All Bones Considered: Laurel Hill Stories

ABC:LHS #090    We start with three ballpark Franks...
...Francis Richter, whose writing helped to make the game respectable; he is in the Baseball Hall of Hame.
...Frank Fleer, the man who ALMOST invented the pink gum that's accompanied baseball cards for nearly a century.
...Frank Bettger, who went from failure to success after he blew out his throwing arm in Chicago (prepared and presented by fellow guide Rich Wilhelm).
...Joseph Howard Berry, Jr., who is in two Halls of Fame but is nearly forgotten today because of an unfortunate nickname; yes, it's that bad.
...Thomas Mitchell, partial owner of the Phillies during some lean times, including the staggeringly bad 1930 season; on the bright side, he co-founded Jupiter Island, Florida.
I will release an optional segment on September 5th about the rich history of baseball nicknames, and the problems with who does the naming. 
 

Released early in memory of Dolly Parton. 
ABC:LHS #090-1    Frank Fleer...
...did not invent the gum that today carries his name, but his name has become synonymous with the pink chewy glob coveted by children of all ages worldwide.
 

BBB 059, part 3    Jáni Szántó...
...was a masterful violinist and instructor who escaped the Nazis with the help of Pope Pius XII and settled in Philadelphia as instructor. One of his old instruments was the "Lord Borwick" Stradivarius, built in 1702.

BBB:LHWS 059-2    Wilhelm von Wymetal ...
... was an Austrian emigree with a dueling scar who took his expertise with opera to Hollywood, where he directed stars like Nelson Eddy & Jeannette McDonald, and to Pittsburgh, where he shepherded the Civic Light Opera through its early days of success. 

BBB:LHWS 059-1    Oscar "Papa" Schwar ...
... was a German timpanist whom Leopold Stokowski praised as the best in the business. His rumblings and poundings on kettle drums kept the Philadelphia Orchestra on its toes for more than 40 years. You'll hear lots of drumming in this one. 

BBB:LHWS 059    An estimated 1500 musicians ...
...fled central Europe's political turmoil in the 1930s and 1940s. 
Tympani player Oscar “Papa” Schwar came from Germany; Leopold Stokowski considered him the best kettledrum player he had ever heard.
Wilhelm von Wymetal came from Austro-Hungary, dueling scar and all, to New York City, where he introduced and produced more than a dozen new operas at the Metropolitan, and traveled to Hollywood to direct operatic scenes in movies starring Nelson Eddy & Jeannette McDonald.
Jani Szántó was a Hungarian violinist who made it to Philadelphia with the help of his friend Pope Pius XII; along the way, he briefly owned the 1702 Stradivarius violin known as “Lord Borwick.”