Baseball Comics
FREE Series | Volume 2 Sports Comic Book
Copyright 2014 | 3rd Edition 2016 Jim Sweeney
More than 150 years ago, no one could have imagined how playing with a bat, ball and glove on a diamond-shaped field would ultimately emerge as America’s favorite pastime – Major League Baseball.
Before TV and the internet - and long before the popularization of professional basketball, football and hockey - American athletes and sports fans “passed their time away” watching or playing baseball.
Since its first formal game in Hoboken, NJ back in 1863, baseball quickly evolved into family friendly sports entertainment.
Since then, Major League Baseball has enraptured fans for decades.
From Spring Training to the dog days of summer and into the Fall Classic, Americans love their favorite pastime.
Because of this beloved sport, baseball historians, collectors, fans and trivia buffs have flourished in the past century and will quickly find themselves attracted to this informative, light-hearted book.
In FREE Baseball Comics, you’ll discover inventive images and brief commentaries about some of baseball’s most iconic players, teams and clichéd expressions.
You’ll applaud the success of Major League Baseball’s best team ever (the 1927 NY Yankees) and marvel at baseball’s most surprising champion (the 1906 Chicago Cubs). You’ll read about baseball’s Big Red Machine, Big Unit and Big Hurt.
In addition, you’ll see featured favorite former baseball luminaries: Babe Ruth, Henry Aaron, Yogi Berra, Pete Rose, Brooks Robinson and Reggie Jackson.
In addition to legends, this book’s clever comics capture MLB’s most favorite stars..
Plus, you’ll learn about two true baseball heroes - Three Finger Brown and Jackie Robinson - as well as an MLB all-star who also excelled as an NFL running back.
This FREE book will take you to the Boston’s landmark Green Monster and transport you high above the playing field to Pigeon Heaven.
This book brings to life some of the sport’s most colorful terms, like pinch hitters, pitchers dueling and napping runners.
Enjoy the read. It’s entertaining and, better yet, it’s FREE.
Just don’t forget that this book won’t end until every baseball fan’s most beloved gal - The Fat Lady - belts out a few final bars.
Straight talk. No static.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports! Why Read This Book?
Favorite #25: Jackie Robinson Favorite #24: Big Red Machine Favorite #23: Hammerin’ Hank Aaron Favorite #22: Caught Runner Napping Favorite #21: The Wizard of Oz
Favorite #20: Bo Jackson Favorite #19: Mr. October Reggie Jackson Favorite #18: Mr. November Derek Jeter Favorite #17: Mordecai Three Finger Brown Favorite #16: Joey Votto-matic
Favorite #15: Pinch Hitter Favorite #14: Big Unit Randy Johnson Favorite #13: Big Hurt Frank Thomas Favorite #12: Pigeon Heaven Favorite #11: Yogi Berra
Favorite #10: Shoeless Joe Jackson Favorite #9: Charlie Hustle Pete Rose Favorite #8: Pitcher’s Duel Favorite #7: The Green Monster Favorite #6: Pitcher Took Something Off Ball Favorite #5: Murderers’ Row Favorite #4: Brooks Robinson Favorite #3: Hitless Wonders Favorite #2: Sultan of Swat Favorite #1: The Fat Lady
Thank You & Affiliate Disclosure
FREE Books
Podcast – MIKE on Sports!
Meet the MIKE Makers
Acknowledgements Baseball fans enjoy the sports humor and always learn something new about baseball history.
Plus, the unique sports comics that accompany each chapter cleverly capture the essence of the featured player, team, coach, play or baseball expression.
As an added bonus, I always offer something for FREE in each of my sports comic books. See the back of this book for details.
Check out my author profile on Amazon.com, follow me on Twitter, fan me on Facebook and subscribe to my podcast – MIKE on Sports!
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
On April 15, 1997 Major League Baseball Commissioner Bud Selig mandated an unprecedented edict. It was never before witnessed in any American professional sport.
Selig ordered all Major League Baseball teams to officially retire the #42 jersey in honor of Brooklyn Dodgers great Jackie Robinson.
Selig’s historic move recognized Jackie Robinson on the 50th anniversary of his 1947 professional debut.
That was the day that Robinson became the first black baseball player to cross the color barrier that existed in the sport.
The courageous Robinson became an American sports hero. The major motion picture, entitled simply 42, chronicles Jackie Robinson’s struggles and success as one of America’s most respected athletes ever – regardless the sport.
In addition, I also feature Robinson in another of my ebooks on Amazon entitled Favorite Overcoming Athletes.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
The Cincinnati Reds’ Big Red Machine ruled as Major League Baseball’s best team from 1970 – 1976.
The Reds captured four National League pennants: 1970, 1972, 1975 and 1976. The team also won back-to-back World Series titles in both 1975 and 1976.
Bob Hertzel of the Cincinnati Enquirer originally used the simple Big Red Machine nickname in 1969.
Many believed the talented Reds team effortlessly churned through Major League Baseball opponents like a giant combine machine driving through a wheat field’s crop.
The Cincinnati Reds starting line-up consisted of Hall of Famers Johnny Bench, Joe Morgan and Tony Perez as well as Pete Rose, baseball’s all- time hits leader. Read more about this dominating team and other baseball greats in my ebook MLB Favorites available on Amazon.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
Hammerin’ Hank Aaron hauled a hammer of a bat whenever and wherever he entered the batter’s box.
Voted by The Sporting News as the fifth best baseball player of all- time, Aaron retired in 1976 as one of baseball’s greatest hitters ever. The Hammer ended his career with 3,771 hits and a lifetime batting average of .308.
In addition, this 1957 National League MVP and World Series Champ won two National League batting titles and three National League Gold Gloves. He also made 21 all-star appearances.
One of the most amazing athletes of the past century, Hammerin’ Hank Aaron will always be remembered for his brilliant play during a 23 year Major League Baseball career. More importantly, he will be credited with helping “hammer out” the ugly scourge of racism that existed for far too long in America’s favorite pastime.
Hank Aaron will always be remembered as a great player, and an even greater man.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
The MLB Network would more than likely broadcast this scenario over and over again - if it ever really occurred.
One of Major League Baseball’s most colorful clichés is to say that a careless base runner was caught napping when he’s picked off base by an alert pitcher.
In this comic, the runner is literally napping. I love that he’s peacefully sleeping with both a teddy bear and his beloved bat.
This is an easy call for the umpire, and a legitimate reason for the sleeping player’s coach to be upset at the napping runner. MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
Osbourne Earl Ozzie Smith retired in 1996 as arguably the greatest shortstop in Major League Baseball history.
Smith's incredibly quick reflexes, accurate arm and unparalleled aptitude with his glove added to his magical, wizard like play at shortstop. His amazing skills earned him the clever Wizard of Oz nickname.
This magician with a glove captured the National League Gold Glove Award an unprecedented 13 years in a row.
He ended his stellar 19-year career as the all-time leader with 8,375 career assists and 1,590 double plays by a shortstop. The Wizard of Oz's defensive brilliance and impressive 2,460 career hits enabled him to easily whisk down Major League Baseball's proverbial "yellow brick road".
He went directly into the Hall of Fame on the first ballot in 2002.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
A 1985 Heisman trophy winner, Bo Jackson didn’t just dominate on the football field for the Auburn University Tigers. He excelled at two other sports: baseball and track.
Jackson was the number one overall pick in the 1986 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Because the Bucs inappropriately contacted Jackson outside NCAA rules, the running back was ruled ineligible for baseball during his senior season at Auburn. As a result, Jackson chose not to sign with Tampa Bay and agreed, instead, to play professional baseball with the Kansas City Royals.
Jackson played eight years in Major League Baseball with the Kansas City Royals, the Chicago White Sox and the California Angels. He also left an indelible mark in the NFL while playing four seasons with the Oakland Raiders. This phenomenal athlete is still the only person ever to be voted an all-star in two different professional sports (MLB and NFL). Oddly, he was not voted into either sport’s Hall of Fame.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
This Hall of Fame baseball slugger wore the colorful uniform of the Oakland A’s and the traditional pinstripes of the New York Yankees. He normally starred during the spring and summer months of the Major League Baseball season.
However, Reggie Jackson flourished on the baseball field during the fall. That’s when he earned his nickname - Mr. October.
NY Yankees teammate Thurmon Munson first used the title when questioned during the 1977 World Series against the Los Angeles Dodgers. Munson told a reporter to interview Jackson. He referred to the Yankees right fielder’s history of fantastic post season games and said, “Go ask Mr. October.”
A 1999 Cooperstown Hall of Fame inductee, Reginald Martinez Jackson enjoyed a stellar 21 year Major League Baseball career. He retired in 1987. Jackson was a 14 time all-star, hit 563 dingers, drove in 1,702 runs and batted .262 with 2,584 total hits.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
Another New York Yankee tops the charts as one of Major League Baseball’s most admired and respected players ever.
This famous shortstop became known as Mr. November through unique circumstances: the postponement of the 2001 World Series.
Due to the historic September 11, 2001 terrorist attacks in New York, the Fall Classic between the New York Yankees and the Arizona Diamondbacks was delayed until late October. The Yankees won Game 4 of the series when Derek Jeter hit a walk-off home run in the 10th inning. The extra-inning game took place during the month of November, an MLB first. The Yankee Stadium scoreboard recognized Jeter’s historic moment by immediately naming him Mr. November.
Jeter has typically excelled in the post-season where he has won five World Series Championships and batted an impressive .351. In addition to his remarkable post-season statistics, the recently retired Jeter had been a terrific role model during his 18 years with the New York Yankees.
The Yankee great is expected to be a first ballot Hall of Fame inductee.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
A childhood injury forced Mordecai Brown to grip a baseball differently than other pitchers. With only three fingers on his throwing hand, Three Finger Brown's unique grasp of the ball added tremendous spin to his pitches.
Because of the surprising extra movement on his pitches, Major League Baseball hitters could not make true contact with any ball Brown threw their way. Brown's lively fastball, wicked curve and surprising change-up prompted baseball legend Ty Cobb to call Three Finger one of the greatest pitchers in the history of the game.
Between 1904 and 1912, Brown excelled on the mound in a Chicago Cubs uniform. During that time span, Three Finger won 20 or more games in six separate seasons. He played a pivotal role in helping the Cubs win World Series Championships in 1907 and 1908. Brown died in 1948 and was inducted into Cooperstown in 1949. He still holds the Major League Baseball record for lowest career ERA at 2.06 for pitchers with 200 or more career wins.
Read more about Brown in my ebook Favorite Overcoming Athletes.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
2010 National League Most Valuable Player Joey Votto earned his clever nickname.
Votto is known to be virtually automatic, or in his case, Votto-matic, when stepping up to the plate with base runners in scoring positions.
One of the best overall players in Major League Baseball, Votto has a staggering .405 career on-base percentage. This makes him a major headache for the opposing pitchers who face him.
The clutch hitting 6’3” and 230 lb. first baseman also boasts an astounding .348 career batting average while at the plate with teammates in scoring position.
Plus, Joey’s been Votto-matic in the field for the Cincinnati Reds. This Gold Glover posted a .996 fielding percentage while besting all first basemen in 2011 with 173 assists and 1,341 put outs.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
Talk about poor communication between catcher and coach.
The smiling, eager catcher in this comic believes he’s actually following his coach’s direction. He’s literally pinching the batter.
Obviously, the batter is a pinch hitter, or a substitute hitter, called up to provide a key hit during a critical time of the baseball game.
Journeyman infielder Lenny Harris is the answer to a little known baseball trivia question. His 217 career pinch hits, or key substitute hits, hold a Major League Baseball record.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
At 6’10” and 230 lbs., pitcher Randy Johnson embodied the name given him during his rookie season in Montreal. When astonished teammate Tim Raines first saw Johnson pitch, he shouted, “Wow, that’s one Big Unit!”
During his 21-year career with the Mariners, Diamondbacks, Yankees, Giants and Expos, Johnson's physical size and on-field performance towered above all other Major League Baseball pitchers.
When facing Johnson, MLB hitters feared his blazing 100 mph fastballs and his hard, wicked sliders. Both pitches were instrumental as the Big Unit led Major League Baseball nine times in strikeouts and four times in overall ERA. A ten-time Major League Baseball all-star and five-time Cy Young Award winner, this dominating lefty retired in 2009 as one of the most decorated pitchers in baseball history.
Read more about this Big Unit and other incredible athletes in my ebook Favorite Sports Nicknames.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
A Chicago White Sox broadcaster’s innocent remark in 1992 morphed into one of baseball’s all-time best nicknames.
Ken Harrelson’s comment about how badly White Sox slugger Frank Thomas hurt the baseball when he made contact prompted the nickname, The Big Hurt.
A two-time American League Most Valuable Player and five-time all- star, the rugged 6’5” and 260 lb. Thomas tormented American League pitchers during his career.
While in the on-deck circle, Thomas regularly swung a hefty piece of rusted rebar that he salvaged from demolished Comiskey Park. The sight of Thomas swinging a large metal bar while waiting to bat only magnified his reputation as Big Hurt. Thomas is a certain 2014 first time Cooperstown choice. He retired with 521 career home runs during his Major League Baseball career.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
It may not be the best location in a baseball stadium. However, any seat in Pigeon Heaven is worth the price to some fans.
Whether you look upon Pigeon Heaven as a heavenly blessing or a hellish curse, the 300 and above levels in baseball stadiums are still desirable seats. Fans who really want to attend a game and can’t afford a pricey ticket closer to the field consider these seats manna from heaven.
Their butts may be located a half-mile from home plate. Their bodies may be fighting off high altitude sickness. But they understand the brighter side of these seats - not just because they’re closer to the sun. For a lot less money, fans can cheer on the same players and teams as higher-rollers occupying box seats below. Fans sitting way up there just need to remember to bring their binoculars. Pigeons or not, being part of the action at a Major League Baseball game is still heaven to any true baseball fan.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
This 15-time Major League Baseball all-star's performance on the baseball field has always marveled baseball fans.
Inducted into Cooperstown in 1972, Yogi Berra may be the game's greatest catcher. A member of baseball's All Century Team, Berra racked up career totals of 385 home runs, 1,430 runs batted in and a . 285 batting average.
A three-time American League Most Valuable Player, Yogi Berra also won thirteen World Series Championships with the NY Yankees. Between 1947 and 1978, he won eleven championships as a player and two of them as a coach.
One of Major League Baseball's most colorful and irritating trash talkers, the late Berra was equally famous for his funny expressions. Truly entertaining without attempting to be, Yogi Berra butchered the English language and said some things that never made sense.
Read more about Yogi and his colorful quotes in my ebook Favorite Sports Quotes available on Amazon.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
Way back in 1906, a heckling fan at an amateur game in Anderson, SC coined the nickname Shoeless. It happened as Joe Jackson ran to third base while wearing his socks.
The Shoeless nickname is not the only thing for which this 12-year Major League Baseball star is immediately and infamously remembered.
Jackson's baseball legacy has always carried a shadow. He was implicated, but never indicted, for a purported role in the famous 1919 Black Sox Scandal.
Until his death in 1951, Jackson spent nearly 30 years of his post baseball life proclaiming that he was not involved in the scheme. Major League Baseball records and subsequent accounts point to his innocence. In fact, Jackson hit an impressive .375 in the 1919 World Series with errorless play in the outfield.
What should never be forgotten about Shoeless Joe Jackson is that he was a fabulous baseball player. The Sporting News ranked him #35 among the top 100 Major League Baseball players ever.
MIKE - thee ultimate talking head on sports!
Full throttle was the only way Pete Rose knew how to play baseball.
Playing with a “pedal to the metal” attitude every time he took to the diamond, Pete Rose lived up to his Charlie Hustle nickname. Despite agreeing to be banned from the game in 1987 for betting on the sport, he remains one of baseball’s most famous players.
Because of his on-field baseball successes, Rose would have been a certain first ballot Hall of Famer. However, he’s an easy choice for inclusion in my all-time MLB Favorites ebook on Amazon.
When he retired as a player in 1986, Charlie Hustle held numerous Major League Baseball records. Rose is the game’s all-time leader with 4,256 hits, 3,562 games played and 14,053 at bats. He also won more games than any other player in history, a whopping 1,972 of them! After 24 Major League Baseball seasons, Charlie Hustle ended his career as the most accomplished switch hitter ever. He recorded 2,156 runs scored, 746 doubles, 5,752 total bases and 1,566 walks.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
The dictionary succinctly defines a duel as “prearranged combat between two willing participants with weapons according to an accepted code of conduct.”
The baseball cliché brought to life in this comic makes perfect sense.
In this scenario, a pitcher’s duel is “prearranged combat” during a hotly contested Major League Baseball game. It’s conducted between “two willing and armed participants” – usually all-star hurlers with $100M long term contracts.
Finally, it plays out according to the “accepted code of conduct” known as the Major League Baseball rule book. In baseball, a pitcher’s duel is best evidenced when Justin Verlander of the Detroit Tigers squares off against CC Sabathia of the New York Yankees. It’s witnessed when both talented aces hold the opposing team scoreless for nine innings.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
The Green Monster, Fenway Park’s legendary 37’2” tall left field wall, is considered one of Major League Baseball’s most beloved landmarks.
Its 310’ distance to home plate has tempted right-handed hitters since it was constructed as part of the original Boston ballpark in 1912.
The Green Monster has either frustrated or unfairly rewarded hitters who have attempted to test their skills against this monstrous wall.
Surprisingly, Fenway Park’s left field wall wasn’t called the Green Monster until 1947. In that year, the towering wall was officially painted Fenway green.
The painting of the wall may have changed the color of the structure, but it did not alter the reputation of this large piece of plaster. It’s known simply throughout the sports world as the Green Monster. MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
It’s highly unlikely that you’ll ever witness this scene during a Major League Baseball game.
However, the actual cover coming off the baseball as it leaves the pitcher’s throwing hand proves a point.
The pitcher has metaphorically taken something off the ball. This comic brings to life a change-up pitch in baseball.
That’s where a hard throwing pitcher changes the speed of his pitch, but its delivery still makes it look like a 90 mph fastball. The change in speed, or change up pitch, throws off the batter’s timing and forces him to miss the ball…with the cover still on it!
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
Baseball historians have called the 1927 New York Yankees the best Major League Baseball team ever.
Back in the 1920s, however, sports fans, opposing players and the media who covered them referred to key members of this famed squad as Murderers’ Row.
The first six batters in the Yankees’ 1927 line-up posted the most staggering – and frightening - statistics ever witnessed during a single Major League Baseball season.
Murderers’ Row batters metaphorically killed opposing pitchers. Their dizzying numbers included a remarkable .307 batting average, a .489 slugging percentage and a total of 975 runs scored. That amounted to 371 more runs than all the teams they faced during the season. Read more about Murderers’ Row in my ebook on Favorite Sport Toughies available on Amazon.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
This athlete, with a nickname that referenced a household appliance, played the hot corner better than anyone else in Major League Baseball history.
This third baseman was known as Hoover, the old American standard for vacuum cleaners. Brooks Robinson earned the name because he sucked up every baseball that was hit his way.
In the same way Hoover vacuums were the predominant household appliance of the 1950s, 60s and 70s, Brooks Robinson was the undisputed best fielding third baseman who ever played the game.
Named to Major League Baseball’s All Century Team in 1999, Robinson played for the Baltimore Orioles for an incredible 23 years. Hoover ended his career with a respectable lifetime batting average of .267, 2,848 total hits, 268 home runs and 1,357 runs batted in. He was a first time ballot entry in the baseball Hall of Fame.
He’s also featured in my ebook on Favorite Sports Nicknames.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
In a sport where a team’s batting average dictates success, the 1906 Chicago White Sox’s improbable World Series Championship stands today as a statistical oddity.
With only seven team home runs and a woeful .230 team batting average, the 1906 Chicago White Sox became known as the light hitting Hitless Wonders by the Chicago media.
Ironically, the White Sox started to hit at the most appropriate time of the year. In a World Series that hosted two teams hailing from Chicago, the White Sox defeated the heavily favored Cubs in six games and clinched the MLB championship.
Read more about the Hitless Wonders and other improbable sports successes in my ebook Surprising Sports Favorites. MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
Perhaps the most famous baseball player ever, George Herman Babe Ruth was known as the Sultan of Swat.
For years, he was also Major League Baseball’s home run king and most beloved big leaguer.
Though he last played in 1935, Ruth’s impact on the sport has endured. Yankee Stadium, where Babe’s #3 was retired in 1948, is still known as “the House that Ruth Built.”
Baseball’s record books rank Babe’s successes during the 1920s and 1930s as tops in several statistical categories.
Sports collectors long for everything attached to him. And, baseball legend continues to recall stories about him, both fact and fiction. Sports Illustrated named Ruth the greatest athlete of the 20th Century. The Sporting News recognized Ruth as the best baseball player ever, while the Associated Press voted this four-time World Series champion Athlete of the Century. Read more about the Babe in my ebook Favorite Single Named Athletes available on Amazon.
No wonder why baseball fans today still adore this Sultan of Swat.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports!
The famous Fat Lady sings her way into the #1 spot of this FREE book of baseball comics. She originated as a pleasantly plump German opera singer who sang tirelessly to the finish and was unwittingly adopted into America’s sports culture.
The Fat Lady is a mysterious full-figured female. She’s never officially been seen, but her presence is felt at every American baseball game that takes longer than expected to finish.
Before the game can officially end, sports fans know that this beloved beefy woman has to belt out a few bars. Until this glorious gal exercises her vocal chords, fans are obligated to remain in their seats.
Calling her the Fat Lady may sound insensitive. But, this chubby soprano is actually secure in her super-size frame. When this likeable large gal starts to sing, baseball fans immediately know that the extra long game they’re attending is finally over.
In this case, the Fat Lady alerts readers that this FREE book has officially come to an end! But, don’t worry. You can read more about her in my ebook Surprising Sports Favorites available on Amazon.
MIKE – thee ultimate talking head on sports! Thank you for downloading this FREE sports comic book.
Allow me to extend my appreciation to these companies who partner with us and make their products available to our readers.
Sports Memorabilia
Lids / Hat World
MLB Shop
Fathead
Amazon
If you have clicked on any of the highlighted links above or elsewhere in this book and purchased products from the sports related sites, then thank you because we earn a small commission from each sale. In addition to the MIKE Sports Comic Books available for only 99 cents on Amazon.com, here is a bonus for MIKE sports comic book fans.
FREE sports comic books can be safely downloaded at no charge by clicking on the cover images of books on the following pages.
You will be directed to the www.theemike.com web site where you can safely download PDFs of the FREE books. Click on yellow cover above to safely download FREE MIKE Sports Comic Books from the www.theemike.com web site. Click on purple cover above to safely download FREE MIKE Sports Comic Books from the www.theemike.com web site. MIKE on Sports! Podcast
Click on the yellow cover to listen and subscribe to MIKE on Sports!
The podcast is for every American sports fan - especially those who like to laugh or learn something unique about sports. It's loaded with clever quips and fun sports stuff you should know that ESPN and other sports networks fail to report.
MIKE on Sports! offers great sports humor, short sports stories and interesting sports history that never really grab the headlines. Meet the MIKE Makers, Jim and Maura Sweeney, as well as the other contributors to this unique sports property. Jim Sweeney – Author
Born and raised in Trenton, New Jersey, Jim grew up with a passion for sports and fun. Participating in baseball, basketball, swimming, soccer and street hockey as a kid, Jim wound up playing basketball at Boston College where he captained the Eagles from 1977 – 1980 and received the Frances Pomeroy Naismith Award as the nation’s top NCAA basketball under six feet tall.
After a 20-year-career in sales, Jim closed the computer agency he founded to pursue a fun career in sports entertainment. Jim developed MIKE as an alter-ego sports personality and has penned dozens of sports comic books under the MIKE name.
Jim also blogs regularly on national sports sites under the MIKE name and has launched the popular podcast - MIKE on Sports!
Now in his fifties and living on the West Coast of Florida, Jim continues to play basketball regularly and always finds time for fun. Jim is a three time World Masters Basketball Champion and a six time USA Masters Basketball Champion in the 45+, 50+ and 55+ age groups. http://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesdsweeney Maura Sweeney – Publisher
A successful podcaster, Huffington Post contributor and public speaker, Maura became the driving force in encouraging her husband out of a highly successful business and into the pursuit of his dream – to create MIKE into the sports world’s ultimate talking head.
Maura is MIKE’s co-creator and publisher.
For more on Maura – http://www.maura4u.com The Illustrators
Kevin Riley – Kevin Riley’s animations appear on Jumbotrons for the Tampa Bay Bucs, Cleveland Indians, St. Louis Cardinals and Orlando Magic. The Emmy Award winner’s work has also been featured on Nickelodeon, Noggin, Cartoon Network and Discovery Kids TV. Kevin resides in Tampa, Florida where he is founder of Riley Animation.
David Fraser – David Fraser has worked out of his Clearwater, FL home as a freelance cartoonist for nearly 20 years. His illustrative works have appeared in the St. Petersburg Times, King Feature Syndicate’s The New Breed and in scores of national magazines, newspapers and periodicals.
Alex Salsberg - Cartoonist Alex Salsberg is the man behind Poke Gravy Studios in Boston. An ardent New England Patriots fan, Alex has created animation and illustration for many clients including Nickelodeon and National Lampoon. Alex has drawn the cover and most of the artwork in the book. His work can be seen at www.PokeGravy.com. Kaley Sweeney - Editor
As editor, Kaley infuses youthful enthusiasm and insight into the MIKE project. At 24 years old, Kaley holds a Bachelor’s in Journalism from Boston University and is finalizing her Master’s at Harvard University.
Currently a free lance journalist living in Brooklyn, Kaley developed extensive writing and editing experience as Content Manager for the World Photography Organization.
Also, Kaley co-founded Empowered Voices, a non-profit that works to catalyze economic and social development in Mubende, Uganda. http://www.linkedin.com/in/kaleysweeney In addition to books, blogs and a popular podcast, MIKE is expected to be seen and heard on television and Jumbotrons.
MIKE is a registered Trademark. MIKE and all the artwork in this book are the property of New Vision Entertainment, LLC.
Special thanks to these MIKE contributors:
Kevin Riley – Animator Greg Stauffer – Studio Production Dave Rittenhouse – Studio Production Amy O’Hara-Cusick – Legal