- To the question about how many people pay attention to college baseball and the Buckeyes, we’re pleased to share your emails and texts received in just two days, here in Phoenix.
Phoenix, AZ – I smiled over the emails following Friday night’s opening of the 2025 NCAA baseball season here in Phoenix.
Smiled, because people do ask, 1) You spend a lot of time and resources on Ohio State baseball. How many people actually read it? Or, from the hard-core hoopsters who write, 2) What the hell, it’s basketball season.
So I’ll share some others received this weekend, following the weekend’s posts so far.
“Enjoy reading about Buckeye baseball from southeast Ohio.” … Craig Shipley
“Go Bucks,” … William McKinley
“I wish them the best. Go Bucks,” … Mike Estep
“Love to be there. Best of luck, Buckeyes.” … Brett Gano
“Reading about the Buckeyes back in Columbus.” … Dean Starner
Duly noted.
Logan Services proudly sponsors Ohio State Buckeyes action on Press Pros Magazine.com.
People have asked about the photo of yours truly with the ship in the background.
“What’s the significance of that boat,” wrote Jack Riess, recently.
It’s actually the United States Navy World War II carrier Lexington, dry-docked in Corpus Christi, Texas, and the photo dates from when the baseball Buckeyes were there five years ago to play Texas State.
Airman Nile Kinnick won rhe Heisman Trophy in 1939, the only Iowa Hawkeye football player ever to win the award.
The Lexington is significant because it was the home ship of airman Nile Kinnick, who was killed trying to land on deck during a routine training flight off the coast of Venezuela on June 2, 1943.
Kinnick’s plane developed an oil leak while in flight and when he came back to the flight deck of the Lexington (background, below) it was filled with other aircraft. Kinnick turned away from the ship in an attempt to make an emergency landing in the ocean. He died in the attempt and when rescue teams got to him all that was left of his plane was an oil slick.
Columnist Sonny Fulks writes OHSAA sports and Ohio State baseball for Press Pros Magazine.com.
Kinnick was a student at the University of Iowa where he was an outstanding football player, and won the Heisman Trophy following the 1939 season. And in his honor Kinnick Stadium, the Hawkeyes’ home field, has borne his name since 1972.
In 2003 a California attorney with Iowa connections searched for Kinnick’s plane and believed that he had found it. His plan was to raise the plane from 100 feet of water and restore it as a museum piece either at Kinnick Stadium, or at another site on the Iowa campus. Family descendants protested, believing that his remains may yet be contained in the wreckage.
That’s the story of the ship, and the photo, and I choose to use it as a tribute to the service of Airman Kinnick.
And when I was in Corpus Christi I took the captivating tour of the ship, knowing Kinnick’s story, and I recommend to everyone if, and when, they’re in south Texas. So if you ever wondered how the stadium at Iowa got its name…….
Now you know the rest of the story.
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