Watermark Books and Cafe

Did you know that Wichita State won the Division 1 College World Series in 1989? And Greg Brummett was the most valuable player? I didn’t. I am a fair weather baseball fan; if I’m watching a game, I can appreciate the signals, the movement, the history and tradition. I can even imagine becoming a passionate fan. But I’m not. In that spirit, I recommend a new book to any passionate baseball fan. "Rosenblatt Stadium: Omaha’s Diamond on the Hill" by Steve Pivovar and the Omaha World Herald outlines baseball history, year by year, as played out in the College World Series. Pivovar, an Omaha journalist who has covered over 1700 games at the historic stadium, has compiled photos and anecdotes covering over 60 years of baseball through the coaches, teams, fans, upsets and players that filled the stadium annually.   

Beginning with 1950’s series, played at Rosenblatt Stadium to a mere 17,800 fans and ending in 2009 when the series drew 336,076, Pivovar starts his coverage with facts: attendance, the teams, the winner and the Most Outstanding Player. He and his colleagues have collected hundreds of photos from the Omaha World Herald, university archives, and other regional newspapers to highlight the year’s triumphs and heartbreaks in depictions of perfectly executed plays and moments of private reflection. The book also includes an over view of other noteworthy events: the Minor League teams who played in Rosenblatt Stadium, a concert by the Herman’s Hermits, a memorial wake for John Lennon in December 2000, and, even a wedding or two.   

This is the perfect gift for the avid baseball fan. The book is a necessary celebration of an historic stadium that will be razed this summer. There is a new bad boy in Omaha--the TD Ameritrade Stadium--that will house the series in years to come.  

Review by Sarah Bagby