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Liepa to present “How Iowa Met Baseball: The Myths, The History, The Players”

John Liepa dressed as early baseball player from Iowa, will present "How Iowa Met Baseball" at the LeGrand Pioneer Heritage Library Photo Provided

The Kansas City Royals won the World Series this year, but what about the 1910 series between the Philadelphia Athletics and the Chicago Cubs? And what does LeGrand have to do with it? Find out at 6:00 PM on November 12th at the LeGrand Pioneer Heritage Library. John Liepa will present “How Iowa Met Baseball: The Myths, The History, The Players”, a special presentation about the myths regarding the “invention” of baseball, the origins and evolution of the early game in the United States; how the Civil War played a role in accelerating the spread of the game; the very first mention of the game’s coming to Iowa in 1858, and how it caught on.

Liepa brings to life some of the first players from Iowa who played a critical role in the development of the game. He will focus on players from central Iowa. Liepa owns an extensive collection of cards and memorabilia representing Iowa’s 217 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 had numerous articles on Iowa baseball history published. Over the past 3-1/2 years, he has done over 60 presentations on baseball history throughout Iowa, often appearing as Montrose, Iowa’s own Calvin McVey, Iowa’s first professional baseball player.

John will bring a selection of baseball cards and memorabilia to be displayed at 6:00 PM followed by the program at 7:00 PM and he will be available after the program to answer questions and talk about the memorabilia on display. There will be a prize drawing for the book, The Baseball Codes: Beanballs, Sign Stealing, and Bench-Clearing Brawls: The Unwritten Rules of America’s Pastime. This program is free and open to the public and has been made possible by grants from the Community Foundation of Marshall County and the Martha-Ellen Tye foundation. For questions on the program call 641-479-2122