“How Iowa Met Baseball: the Myths, the History, the Players” by John Liepa

On Sunday, May 5, at 2:00PM, in the Betty Strong Encounter Center, John Liepa will describe “How Iowa Met Baseball: the Myths, the History, the Players.” Over the past century, the setting for the spring passion of many Iowans has been the ballpark. This presentation explores the myths of baseball’s origins, the early history and evolution of the game, baseball’s journey to Iowa and the role of the Civil War in spreading its popularity. Audiences will learn about some of Iowa’s baseball pioneers and view an extensive collection of baseball memorabilia featuring Iowa players.

A life-long baseball card collector, John owns an extensive collection of cards and memorabilia representing Iowa’s 225 Major Leaguers, featuring Iowa’s seven Hall-of-Famers. A charter member of Iowa’s “Field of Dreams” chapter of the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR), he has published numerous articles on Iowa baseball history and was honored by Major League Baseball asking him to write an article on early Iowa baseball history for the official 2022 “Field of Dreams” game program. Over the past 13 years, he has done over 208 presentations on baseball history throughout Iowa, often appearing as Calvin McVey, Iowa’s first professional baseball player, who played for America’s first all-professional baseball team, the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings.