Oscar Bielaski joined the army to avenge his father’s death in the Civil War. Though he did not see combat, he did learn to play the new game of “base ball.”
Another fascinating Gary C. tome, with a personal twist this time. Thanks, as always. In a related note, have you read “Play For A Kingdom” by Thomas Dyja, a Civil War novel in which “base ball” is the narrative engine? Fantastic book.
Way back in the early 2000s I took a year out between degrees to teach English in Poland. Walking around my city, Bielsko-Biała, I saw a whole lot of "Musiał" signs up and, being baseball-obsessed, my first reaction was that this was an odd place to find STL Cardinals fans... Stan the Butcher! It all made sense.
That's funny about "musiał meaning "butcher"! I can't think of a guy whose personality is so opposite of someone who'd be nicknamed "The Butcher" than Stan! When you were in Poland, did you get a chance to go to Kutno? It's in the dead center of the country. Stan Musial built a baseball stadium there because his parents came from that area. There is a whole baseball complex there now and they host international baseball tournaments there. It was both neat and strange to see well-groomed baseball parks so far away from America in Eastern Europe.
Given how pro-American Poles have been since the end of the Cold War, this does really seem like a great place for baseball to take root...
My time there was in 2002-03 and the country was full throttle behind Adam Małysz, one of the world's greatest ski jumpers, and Wisła Kraków as they were doing interesting and improbable things in the UEFA Cup. No Kutno trip for me, but Kraków and Gdańsk were pretty amazing weekend spots and this was almost 25 years ago when they were still shaking off the Soviet yoke. I had sentimental reasons for liking Żywiec, too (great piwo). I suspect all of my old haunts have been fairly well-discovered by tourists and I highly recommend going for a visit. You can always wet your beak with A Real Pain--fantastic film and a well-deserved Oscar for Kieran Culkin.
This is excellent, Gary. Well done!
Another fascinating Gary C. tome, with a personal twist this time. Thanks, as always. In a related note, have you read “Play For A Kingdom” by Thomas Dyja, a Civil War novel in which “base ball” is the narrative engine? Fantastic book.
Thanks Barry. I haven't heard of “Play For A Kingdom” by Thomas Dyja, but I will look it up this evening. Thanks for the tip!
Way back in the early 2000s I took a year out between degrees to teach English in Poland. Walking around my city, Bielsko-Biała, I saw a whole lot of "Musiał" signs up and, being baseball-obsessed, my first reaction was that this was an odd place to find STL Cardinals fans... Stan the Butcher! It all made sense.
That's funny about "musiał meaning "butcher"! I can't think of a guy whose personality is so opposite of someone who'd be nicknamed "The Butcher" than Stan! When you were in Poland, did you get a chance to go to Kutno? It's in the dead center of the country. Stan Musial built a baseball stadium there because his parents came from that area. There is a whole baseball complex there now and they host international baseball tournaments there. It was both neat and strange to see well-groomed baseball parks so far away from America in Eastern Europe.
Given how pro-American Poles have been since the end of the Cold War, this does really seem like a great place for baseball to take root...
My time there was in 2002-03 and the country was full throttle behind Adam Małysz, one of the world's greatest ski jumpers, and Wisła Kraków as they were doing interesting and improbable things in the UEFA Cup. No Kutno trip for me, but Kraków and Gdańsk were pretty amazing weekend spots and this was almost 25 years ago when they were still shaking off the Soviet yoke. I had sentimental reasons for liking Żywiec, too (great piwo). I suspect all of my old haunts have been fairly well-discovered by tourists and I highly recommend going for a visit. You can always wet your beak with A Real Pain--fantastic film and a well-deserved Oscar for Kieran Culkin.