Arriving home on the evening of July 17, I was saddened by the news that retired Supreme Court Justice John Paul Stevens had died at the age of 99. Having spent the past few months reading The Making of a Justice: Reflections on My First 94 Years, I felt that not only had I lost […]
Stuart Shiffman
Stuart Shiffman is a retired associate circuit judge from Springfield. He covers books on a range of subjects, including sports, history and fiction, for Illinois Times.
Posted inArts & Culture
Baseball on the Fourth of July
The Fourth of July and baseball are irretrievably linked. The celebration of American independence in midsummer and the game share many traditions. Across America on the Fourth of July, baseball tournaments and games were played as part of celebrations of America’s birthday. Major League baseball is a foremost part of the July Fourth tradition. The […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A fondness for baseball’s past
Taking a brief respite from the travails of the Springfield Sliders, who as I write this column have completed a quarter of their season and find themselves with a record of six wins and nine losses, I find this an appropriate moment to share some passing thoughts on a few more global baseball matters. When […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Baseball contrasts
Having attended baseball games for many decades, I was reminded last week of how different the game is from that first game I attended in 1955. On Memorial Day weekend along with my son, son-in-law and grandson I visited Busch Stadium to see the Cardinals play the Atlanta Braves. This is the second Busch Stadium […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Baseball’s salesman
The Legendary Harry Caray: Baseball’s Greatest Salesman, by Don Zminda. Bowman and Littlefield, 2019. A Chicago White Sox, Chicago Cub and St. Louis Cardinal fan walk into a bar. They cannot agree on very much when it comes to baseball but they share one common belief. The years when Harry Caray was announcing their games […]
Posted inSpecial Issues
Sliders step up to the plate
“You can’t beat fun at the old ballpark” was the trademark mantra of legendary announcer Harry Caray. While Harry was correct, the modern problem is one of affording fun at the ballpark. The Fan Cost Index measures the price for a hypothetical family of four to attend a major league baseball game. It includes the […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The legend of Mr. Cub
“They’re all beautiful days Buck. It’s just that some are more beautiful than others.” –Ernie Banks The true harbinger of spring is not crocuses or swallows returning to Capistrano. It is the sound of the bat on the ball, the green of the grass and the chatter on the field. It is baseball, and another […]
Posted inArts & Culture
The family behind the Blackhawks
THE BREAKAWAY: The Inside Story of the Wirtz Family Business and the Chicago Blackhawks, by Bryan Smith. Northwestern University Press, 2018. To be a fan of a Chicago professional sports team is to prepare for a life of heartbreak. Cub and Sox fans have each experienced only one World Series victory in the past half-century: […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Lincoln’s last trial
Were Abraham Lincoln to somehow miraculously reappear on the streets of Springfield this week, there would be a great deal that he might recognize. He could walk to his home on Eighth Street where he lived with Mary and their children for 17 years or he could visit the law office he shared with William […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A fictional Illinois small-town police chief, pregnant and endearing
Kelly McMullin is a 30-year veteran of the Chicago Police Department, having served the final decade as a detective in the bomb squad. Relocating to Loda, in east central Illinois, he began his writing career to clear his mind of the many memories from police service. His teenage daughter suggested that he write fiction with […]
Posted inArts & Culture
Ali, adopted son of Illinois
Muhammed Ali died in 2016 at the age of 74. Upon his death, President Barack Obama eulogized him with the observation that, “He stood with King and Mandela; stood up when it was hard; spoke up when others wouldn’t.” In 2005, President George Bush awarded Ali the nation’s highest civilian honor, the Presidential Medal of […]
Posted inArts & Culture
A reporter’s novel brings alive characters and the Klan
Mark Twain’s often quoted observation, “write what you know” is often debated by writers. Some are critical, some supportive. But St. Louis author William Stage is a true believer in Twain’s adage. For two decades Stage worked for the weekly St. Louis newspaper, Riverfront Times. During that period, he wrote 11 books including one, Street […]
