Cincinnati & The 86th All-Star Game
For the first time since 1988 (and the fifth time overall), Cincinnati hosted a Major League Baseball All-Star Game. For the 86th rendition of the "Midsummer Classic," the city was transformed as the best players in all of baseball converged on the Queen City.
"Heading For Home" Documentary Showcases The Rebirth of an Abandoned Baseball Stadium Previously Documented on QC/D
Back in 2009, I had the opportunity to explore the defunct Bush Stadium. Once home to the AAA level Indianapolis Indians, the stadium was abandoned midway through the 1996 season before temporarily serving as a dirt racetrack. After the racetrack closed, the stadium fell into the hands of the Indy Parks Department and by the time we shot out photos in 2009, the future of the stadium seemed uncertain.
Then, things changed...
Rally at the Square, Reds October and an Open Letter to Frank Fitzpatrick of the Philadelphia Inquirer.
On the morning of October 20, 1990, then Reds owner Marge Schott addressed a large crowd gathered at Fountain Square in downtown Cincinnati. "We won this for the fans, God love ya," she said.
Steel City Discovery
Like Cincinnati's cut-in-the-hill view on North 75 in Kentucky, Pittsburgh features a dramatic entrance. Cars crowd through suburban countryside and into the Fort Pitt Tunnel (seen above) into a mess of traffic and yellow light before emerging into a striking view of the Pittsburgh skyline.
A Blimp in the Sky.
My head hurt from a long day of drinking and a long week of working as our designated driver drove us out of the comfort of downtown to the the typical suburban bar that we usually gather at after work. A beer there, some excedrin from the gas station next door and we eventually found ourselves near the Indiana border and I-74 at a party filled with high school kids. A "solid bro" named Ray wanted to fight me for making out with his cousin. I wasn't familiar with Ray or his cousin, nor had I made out with anybody.
Bush Stadium - Indianapolis, Indiana
From 1931 until 1996, Bush Stadium in Indianapolis, Indiana served as the home of the Indianapolis Indians; a AAA minor league baseball team currently affiliated with Major League Baseball's Pittsburgh Pirates. The Art Deco stadium complete with it's ivy covered walls saw the Indians play as the farm team for not only the Pirates, but the Cleveland Indians, Milwaukee Brewers, Montreal Expos (Now the Washington Nationals), Chicago White Sox, Philadelphia Phillies, Boston Braves (Now the Atlanta Braves) and even the Cincinnati Reds.