Forgotten Heroes Podcast

The finest, furriest friends to serve our country during wartime get the nod on this Memorial Day episode. Sgt. Stubby helped soldiers detect gas attacks during World War I, and Puffy, the King of All Cats in 1941, used his hypnotic gaze to entertain and soothe veterans while raising money for WWII war bonds.

“No reason to touch that dial! This is Mrs. Jarvis!” You’ll know what that means after listening to this week’s zanily maternal episode. Follow Mark down the rabbit hole of history as he analyzes the young lady (Anna Jarvis) who started–and lived to regret having started–mother’s day!! Jeff discusses no one forgotten heroine in particular,...

  On this sixth episode of the second season, we bring you: Jason Statham’s lesser-known accomplishment in the field of Russian burgery and a lost, Arthur Miller-inspired mascot for midwestern roast beef slingers “Rax,” known only as Mr. Delicious.  

As the baseball season has been all but cancelled this year–and will at the very least be delayed–the Forgotten Heroes Team has decided to round the bases with you once more before sliding back into home (isolation). George “High Pockets” Kelly, once described as the “worst player in the hall of fame,” nonetheless had one...

Randy Johnson–no, not that one–is our personal favorite April Avenger. As part of the (similarly doomed) “No-name” Twins of 1982, he compiled 24 hits, 5 HR, 13 RBI, 7 walks, and a .393/.449/.738 slash line (1.187 OPS) in 69 plate appearances over 17 games. While the rest of his career would feature only 5 more...

Trees are amazing. Can’t say enough about them. They give us oxygen, they give us wood, they’re just… we love them. In this vortex of environmental awareness (Earth Day 4/22 through Arbor Day 4/24), learn about two forgotten heroes of the dendriform world: the Parliamentary Tree of Old Sarum, Wiltshire, England, and the 400+-year-old Japanese...

The second in our Greatest Aprils Ever series, Ken Williams hit nine homeruns in 14 April games in 1922. That lands him still 15th best all-time, despite all 14 above him playing at least 20 April games each. Also, screw Ray Schalk, he sucks.

We may sometimes feel that looking all the way to the back of the shelf for supplies at Walmart or Target qualifies us as scavengers; this week, take a headfirst dive into two genuine heroes of the art form: Geek, a brazen buzzard who won the hearts of Hinckley, Ohio (and had a day named...

In 1930, “Showboat” Fisher would log an April for the ages: .462 BA, 24 hits, 6 2B, 1 HR, 17 RBI, .541 OBP, .635 SLG, 1.176 OPS, and #1 Nickname. Unfortunately for him, these would constitute about a quarter of his career numbers, as the Minnesotan minor league star was never able to mimic this...

Jeff traces the roots of National Beer Day– April 7th–to a cadre of New York politicians who won the first battle against Prohibition by authoring a bill to legalize (3.2%) beer in 1932. The group was led by a young senator named Thomas Cullen, whose name is remembered in the title of the bill. Mark...

This week, as we are separated by social distancing and isolation, learn about two heroes who forged through similar circumstances to make a dent in the universe. Leonid Rogozov was a Russian doctor trapped in Antarctica with acute appendicitis; Patricia Young (see post) was just a teenager when her home city of London came under...

Or, so is Clara the “Arab Clown?” Happy International Women’s History DAY, everyone! We’re celebrating with a special podcast minisode dedicated to Theda Bara, a trailblazing actress from the 1910s, and Clara Brown (no, not THAT Clara Brown, who is also a heroine but less forgotten). Our Clara was born in 1839 in Massachusetts. At...

A special SURPRISE episode for our loyal listeners on this latest leap-day! It’s a bissextile bonus! Learn about a quirk in NYS law that counts two days as one, and an old tradition challenging the amatonormative heirarchy! Make sure to stay tuned for more surprises and content leading up to our Season Two premiere on...

This week’s categories: Best Director, Best Picture, and Best Sound Mixing. This week’s bonus game: Moscars Madness! We put the top 32 Best Picture winners of all-time (by inflation-adjusted box office) in a March Madness-style bracket. This week, Mark settles round one of the Eastern Division.

This week’s categories: Best Actor, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress. This week’s bonus game: Moscars Madness! We put the top 32 Best Picture winners of all-time (by inflation-adjusted box office) in a March Madness-style bracket. This week, Mark settles round one of the Western Division.

This week’s categories: Best Actress, Best Original Screenplay, and Best Cinematography. This week’s bonus game: Mark and Jeff must name the best movie of any given year a number generator chooses!

Mark & Jeff discuss our national pastime’s diamonds-in-the-rough: the first Native American Major Leaguer (George Sockalexis), and the two unheralded fathers of Spring Training baseball (Ted Sliger and Noah Mitchell)