Baseball exploded in Evansville after the Civil War. Early clubs like the Resolutes, Blues, Brewers, Hoosiers and Blackbirds played, built ballparks, struggled financially and suffered scandals until the early 1900s. A near tragedy fueled the 1915 construction of Bosse Field, now the third-oldest professional ballpark in operation and the host to Major League Spring Training and the filming of A League of Their Own. After World War II, college baseball returned after lying dormant since the 1920s. In the late 1960s, a local entrepreneur attempted to build a third major league. When he failed, the city ascended to the minor leagues’ highest level. Join sportswriter and Evansville native Kevin Wirthwein as he recounts baseball’s illustrious history in the River City.
Kevin Wirthwein grew up in Evansville, where he attended Harrison High School, and studied journalism at Butler University in Indianapolis. After graduation, Kevin was a sportswriter and sports editor for The Brownsburg Guide in Brownsburg, Indiana, where he won a Hoosier State Press Association Award for his weekly sports column. He was a staff writer for Trap & Field Magazine and served briefly as editor of the Zionsville Times before returning to Butler to earn an MBA degree and enter the business world. He is a member of the Society for American Baseball Research and the Vanderburgh County Historical Society. Kevin is married and has four lovely daughters.