Coogan's Bluff" appeared in ''The New York Times'' in 1893. Polo Grounds From 1890 until April 1964, the bluff overlooked the Polo Grounds, a professional sports venue that served as the home ballpark for Major League Baseball's Ne ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Popcorn
Popcorn (also called popped corn, popcorns or pop-corn) is a variety of corn kernel which expands and puffs up when heated; the same names also refer to the foodstuff produced by the expansion. A popcorn kernel's strong hull contains the seed's hard, starchy shell endosperm with 14–20% moisture, which turns to steam as the kernel is heated. Pressure from the steam continues to build until the hull ruptures, allowing the kernel to forcefully expand, to 20 to 50 times its original size, and then cool. Some strains of corn ( taxonomized as ''Zea mays'') are cultivated specifically as popping corns. The ''Zea mays'' variety ''everta'', a special kind of flint corn, is the most common of these. Popcorn is one of six major types of corn, which includes dent corn, flint corn, pod corn, flour corn, and sweet corn. History Corn was domesticated about 10,000 years ago, in what is now Mexico. Archaeologists discovered that people have known about popcorn for thousands of yea ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Peanut
The peanut (''Arachis hypogaea''), also known as the groundnut, goober (US), pindar (US) or monkey nut (UK), is a legume crop grown mainly for its edible Seed, seeds. It is widely grown in the tropics and subtropics, important to both small and large commercial producers. It is classified as both a grain legume and, due to its high oil content, an oil crop. World annual production of shelled peanuts was 44 million tonnes in 2016, led by China with 38% of the world total. Atypically among legume crop plants, peanut pods develop underground (geocarpy) rather than above ground. With this characteristic in mind, the botanist Carl Linnaeus gave peanuts the specific epithet ''hypogaea'', which means "under the earth." The peanut belongs to the botanical Family (biology), family Fabaceae (or Leguminosae), commonly known as the legume, bean, or pea family. Like most other legumes, peanuts harbor symbiotic Nitrogen fixation, nitrogen-fixing bacteria in root nodules. The capacity to fi ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hot Dogs
A hot dog (uncommonly spelled hotdog) is a food consisting of a grilled or steamed sausage served in the slit of a partially sliced Hot dog bun, bun. The term hot dog can refer to the sausage itself. The sausage used is a wiener (Vienna sausage) or a frankfurter (Frankfurter Würstchen, also just called frank). The names of these sausages commonly refer to their assembled dish. Some consider a hot dog to technically be a sandwich. Hot dog preparation and condiments vary worldwide. Typical condiments include mustard, ketchup, relish, onions in tomato sauce, and cheese sauce. Common garnishes include sauerkraut, diced onions, jalapeños, chili, grated cheese, coleslaw, bacon, and olives. Hot dog variations, Hot dog variants include the corn dog and pigs in a blanket. The hot dog's cultural traditions include the Nathan's Hot Dog Eating Contest and the Wienermobile, Oscar Mayer Wienermobile. These types of sausages were culturally imported from Germany and became popular in the Un ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ebbets Field
Ebbets Field was a Major League Baseball stadium in the Flatbush section of Brooklyn, New York. It is mainly known for having been the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers baseball team of the National League (1913–1957). It was also home to five professional football teams, including three NFL teams (1921–1948). Ebbets Field was demolished in 1960 and replaced by the Ebbets Field Apartments, later renamed the Jackie Robinson Apartments. History Construction Ebbets Field was bounded by Bedford Avenue to the east, Sullivan Place to the South, Cedar Street (renamed McKeever Place in 1932) to the west, and Montgomery Street to the north. After locating the prospective new site to build a permanent stadium to replace the old wooden Washington Park, Dodgers' owner Charles Ebbets acquired the property over several years, starting in 1908, by buying lots until he owned the entire block. The land included the site of a garbage dump called Pigtown, so named because of the pigs that ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jockstrap
A jockstrap, also a jock (male), jill (female), strap, cup, groin guard, pelvic protector (female), supporter, or athletic supporter, is an undergarment for protecting the testes and penis or vulva during contact sports or other vigorous physical activity. This article deals chiefly with the genital protective sports gear designed for the male body, colloquially known as a "jock". A jockstrap (males) consists of a waistband (usually elastic) with a support pouch for the genitalia and two elastic straps affixed to the base of the pouch and to the left and right sides of the waistband at the hip. The pouch, in some varieties, may be fitted with a pocket to hold an abdominal guard (impact resistant cup, box) to protect the testicles and the penis from injury. The jillstrap ( a "jill") is the female equivalent of the jockstrap, but is designed to protect the vulva from getting struck. Etymology The word ''jockstrap'' has purportedly been in use at least since 1891, a likely c ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
