I chose this title for my blog because I feel as if I am just entering the fifth stage of my life. For about 8 years, all through high school and college, my entire identity was that of a distance runner. That was Stage 1. Then, at age 23, I started playing guitar and entered Stage 2, that of a folk-singer, song-writer, and entertainer. At age 32, I gave up that pursuit and entered grad school, spending the next 9 years earning my masters and doctorate degrees in history. It was during that third stage that I married Kathleen and obtained two wonderful step-children, Kristin and Ben, in the process. In 1995, I started my teaching career, Stage 4, at the University of Florida and Santa Fe Community College in Gainesville, FL. as an adjunct professor. Stage 4 continued when I moved to Nashville to teach history and coach track and cross country at a private girls school called Harpeth Hall. Having retired in May 2019, I am now entering Stage 5. I have far too much energy to do the usual retirement thing and “go gentle into that good night.” Therefore, I am hoping to launch a new career as a writer. I have completed one novel and am currently working on a second. This blog will be a part of that pursuit. Now, if you listen closely, you can hear the director with one of those movie clap-board things in the distance saying, “Jack’s Life, Take 5.”
Thanks for the update! Keep the good news coming!!
Jack,
Glad I found this. I’ve been reading your dissertation on Judge T M Landis for my own graduate research on Dead Ball Era baseball. Every time I read a dissertation, I’m curious as to where the author ended up. Cheers to your career!
Arick: Good to hear from you. I’m afraid my dissertation won’t provide much insight into the “dead-ball era.” My more-traditional dissertation committee wouldn’t let me write on a true baseball topic, so I “back-doored” them by writing about a federal judge–who also happened to be the first commissioner of baseball. Therefore, my work was primarily about his pre-baseball career and what it tells us about the legal profession in the late 1800s and early 1900s. A great book to read is William Curran’s Big Sticks: The Batting Revolution of the ‘Twenties. His argument is that the so-called “dead ball” did not really change that much, but the game itself and its rules changed dramatically. He points to such things as owners building cozier ballparks to accommodate larger post-war crowds as the middle class grew, had more disposable income, and sought entertainment options. For example, the first Yankee Stadium, completed in 1923 had a right-field line of just 296 feet–perfect for left-handed pull hitters like Ruth and Gehrig. Also, the death of Ray Chapman from a pitched ball in 1920 led to several crucial rules changes. Before 1920, cheap owners would try to use as few baseballs as possible resulting in baseballs that were soft, stained by grass, dirt, and tobacco juice, and nicked up by multi-inning use. Pitchers could do incredible things with such baseballs. Moreover, after 1920, the spitball was made illegal. All of this meant the baseball itself was was easier to see, more firm, and more difficult to manipulate than in the teens. Finally, Curran argues that one man–Babe Ruth–changed the way that hitters approached the game. Swinging from the heels, not caring about strikeouts, and trying to hit home runs, gradually spread from him to the rest of MLB. Thus, the style of the game was altered because of his popularity. Even Ty Cobb, the poster-boy of the Dead Ball Era once hit five home runs in a double-header late in his career, just to prove that he could do it, too, if he so chose.
The book is also a great read and might give you some ideas on how to approach your topic. Let me know if I can help. Shoot me an e-mail if you have ideas you want to discuss.
Good luck with the research.
Therese sent me your blog. I hear you now narrating your stories.
Kathy! Great to hear from you. You don’t know it, but you just made a terrible mistake. You will now be added to the mailing list, and you will be receiving my ravings from time to time. Take care and say hi to Kirk.
Hi Jack,
Miller just told me about your wonderful blog. So happy to read it.
Hope Kathleen, you and your family are well and you are enjoying retirement.
Looking forward to more posts.
Skip Wild
Hi Jack!
Thanks to Debbi Taylor Morris, I learned about your blog. I am a retired Clinical Associate Professor in Education from University of IL at Chgo. I still work part-time as a bilingual special education teacher for grades 1-5. I also teach swimming to adults and children and finally, I’m an Assistant Coach of a USA Swimming swim team (Dolphins Swim Team) for school-age kids.
I aspire to write a book about my experience as a minority female in the education system from elementary education through graduate school and then as a professor in higher education and as an administrator in K-12 Education.
I welcome any of your experience, advice, and/ or resources. I can really identify with your Take 5 concept. I am really thrilled to find you, Jack, after oh so many years! Take good care! Jane Montes
Hi Dr. Jack – I am subscribing to your page so that I get updates on your next novel. Look forward to hearing more about it!
Kathleen Lang