There were a few players in the 1970s whom Rex was told to emulate if he wanted to play Big League Baseball. Art Howe was one of them and he is our guest this week. Art started his athletic career as a football player at the University of Wyoming. After an injury, he concentrated on baseball and it paid dividends. Art started out in the Pirates organization but was traded to the Houston Astros and finally made it to the Majors permanently at the age of 30 in 1977. He was able to play all infield positions and was part of the Greatest 5-Game NLCS in history when the Astros lost to the Phillies in 1980. Not only did Art have a solid Major League career, but he followed that up with a solid managing career with a record of 1129-1137. We travel Back When There Was Baseball to the mid-1970s through the early-1980s with our esteemed guest, Art Howe.

When you talk about the greatest outfield arms in the history of the game players such as Roberto Clemente, Dave Parker and Ichiro Suzuki come to mind. However, our guest this week may have the greatest arm of them all. Ellis Valentine joins us to talk about his MLB career. Ellis was drafted in 1972 in the 2nd round by the Montreal Expos and made his Major League debut in 1975. He was part of that great outfield in the late 1970s which consisted of himself, Andre Dawson and Warren Cromartie. He was traded to the New York Mets in 1981 and also played for the California Angels and Texas Rangers to end his career. Injuries curtailed his career, but we consider Ellis one of the better players of his generation. Join us as we go Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Ellis Valentine.

Tom Murphy joins us this week. Tom played in MLB from 1967-1979 with the California Angels, Kansas City Royals, St. Louis Cardinals, Milwaukee Brewers, Boston Red Sox and Toronto Blue Jays. He pitched as a starter and a reliever. Tom was drafted out of Ohio University in 1967 and made his Major League debut with the Angels in 1968. Enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Tom Murphy.

John Morlan is our guest this week. He played in the Pittsburgh Pirates organization from 1971-1977 with stints in the Major Leagues in 1973 and 1974. John is our first guest that was drafted 4 times before signing with the Pirates out of Ohio University. He participated in the 1974 season which included the Dock Ellis incident where Dock attempted to hit every Cincinnati Reds batter on May 1. The Pirates also won the National League East but lost to the L.A. Dodgers in the NL Championship Series. Enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball with John Morlan.

Our guest this week is former MLB pitcher Skip Lockwood. Skip signed with the Kansas City A's in 1964 for the unbelievable sum of $135,000. He started out at 3rd base and played behind Ed Charles in 1965 with the parent club. He had trouble hitting, especially during night games and was transitioned into a pitcher. Skip played for the A's, Seattle Pilots/Milwaukee Brewers, California Angels, New York Mets and Boston Red Sox. He excelled with the Mets from 1975-1979 mainly as a closer. Enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Skip Lockwood.

Doug Corbett joins us this week. Doug played college baseball at the University of Florida but was not drafted. He signed with the Kansas City Royals for $500 on a free agent contract in 1974. Doug debuted with the Minnesota Twins in 1980 and had a great year as a relief pitcher, which resulted in a 3rd place finish for Rookie of the Year award (behind Joe Charboneau and Dave Stapleton). He played for the Twins, California Angels and Baltimore Orioles in a career that lasted through the 1987 season. Enjoy this trip Back When There Was Baseball with our guest Doug Corbett.

We travel Back When There Was Baseball this week to the 1980s with our guest Mike Stenhouse. Mike was one of the best hitters in Ivy League history coming out of Harvard before signing with the Montreal Expos in 1980. Mike was able to hit everywhere he played, but he struggled when he got to the Majors. We speak with Mike about having to break into the lineup playing behind Andre Dawson, Warren Cromartie, Tim Raines, Terry Francona and Al Oliver to name a few. He talks about not getting a chance to play on a regular basis, which he needed to become consistent as a hitter. Mike shares some great stories and elaborates on the game being a "business" as we go Back When There Was Baseball.

Our guest this week was All-Everything out of the University of Tennessee before he entered the professional ranks. Sam Ewing hit .412 during his career at Tennessee garnering him All-American status. After competing in the World Amateur Games, he started his Major League baseball career. He was drafted by the Chicago White Sox and had stints with the parent club in 1973 and 1976. Sam was selected by the Toronto Blue Jays out of the expansion draft in 1976. He had a very productive year in 1977, hitting .287 while platooning. Sam takes us on a trip Back When There Was Baseball and talks about being platooned and also being labeled, which was prevalent in the 1970s.