Pete Peterson

Reverend Clementa Pinckney was one of nine people killed in last month's mass shooting at a church in Charleston, South Carolina. Reading Baseball's Pete Peterson explains how Pinckney is connected to a baseball Hall of Famer and how the two men impacted people in similar ways.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Growing Up With Clemente and Pops: The Willie Stargell Story.
 

Reading Baseball's Pete Peterson takes a look back at the origin, and life, of baseball trading cards.

There are high hopes for the Chicago Cubs as the 2015 Major League Baseball season gets ready to open.

Pete Peterson's Reading Baseball essays usually focus on baseball.  But today the retired SIU English professor turns his attention to another one of his passions - running.

A newspaper columnist in New York recently wrote a piece claiming St. Louis Cardinals fans were the least deserving of a World Series championship.  In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson takes a look at how the rest of the country views Cardinal Nation as baseball's new evil empire and who he blames for this change in perception.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

When World War I broke out 100 years ago, there was another war of sorts going on within the United States.

A former pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals and Chicago Cubs passed away recently without a lot of fanfare.

This week Pete Peterson celebrates the 200th edition of Reading Baseball.   The series of original sports essays and commentaries debuted on WSIU Radio in May 2004.

A Japanese pitcher generated a lot of buzz on the internet recently when he threw a slow, arcing pitch that caught the batter by surprise.  In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us about the history and name of this odd-looking pitch that dates back to the 1940's.
 
 

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

If you'd like your summer reading list to include books about baseball, you may be in luck.

Major League Baseball's expanded use of instant replay is receiving mixed reviews during the first few weeks of the regular season. In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson examines whether television replays actually diminish the game's unique appeal.
 

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

Wrigley Field in Chicago is celebrating its 100th birthday this season. In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us about the history of the ballpark, including how its first tenant was not even a member of Major League Baseball.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

This is the 50th anniversary of the St. Louis Cardinals 1964 World Series win over the New York Yankees.
Most people probably attribute the Cardinals title run to the mid-season acquisition of a future Hall of Fame outfielder. But, in his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson explains how another trade may have been the real key to the season.
 

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

If you're tired of the cold and snow this winter, you're not alone.   Cheer up! Opening day is just a couple of weeks away. Pete Peterson reflects on the bleak days of winter in his latest edition of Reading Baseball.

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.

As we celebrate Valentine's Day, it appears the love affair between many St. Louis Cardinal fans and Albert Pujols may officially be over after the slugger moved onto Los Angeles to play for the Angels in 2012.

Former major league infielder and World War Two hero Jerry Coleman recently passed away.
In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells how it was actually Coleman's colorful broadcasting style that made him a real fan favorite.
 

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, the author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

Martin Luther King Jr.'s birthday will be celebrated on Monday. WSIU Radio's Reading Baseball commentator Pete Peterson tells us how the all-time leading scorer in SIU Men's Basketball history helped a lot of young people in the area strive for Dr. King's dream after his professional basketball career ended.

In his annual holiday edition for Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us how Pittsburgh's infamous "Terrible Towel" may be the perfect gift for the sports fan on your list as well as help out a good cause.

Reading Baseball is an original series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.

On this, the 50th anniversary of President John F. Kennedy's assassination, Pete Peterson reflects on the tragedy of the events that touched the lives of all Americans in this special edition of Reading Baseball.

Pete Peterson provides essays and commentaries for WSIU Radio in a segment called Reading Baseball.
A similar version of this commentary appeared in a recent edition of the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette.
 

The St. Louis Cardinals pursuit of their 12th World Series Championship started with a hard-fought win over Pittsburgh in the National League Division Series.

The baseball cap is a recognized piece of a ballplayer's uniform.  It's also way for fans to show allegiance to their favorite teams.

A recent report suggests that sports fans tend to eat unhealthy foods after their favorite team loses.  In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson takes it a step further to explore how baseball fans' attitudes and behavior are shaped by their favorite team's performance.

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.

The Baseball Hall of Fame recently honored the Pittsburgh Pirates organization.

In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us about his trip back to Cooperstown to talk about his book on Willie Stargell and a special memento he brought back from his visit.
 

You can read some of Pete's favorite Pirates' wives recipes here.

Sometimes the athletes we admire don't live up to our lofty expectations off the playing field... in his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson talks about a recent book signing event where Pittsburgh Pirates legend Steve Blass proved why so many fans still love him.

Reading Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.

Baseball and the arts have a longstanding relationship. In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us about his affinity for a musical that has been remade many times on both the stage and the screen.

Reading - or in this case - Singing Baseball is a series of original essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.
 

Nearly 50 years ago, Little League officials decided to allow girls to play youth baseball.  In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson examines whether a girl will ever make it to the big leagues.

You can take the ballplayer out of the game, but it's much tougher to take the game out of the ballplayer.
In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us how he yearns to step onto a diamond one more time, but how a recent trip to a batting cage reminded him that may not be such a good idea.

The Woman who shot a former Chicago Cubs player died late last year.  The incident inspired the novel and subsequent movie The Natural.

In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson tells us how the life of the shooting victim did not have a Hollywood ending.

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, author of Pops: The Willie Stargell Story and Growing Up With Clemente.

WSIU Radio's Reading Baseball host Pete Peterson is out with a new book about one of Pittsburgh's most beloved professional sports figures.

WSIU Radio's Brad Palmer sat down with Peterson to talk about his new book  Pops: The Willie Stargell Story.
 

Peterson signed copies of the book last weekend in Pittsburgh as part of the book launching.  Pops: The Willie Stargell Story is available at Barnes & Noble as well as on amazon.com.
 

The biographical sports drama about the life of Jackie Robinson called  "42" is currently in movie theaters across the country.

In his latest edition of Reading Baseball, Pete Peterson reviews the film and points out how it distorts baseball history in relation to the Pittsburgh Pirates and one of their former pitchers.
 

Reading Baseball is a series of essays and commentaries by Richard "Pete" Peterson, author of Growing Up With Clemente and Pops: The Willie Stargell Story.