Projects: Humanities Live: Connie Mack & the Philadelphia Athletics

Broadcast Premiere: Wednesday, April 23, 9:00 p.m.



Historian Richard Rosen (above, left) is joined by playwright Bruce Graham to talk about the experience of being a Philadelphia sports fan.

Back in the days before the Philadelphia Phillies, there were the Philadelphia Athletics and Connie Mack. For fifty seasons, the A's made Philadelphia home. Historian Richard Rosen and playwright Bruce Graham recount the ups and downs of Philadelphia baseball, fandom and explore Philadelphia history through sports. Not just for admirers of the Philadelphia A's, this program is for anyone who relishes the ups and downs of being a Philadelphia sports fan.

Richard Rosen has been teaching history for over 35 years at Drexel University and has been a fan of the Philadelphia Athletics since he was a child growing up in Philadelphia. He has been Drexel's Dean of the College of Arts and Sciences and also Associate Dean of the College of Engineering. Richard Rosen currently serves as Drexel's University Ombudsman.

The author of a dozen produced plays, Bruce Graham's credits include The Philly Fan, a one-man romp about the trials and tribulations of a local fan. An excerpt of the play is featured in the program. Graham has received awards from the Pew Fellowships in the Arts, Theater Association of Pennsylvania, The Rockefeller Foundation and was the 1992 Princess Grace Foundation Statuette recipient. He currently teaches film and theater courses at Drexel University and University of Pennsylvania.

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Connie Mack & the Philadelphia Athletics is supported in part by the Pennsylvania Historical and Museum Commission.