Welcome to the Old Ozarks with Dr. Brooks Blevins...
This week, it’s October, which means it’s baseball month on The Old Ozarks — a mystery box of Reggie bars in rural Arkansas leads us from one bragging Hall of Famer’s “pinto bean English” to a forgotten pitcher who inspired a Martin Scorsese classic.
We’ll start with Ouachita Mountains native Dizzy Dean, whose swagger on the mound was matched only by his butchering of the English language in the radio booth — “throwed,” “swang,” “slud,” and a whole dialect of nonstandard preterites rooted deep in Ozark and Southern speech, controversial enough to draw a Federal Communications Commission complaint (real or hoaxed, nobody’s quite sure).
Then it’s on to the long sweetenin’: the unlikely chain connecting Scorsese’s Gangs of New York to Farmington, Missouri, by way of Jewish major-league pitcher Barney “the Yiddish Curver” Pelty and the star-struck local boy, Herbert Asbury, who idolized him at the hometown bookstore and grew up to write the book the movie was based on — stirring up a censorship scandal with H.L. Mencken along the way.
It’s a story of candy bars, curveballs, and small-town Ozark boys who found their way to the big leagues and the big screen.
What is The Old Ozarks?
The Old Ozarks is your gateway to the forgotten history of the Ozarks. Hosted by renowned historian Dr. Brooks Blevins (the leading authority on the region’s history), this podcast explores the lives, legends, and landscapes that have shaped this unique region.
Whether you’re a native Ozarker, a new resident, or a curious listener, join us as we share the stories that make the Ozarks special and connect us to our past.
