The 8th wonder of the world - a spectacle bigger than sports

I am proud to announce (although technically this came out over a month ago) that I am now a published writer. An article I wrote for the SABR journal The National Pastime for their issue dedicated on Houston baseball since 1961 has been made available to the public and not just the attendees of the SABR 44 conference this past summer. 

My article is entitled Movies, Bullfights, and Baseball, Too and it is about the history of the Houston Astrodome and how it may be the only stadium known as much for the special events that occurred there as it is for what it's home teams accomplished while playing there. No matter how many times Jose Cruz got on base, TD's were thrown by Warren Moon, or playoff clenching no-hitters tossed by Mike Scott, beginning with it's grand opening as the world's first true domed stadium the Astrodome was known for motorcycle jumps, the victory by Billie Jean King, conquering Hollywood via Brewster McCloud and the Bad News Bears. 

The link to read the article can be found here and for those of you that are interested in purchasing The National Pastime (and please do as it contains great articles on Turk Farrell, the 1963 Pepsi Cola Colt .45's baseball card set, and the day the Astrodome had a rain out plus a dozen other good reads) than please click this. 

Here is a little teaser of the article, just a bit from near the opening to get you started: 
On January 3, 1962, the seven Harris County commissioners, many wearing holsters and cowboy hats in the style popularized by men such as Vice President Lyndon Baines Johnson, stood on a small platform to perform the groundbreaking. The “Harris County Domed Stadium” was to be built on drained swampland. The men walked to the edge of the podium and, rather than use shovels, fired Colt .45 six shooters into the ground to break the first dirt. This homage to 1800’s frontier Texas launched the project but it would quickly take on a more forward-looking moniker, capturing the excitement of the space race.

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