John Conlee takes us out to the ballgame
{{youtube:medium:center|iKWZgSxX3HQ, John Conlee's love affair with baseball}}
John Conlee, professor of English and Medieval Studies, is the author of “The Heater,” a baseball novel that traces events through an entire baseball season while at the same time re-enacting the ancient Celtic tale of Deirdre of the Sorrows.
Conlee is a San Diego native and avid Boston Red Sox fan. Why? Because there were no Padres in San Diego when Conlee was growing up. His favorite player, Ted Williams, was a San Diegoan and when he went to Boston, Conlee’s heart followed.
Getting to Boston – and getting tickets to the BoSox – isn’t as easy as it once was. Fortunately for Conlee, Baltimore’s right up the road and the crowds for Orioles-Red Sox games are generally divided in their loyalties. When he needs a National League fix, Conlee is more likely to head to Pittsburgh, where PNC Park has quickly become one of his favorites baseball stadiums.
Conlee attended the University of Southern California, where he played second base for the Trojans and still loathes all things UCLA.
With the baseball season firmly underway and a long summer approaching, W&M News sat down with Conlee to talk about what is – or is it used to be? – America’s national pastime.
