Somewhere, there are authors reading Marc Bona’s extraordinary “Hidden History of Cleveland Sports” and thinking: “Why didn’t I find that?”
With the Cleveland Indians having decided to change their name, there is intense speculation about what the team will be called next. “Spiders” is heavily favored because of its history, or perhaps despite its legacy: the 1899 Cleveland Spiders retain the worst single-season record in Major League Baseball history.
Who knew about the Cleveland Infants, who competed in the eight-team Players’ League? Bona comes out swinging with their story, including the fact that it was their center fielder who came up with the idea to have the president (then William Howard Taft) throw out the first ball of the season.
After a chapter on former Akron football coach John Heisman and one on the beloved but troublesome Chief Wahoo mascot, it’s back to the Spiders, followed by the World Hockey Association’s Cleveland Crusaders and George Steinbrenner’s near-miss purchase of the Indians.
Bona has unearthed so many stories that it would be a mistake to try to absorb them in a single sitting. Readers might want to take a break before the chapter about how Clarence Clemons, Bruce Springsteen’s saxophone player, came close to playing for the Browns. The life of the former Negro Leaguer Luscious Easter, who played for the Indians for six years, came to a sad end, and there are other tales of tragedy and triumph.
It also would be a mistake to characterize this book as trivia; these stories are important and should be known.
“Hidden History of Cleveland Sports” (160 pages, softcover) costs $21.99 from The History Press. Marc Bona is a features writer for Cleveland.com/The Plain Dealer and lives in Akron.
‘The Muffin Man Chronicles’
The Akron Marathon has been a local institution since 2003, but of the man who founded it? Steve Marks, the Akron native whose Main Street Muffins grew from a downtown storefront to be a national supplier of bakery products, shares his business strategies in “The Muffin Man Chronicles: Recipes for Entrepreneurial Success.”
After earning an accounting degree from the University of Akron, Marks took a job at a downtown firm. One day in 1985, his father invited him to a lunchtime sheriff’s auction at the courthouse, where a building on South Main Street was being sold for nonpayment of taxes. Marks found himself bidding money he didn’t have on a property he’d never seen, and ended up the owner of a five-story near-disaster.
Marks recruited his best friend Harvey Nelson, whom he had met in nursery school, and they considered what to do with the building. On a visit to a mall in Los Angeles, they saw a muffin shop doing tremendous business. Marks quit his job to seek investors and grants while Nelson worked on renovating the building, and in the summer of 1987, they opened their retail store.
Marks lays out the difficulties faced by the young company, not leaving out early tension with his partner. A diner owner asked to buy muffin batter, which led to wholesale distribution and an arrangement with local McDonald’s franchises. The “Muffins for Mammograms” program began in 1992. A few years later, the partners began the process that occupies much of the rest of the book: selling the business. After a short time, the new owners asked Marks and Nelson to return to executive roles; they eventually bought back the business, only to resell it again. The complicated process of enterprise resource planning is described as “a colossal headache.”
In this slim book, Marks shows his dedication to his product, employees, ethics and community. Main Street Muffin is now Main Street Gourmet.
“The Muffin Man Chronicles” (164 pages, softcover) costs $15.99 from Parafine Press.
Events
Cuyahoga County Public Library: Authors Gervais Hagerty (“In Polite Company”), Victoria Benton Frank (“Teddy Spaghetti”), poet Marjory Wentworth, Cassandra King Conroy (“Tell Me a Story: My Life with Pat Conroy”), Mary Alice Monroe (“The Story of Lost and Found”), Adriana Trigani (“The Shoemaker’s Wife”) and Patti Callahan Henry (“Between the Tides”), all contributors to “Reunion Beach: A Tribute to Dorothea Benton Frank,” talk about in a Zoom event from 5 to 6 p.m. Monday. From 7 to 8 p.m. Thursday, two-time O. Henry Prize winner Ron Rash reads from his story collection “In the Valley.” Register at cuyahogalibrary.org.
Literary Cleveland: The annual Inkubator, with free workshops, panel discussions and readings by notable authors continues today with a 1 p.m. workshop “Witness: Reclaiming Our Stories for Connection” and runs through July 25. See the schedule and register at litcleveland.org.
Medina County District Library: Children’s author and illustrator Peter Brown (his “Creepy Carrots!” won a 2013 Caldecott Silver Medal, and “The Curious Garden” won a 2010 E.B. White Read Aloud Award) pays a Zoom visit from 10:30 to 11:30 a.m. Tuesday. Register at medina.lib.oh.us.
Learned Owl Book Shop (204 N. Main St., Hudson): A.D. Adams signs his fantasy novel “Mark of the Dragon,” 1 to 3 p.m. Saturday.
Visible Voice Books (2258 Professor Ave., Cleveland): New Orleans-based poet Tarriona “Tank” Ball, whose band Tank and the Bangas was nominated in the Best New Artist category for the 2020 Grammy Awards, reads from her debut poetry collection “Vulnerable AF,” 1 to 2 p.m. Saturday.
Akron-Summit County Public Library: Akron author Bobby Jackson presents “How to Publish, Promote, and Sell Your Book” in a Zoom event from 2 to 3 p.m. Saturday. Register at akronlibrary.org.
Email information about books of local interest, and event notices at least two weeks in advance to BeaconBookTalk@gmail.com and bjnews@thebeaconjournal.com. She tweets at @BarbaraMcI.
