Archive - Throwbacks: A Newsletter About Sports History and Culture

Sports Movies: Major League (1989)

Amid what was a golden era of baseball movies, Major League is increasingly the most resonant.

Jun 27 •

Michael Weinreb

Why We Need the Knuckleball (1985)

As culture grows stale, the most artistic pitch in baseball feels more important than ever.

Jun 25 •

Michael Weinreb

Jack Johnson vs. the Great White Hope (1910)

This is Throwbacks, a newsletter by me, Michael Weinreb, about sports, history, culture and politics, and everything in-between.

Jun 20 •

Michael Weinreb

The Two Max Muncys (1997)

...and the two Allen DeGraffenreids, and the weird randomness of sports (and life).

Jun 18 •

Michael Weinreb

Nick Saban, Kent State, and What Happens Next (1970)

This is Throwbacks, a newsletter by me, Michael Weinreb, about sports, history, culture and politics, and everything in-between.

Jun 13 •

Michael Weinreb

The Endorsement: Batting Average (1985)

As baseball's analytics era becomes institutionalized, a simple number still matters.

Jun 11 •

Michael Weinreb

The Endorsement: 1975 Topps

The most colorful baseball card in history was also a harbinger of hope.

Jun 6 •

Michael Weinreb

"That Man is Dangerous" (November, 1978)

The night two American pastimes--football and political violence--collided.

Jun 4 •

Michael Weinreb

May 2025

"I'm still a child, you're an adult, and for you to act like a child…” (1978)

This is Throwbacks, a newsletter by me, Michael Weinreb, about sports, history, culture and politics, and everything in-between.

May 30 •

Michael Weinreb

Is College Football About to Abandon Even the Pretense of Fairness? (1895)

The Big Ten and SEC's monopolistic playoff proposal.

May 28 •

Michael Weinreb

Around the Horn's swan song, the Tush Push's weird adolescence, and Norm Peterson's brilliance (2002)

An ending, a middle, and a handful of cold opens.

May 23 •

Michael Weinreb

The Studio, the Pittsburgh Pirates, and the age of cultural mediocrity (1969)

Plus, Charlton Heston as a quarterback for the New Orleans Saints?

May 21 •

Michael Weinreb

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