Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The ’72 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago, by David Fletcher, John Owens, and George Castle, was a runner up for this year’s Book of the Year Award for non-fiction. David Fletcher speaks about the book, story structure techniques and collaboration on a writing project.
Read more at ChicagoWrites.podbean.com!
By K.P. Lynne
Eckhartz Press best-selling authors David Fletcher and John Owens took home a well-deserved Honorable Mention at the Book of the Year Awards, sponsored by the Chicago Writers Association. The literary event of the year was held on January 21, 2023 at The Book Cellar in Chicago.
Publishers Rick Kaempfer and David Stern of Eckhartz Press were on hand to receive the award, alongside authors David Fletcher and John Owens.
The “Home-Run” of all Chicago White Sox books…Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The 1972 White Sox and a Transforming Chicago (Eckhartz Press, 2022) is an exceptionally well-written, intensively researched, thought-provoking, enlightening and professionally packaged treasure trove of baseball history.
Read the full article at Patch.com…
The authors, John Owens and Dr. David J. Fletcher, truthfully did their “homework” on this one…conducting exhaustive research, first-hand interviews, extreme fact-checking and hour-upon-hour of historical research, resulting in a magnificent romp through a by-gone era, jam-packed with solid, reliable, scholarly research, presented in a highly entertaining and enjoyable format, enhanced by a myriad of historically significant photography.
Chili Dog MVP was featured on National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum‘s Virtual Author Series with an interview with Bruce Markusen, John Owens and David Fletcher on October 13, 2022.
Owens and Fletcher discuss the impact of Allen, his White Sox teammates, and legendary broadcaster Harry Caray on the landscape of Chicago baseball.
The Robert R. McCormick House at Cantigny Park resumed its Headlines from History series with a presentation by the authors of “Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, the ’72 White Sox, and a Transforming Chicago.”
Co-Author Dr. David Fletcher talked about a unique time and place in baseball and Chicago history, when the arrival of a controversial slugger electrified Chicago and the White Sox stayed in town. The program weaved a narrative of Allen, his teammates, broadcaster Harry Caray, and organist Nancy Faust bringing pride to a franchise that had one foot out of town to Milwaukee just 2½ years previously. The “Chili Dog MVP” program brought to life a more innocent time in baseball intertwining with the hard truths of a hyper-political city like Chicago. In both baseball and life, for which the game is often a metaphor, past is prologue.
Recorded in front of a live crowd at Blue Island Beer Company as the White Sox finished off the first half against the Twins. We sit down with the authors of “Chili Dog MVP: Dick Allen, The ’72 White Sox And A Transforming of Chicago.” Learn how a season not talked about enough by White Sox fans featured that year’s MLB attraction, a young Harry Caray, the inventor of walk-up music Nancy Faust & the resurgence of a team on the brink of leaving the south side. Enjoy a very fun end entertaining “30 Minutes of Sox!”
John Owens joins Andy Masur on his Podcast to talk about the book he co-authored entitled “Chili Dog MVP, Dick Allen, the ’72 White Sox and a transforming Chicago”. It’s the story of Dick Allen’s affect on the team in 1972 and how his impact helped keep the team in Chicago.
Stick around til the end to hear the story of the Chili Dog MVP and what made Dick Allen that guy…
by Lloyd Carroll, Chronicle Contributor
“Chili Dog MVP” (Eckhartz Press) by John Owens and David Fletcher looks back at how mercurial slugger Dick Allen saved the Chicago White Sox franchise with his MVP season. Pitchers Terry Forster and Wilbur Wood, the great knuckleballer, along with charismatic manager Chuck Tanner, helped propel them to their best season in 13 years.
The book is far more than a recap of the ’72 White Sox season as authors Owens and Fletcher do a fantastic job taking readers back to what life was like in the Windy City 50 years ago as they discuss such Chicago institutions as Mayor Richard “Boss” Daley and the city’s top columnist, the colorful Mike Royko, who remains one of my journalism heroes. I learned that hot dogs served with seasoned ground beef were a popular concession item at Comiskey Park.
Chili Dog MVP co-author John Owens sits down virtually with Inside The Game‘s Pat Williams (also senior vice president of the NBA™ Orlando Magic) to talk about the new book about Dick Allen, the 1972 White Sox, and Chicago!
