Wirthwein brings out more Pocket City diamond history in ‘Black Ball In Evansville’

By STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Kevin Wirthwein wrote about nearly a century of diamond activity in Evansville, Ind., in his first book, “Baseball in Evansville: Booms, Busts and One Global Disaster (The History Press/Arcadia Publishing, 2020).”

While coming up with facts about the game in the Pocket City, Wirthwein focused mostly on Organized Baseball.

Doing that research showed that there was plenty of activity in the sport for those playing in the shadows.

Wirthwein knew that Evansville was represented in the Negro Southern League in the 1920’s and in the late 1940’s and early 1950’s.

“There’s got to be more,” says Wirthwein, an Evansville native who grew up attending games at Bosse Field and graduated from Harrison High School in 1972. “How did this all happen?

“Where did these players all come from? What are the roots of black baseball in Evansville?”

That curiosity and plenty more digging led to “Black Ball In Evansville: Diamonds In The Shadows 1900 To 1960’s.”

“I scoured newspapers, periodicals and anywhere I could find anything,” says Wirthwein. “There were a handful of really good black-owned newspapers in the period 1900 to 1960 that would cover things on a national basis.”

Researchers know that it is easy to get distracted when combing over old newspapers etc.

“The best thing about doing this research is literally everything I found was new to me,” says Wirthwein. “The rabbit holes bore fruit more often than not.

“Until this book, I don’t think anybody wrote it down.”

With some current events sprinkled in, the book features stories of teams and players — amateurs, semipros and professionals — from who hailed from the southwestern Indiana town on the Ohio River. 

It is being produced by Evansville’s M.T. Publishing Company, Inc., is in Pre-Ordering through March 31 and is expected to come out in the summer.

In “Black Ball In Evansville,” Wirthwein’s lays out the teams that played in town then he went through painstaking research on players who were born or reared in Evansville that played in the Negro Leagues. 

Among his online resources were SeamHeads.com and Baseball-Reference.com.

While making treks from his home in central Indiana to his hometown to see long-time friends, Wirthwein would do research Willard Public Library and Evansville-Vanderburgh Public Library.

In 2020, Major League Baseball status was bestowed upon seven professional Negro Leagues that operated between 1920 and 1948.

That meant about 3,400 players and their statistics became a part of Major League history.

With the adoption, the MLB record for most victories by a 17-year-old is now credited to Evansville-born William “Steel Arm” Tyler, who won nine game with the 1925 Memphis Red Sox of the Negro National League.

The previous record for a 17-year-old was held by Hall of Famer Bob Feller with five wins for the 1936 Cleveland Indians.

Wirthwein traced the players who the Color Barrier in Evansville and in other minor leagues.

Felix Mantilla and Horace Garner played for the 1952 Evansville Braves of the Class B Three-I League.

Ike Brown played his final professional season with the Evansville Triplets. He was the last Negro Leaguer to make it to the majors. 

Purchased from the Kansas City Monarchs in 1961, Brown debuted with the Detroit Tigers in 1969 and made his last MLB appearance in 1974 and was with Evansville as a player-coach that same season.

Retired from CNO Financial Group (formerly Conseco) since June 2019, Butler University graduate Wirthwein (1976 undergraduate Journalism degree and 1991 Master of Business Administration) has several ideas about what he could write about next — not necessarily baseball.

“The writing is the hardest part,” says Wirthwein. “The research is fun.”

Wirthwein’s latest “Baseball In Evansville: Stories from the Cutting Room Floor” blog post was published March 7, 2024.

Coil blending enthusiasm, knowledge as Memphis Redbirds broadcaster

BY STEVE KRAH

http://www.IndianaRBI.com

Alex Coil was a baseball player for as long as possible.

The day before he headed to Arizona State University the Valparaiso, Ind., native competed for the Crown Point-based Northwest Indiana Rippers in the 2018 Babe Ruth World Series in Jamestown, N.Y. 

Once in Arizona, Coil immersed himself in sports journalism, radio, television and digital communication. 

“I knew I wanted to be around sports as much as I could,” says Coil, who also played at Valpo Americans Baseball and for Valparaiso American Legion Post 94, Valparaiso High School and other travel teams. “It’s the way my brain comprehends things. My brain has always looked through the lens of sports. Playing was the No. 1. When it got to the tail end of that it was always (broadcasting).”

For two semesters, former baseball commissioner Bud Selig was one of Coil’s professors at ASU. Starting as a freshman, he did play-by-play for many sports and also wrote for the school paper.

He was director of broadcasting and media relations for the Joliet (Ill.) Generals in the summer of 2020. 

He also partnered with Crown Point High School graduate Andrew Mild, who is now a broadcaster with the Atlantic League South Maryland Blue Crabs.

After graduating ASU in 2022, Coil was hired by the Memphis (Tenn.) Redbirds and as the play-by-play voice for the International League team and Triple-A affiliate of the St. Louis Cardinals and is now in his second season. He is the lone on-air talent for games on the Bally Live app, also serving as pregame and postgame host.

“We have a tremendous production crew,” says Coil. “We pride ourselves on the product. It’s really elevated since the beginning of the season. We go all-in for all 75 of our home games. 

“We’re seeing progress in getting as close as we can to a major-league quality TV broadcast.”

When the Redbirds are on the road, Coil is involved with public relations and communications, putting out press releases and game recaps and feeding social media. In 2022, he went on three road trips, including Indianapolis where he got to meet longtime Indians play-by-play broadcaster Howard Kellman.

Cincinnati Reds color analyst Chris Welsh — who pitched in parts of five MLB and seasons became a mentor for collegian Coil — pitched for Indianapolis in 1984 with Kellman calling the action.

Coil, who turned 24 earlier this month, goes into every broadcast looking to bring the energy of a fan with the knowledge of how baseball is supposed to be played.

“That doesn’t come from me,” says Coil. “It comes from everybody I’ve surrounded myself with growing up in baseball.”

Alex, the son of Wayne and Traci Coil and older brother of Nolan Coil, comes from a baseball family. Wayne Coil coaches at Valparaiso High School and for Post 94. Nolan Coil is a pitcher at Calvin College in Grand Rapids, Mich.

While his friends were watching cartoons growing up, Alex was taking in SportsCenter on ESPN and now constantly consumes the MLB Network.

“I try to take pieces of everybody I’ve watch and try to apply that to what happens in the game,” says Coil.

Not wishing to force it, Coil does not yet have a signature call.

“I want it to happen organically,” says Coil. “Where I’m at now if I just came up with something it would fall flat.

“With a home run call there is a rhythm to it I’ve got consistently down. But when that home run is hit I’m not automatically going to something.”

In 2021 while calling games for the Frontier League’s Florence (Ky.) Y’Alls, Coil had a phrase he’d used after victories.

Years before, the words on the town’s water tower on I-75/I-71 went from “Florence Mall” to “Florence Y’All” since advertising was not allowed on a public utility. When the Florence Freedom went through a name change the team became the Y’Alls and its mascot is a costumed representation of the striped water tower.

“When we won I’d say, ‘Paint the W on the water tower,’” says Coil. “That’s as closest to a signature call as I’ve ever gotten.”

Coil quickly adapted to the pitch clock, which was enacted to take out the down time in baseball.

“We played with pitch count last year,” says Coil. “For the first couple of series it was about trying to find the rhythm. Once you get used to that, it’s really just part of the game. 

“I don’t even notice it any more.”

While his father and brother pulled for the Reds, Alex came up as a “massive Chicago Cubs fan.”

His other rooting interests are with Notre Dame and Arizona State in college sports as well as the NFL’s Dallas Cowboys, NHL’s Chicago Blackhawks and NBA’s Phoenix Suns.

For a long time his Cubs favorite player was Darwin Barney.

“Partially because he wore the No. 15 (one of Coil’s travel ball numbers) and because he was so good defensively,” says Coil. “He was a really good person.”

His appreciation went with Anthony Rizzo when he played for the North Siders.

Growing up, Coil’s Cubs broadcasters were Len Kasper on TV and Pat Hughes on the radio.

“With Len Kasper it’s more of that fan,” says Coil. “It’s the energy. His voice will crack sometimes because he gets really, really excited about things. He also has a very analytical approach.

“With Pat Hughes it’s how polished and the command of a broadcast he has. When he says his first word you know who’s talking.”

Coil also took any plenty of Reds games with Marty Brennaman at the mic.

“He was the perfect mix of professional broadcaster and having that hometown fan approach,” says Coil. “He wouldn’t back away from criticizing things. If you do it in the right way, it raises your credibility.”

During spring training and Reds’ regular-season visits to play the Arizona Diamondbacks, Coil got to work with Welsh and Thom Brennaman (Marty’s son) as a statistician.

He plans to broadcast Arizona Fall League games for the second straight year and return in February with college baseball’s MLB Desert Invitational. Both are on MLB.com. He also worked the 2022 home run derby during AFL Fall Stars festivities.

The 2023-24 season will be Coil’s second on the Arizona State hockey broadcast. He serves as a color analyst to play-by-play man Tyler Paley and occasionally fills in as play-to-play for ASU baseball on the Sun Devil Radio Network.

As far as players he’s worked with, Coil points to two faves — one in baseball and one in hockey.

Luken Baker, who made his MLB debut with the Cardinals in June, has 31 home runs this season for Memphis.

“It’s how approachable and how open he was to me last year,” says Baker. “He went through his struggles, but no matter what he was the same person. 

“He would start the conversation with me early on.”

T.J. Semptimphelter is an Arizona State goaltender.

“He was my first interview last year for our pregame show,” says Coil. “He transferred in (from Northeastern University) and didn’t know too many people around Phoenix. He was such an easy guy to talk to.

“After the recorded interview was over he would carry on the conversation and be a normal person.”

Coil gets to weave history into his broadcasts when he talks about Memphis teams of the past. Every Thursday home game the Redbirds — in their 25th season — take on the alternate identity of the Memphis Chicks. In his time with the team, the franchise has also given nods to the Memphis Turtles and Memphis Red Sox of the Negro American League, Negro National League and Negro Southern League during contests at AutoZone Park.

Alex Coil and Bud Selig.

Tyler Paley and Alex Coil.

Alex Coil with Northwest Indiana Rippers.

Alex Coil’s broadcast view at AutoZone Park in Memphis, Tenn.