Author Archives: Matt Blitz

The Story of the U.S. National Anthem and How It Became Part of the National Pastime

As Francis Scott Key sat aboard a ship, now officially a prisoner of war, he could only watch as the British bombarded American forces at Fort McHenry.  He had been sent to the British ship HMS Tonnant, along with John Stuart Skinner, by President James Madison himself to negotiate the release of prisoners of war. After dining with British officers, […]

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The Great Frederick Douglass

“We shall look over the world, and survey the history of any other oppressed and enslaved people in vain, to find one which has made more progress within the same length as the colored people of the United States. These, and many other considerations which I might name, give brightness and fervor to my hopes that that better day for […]

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The Legend of the Poe Toaster

On an autumn evening, October third to be exact, in 1849, a middle-aged Edgar Allan Poe was found wandering the streets of Baltimore, Maryland in a delusional, hysterical state. Unkempt, dirty, with “vacant eyes” and in someone else’s clothes, the writer was admitted to Washington College Hospital unable to explain what had happened to him. At five am on October […]

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The Amazing Jim Thorpe

When people make lists of the greatest athletes of the 20th century, they are populated with the usual suspects: Michael Jordan, Babe Ruth, Muhammad Ali, Serena Williams, Wayne Gretzky, Jim Brown, Pele… but there is one name that should always make the list even though many people, even the biggest sports fans, may not recognize it, or if they do, […]

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When Pinball was Illegal

“Ever since I was a young boy, I’ve played the silver ball. From Soho down to Brighton, I must have played them all. But I ain’t seen nothing like him, In any amusement hall… That deaf dumb and blind kid, Sure plays a mean pinball” -The Who’s “Pinball Wizard” In May of 1976 in New York City, Roger Sharpe watched […]

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10 Interesting Facts You Probably Didn’t Know About Walt Disney

Walt Disney epitomized the American dream like few others. Sure, he wasn’t perfect. He was a ruthless businessman, long rumored to be anti-semitic and otherwise racist, and was a ringleader for Hollywood’s anti-communist witch hunt in the 40s. But he rose up from humble beginnings; his childhood was anything but stable as his family moved throughout the midwest as his […]

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The Siberian Family Who Didn’t See Another Human for Over 40 Years

To this day, the Siberian wilderness is still one of the most isolated places in the world. Known as the Siberian taiga (meaning “forest” in Russian), its harsh, cold climate greatly discourages human habitation. Its steep hills and difficult terrain makes it nearly impossible to travel through it, much less live there. It’s filled with pine and birch trees, nearly […]

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The Last Veteran of the Civil War

The Civil War ended 148 years ago this past month (April 9th, 1865) with the surrender of the Confederate forces at the Appomattox Court House in Northern Virginia.  54 years ago, in December 1959, the last reported surviving veteran of the Civil War, Walter Washington Williams, passed away in Houston, Texas at the reported age of 117.  President Dwight Eisenhower […]

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