by Art Hershey
(Former senior manager for 15 years with the Los Angeles Turf Club, operator of Santa Anita Park.)

In the spring of l979, a strike called against all Thoroughbred racing facilities in California imperiled the very future of the sport in the Golden State.  The Service Employees International Union (SEIU) who represented the pari-mutuel wagering tellers, and still do, initiated the walkout.  There were no off-track wagering sites in those days.  Racing locally was scheduled at Hollywood Park in Inglewood. Continue Reading

It has been 59 years since baseball has had a Yankees-Phillies World Series.

In 1950, New York won 98 regular season games and Philadelphia 91 in seizing pennants—the Yanks by three games in the American League and the Phils by two in the National League. A young group of players known as the “Whiz Kids,” the Pennsylvania crew had to wait until the final day to pocket the franchise’s first flag in 35 years. Continue Reading

One of the most beloved baseball broadcasters this country has ever known learned recently that he has incurable cancer.

Yet, 91-year-old Ernie Harwell says when he heard the news he had a feeling of security and serenity, a feeling of acceptance because of his belief in Jesus and the Lord. Continue Reading

Our 14-year-old grandson, Jon, was visiting us recently and since he had never seen my favorite sports movie, “Hoosiers,” Lin and I decided to pull out the DVD of the 1986 film and watch it with him.

If you haven’t seen it yet, (I urge you to rent or buy a copy) or don’t remember the story, “Hoosiers” is about a small town Indiana highschool basketball team that wins the state championship. The film is set in 1952 when all high schools in Indiana, regardless of school size, competed in one state championship tournament. That was the case until 1997. Continue Reading

For nearly two years now, Real Sports Heroes has focused on living sports figures who are making a difference in society. We will continue to spotlight those people who are giving back in a multitude of ways. Continue Reading

Editor, Dodger Dugout

Belisario Defied Long Odds to Make Dodgers

Major League organizations spend millions of dollars researching, scouting and signing the best and brightest players both in the United States but all over the world. One might think that no player with the required talent would escape them. But now and again one is found by a stroke of good fortune, or luck, or digging a bit deeper than the others and somewhere under that umbrella, Ronald Belisario seemingly fell right in the Dodgers’ lap. Continue Reading

(Editor, Dodger Dugout)

Just over 70 years ago, in 1938, the Brooklyn Dodgers were starting to stir from the morass of internal friction which had robbed them of any continuity and which kept them mired in the second division of the National League. Continue Reading

Editor, Dodger Dugout

The Dodgers new home at Camelback Ranch-Glendale is a couple of things. First of all, it isn’t Dodgertown at Vero Beach. And second, it is the most complete baseball complex in all of baseball, constructed in an amazingly beautiful area. Continue Reading

If you are a pro football fan and yet don’t know the game well enough to understand the inner workings of an organization or the rules of the National Football League, it can be quite confusing. Continue Reading