Lynn Sweet didn't consider himself a coach, and the tiny town of Macon, Ill., had never experienced one like him. Hey, didn't everyone play on a favorite baseball team when they were growing up and hasn't everyone thought of those days and wondered - 'what if?' With no reason for the towns existenceno river, hilltop, or swath of ideal topographythere was no compelling reason for people to settle there. Grow your brand authentically by sharing brand content with the internets creators. Click here to subscribe, or simply show your support for Illinois Times. Macon HS finished second in the 1971 Illinois High School Association state boys championship tournament. Lynn Sweet's infectious personality keeps audiences spellbound as she takes them on a magical, musical journey celebrating her twenty five plus years as a professional in showbusiness. It has gotten better, I think. There were games I couldn't describe, but I didn't think readers wanted to read game-by-game anyway. Leadership is measured by influence. There the Ironmen would play against a Chicago powerhouse in a dramatic game that would change their lives forever. This isn't merely a book about baseball. One member of that rag-tag Macon baseball team, Brian Snitker, is now the manager of the Atlanta Braves. Now here he was, driving through a sea of cornfields and mulling a job offer in a town so small he was unaware of its existence only a week earlier. One of my main goals with this blog is to offer portraits of leaders and analyze their style. Five of his stories have been optioned for feature films, including "One Shot.". At the moment, however, Britton was focusing his considerable talents of persuasion on luring Sweet to Macon, and he thought he knew how to do it. Once, upon being impressed with a barmaid at the Lone Oak Tavern in Decatur named LaVonne Jones, Britton brought the entire school board to the bar to meet her, then hired her on the spot. It also featuresthe funkiest coach not just in the history of baseball but the historyof sport--an unforgettable character in a beautiful and unforgettablebook. Did Coach Sweet feel like he stirred the pot more than he needed to? The players were gritty and never gave up. Perhaps it is the community spirit that is raised by the hometown schools accomplishments. Mahogany, Wenge, Rotary cut Karelian Birch on Birch ply. We have 3 records for Lynn Sweet ranging in age from 70 years old to 87 years old. . Regarded as a beloved underdog story, the team played in mismatched hand-me-down uniforms, had little equipment available, and warmed up to a tape of Jesus Christ Superstar. - 2004 FRED LYNN Auto SP . CITY BEAT: COMMUNITY STEPS UP TO HELP AKORNS BETRAYED EMPLOYEES, Turner supports $300,000 investment to Macon County Conservation District, MILLIKIN KICKS OFF CELEBRATION OF WOMENS HISTORY MONTH, Rep. Caulkins to Provide Lunch at Decatur Job Fair on March 14, THE DISC TO GIVE 2 MONTH FREE MEMBERSHIPS TO ALL AKORN PHARMACEUTICAL EMPLOYEES, City Council updates regulations of Lake Decatur, approves roadwork for IL 121, more assistance for renters & homeowners. Boston Red Sox; Fred Lynn; classic OFFICIAL INFORMATION . How many people did you talk to? 04/02/2016. On file we have 3 email addresses and 9 phone numbers associated with Lynn in area codes such as 217, 732, 202, 773. EVERYONEidea of a coach is being a hard ass and just yelling at the players. The Meharry Correspondence: University Sports, One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season, Past and present of the City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois, History of Macon County, Illinois, from its organization to 1876, https://www.si.com/vault/2010/06/28/105954639/the-magical-season-of-the-macon-ironmen, https://herald-review.com/news/local/new-attention-comes-to-mod-squad-macon-high-school-team/article_08126139-56bd-5f4b-b216-3d6bec952fcb.html, https://herald-review.com/news/local/reasons-the-train-history-of-decatur/article_6ff140d8-ee76-5231-97d1-9147b1ef3997.html, The Lincoln Room at the University of Illinois. Chicago, 1892. Reviewed in the United States on January 15, 2017. As I analyze their style, I will assess and compare their concern for production and concern for people. In Illinois sports vary from two to eight classes. Amidst this population growth, Macon was founded. The star player, Steve Shartzer, turned out to be as fascinating a character in his own way as Coach Sweet. Your email address will not be published. One of the most powerful parts of the story is the impact that Coach Sweet, the season, and the championship game had on their lives. I didn't necessarily talk too much about their politics. These ebooks can only be redeemed by recipients in the US. Ballard has appeared on The Charlie Rose Show, ABC Newswith Dick Schaap, and Outside the Lines, and speaks regularly to groupsof journalism students. Lynn Sweet, Actress: Death Shot. Call number: 977.358 G946m, Past and present of the City of Decatur and Macon County, Illinois. Spring Lynn Bears Varsity Baseball Season Welcome to the Lynn Baseball team feed. WASHINGTON White nationalist Holocaust denier Nick Fuentes, who met with former President Donald Trump last Tuesday at his Mar-a-Largo estate (brought there by the rapper formerly known as Kanye West, under fire for his own antisemitic statements), was raised in suburban Chicago. As the saying went in the newsroom, If its in the Herald & Review sports section, it must be true.. It's Illinois high school baseball's answer to "Hoosiers," only the coach is an irresistible hippie who shook up a small town and the star player is a tortured soul who never got over the feeling he let Macon down despite his and the team's unprecedented success. Was this experience almost bad for him? Though an indifferent student, Sweet was beloved by his teachers. The News contained a regular feature called Two Minutes with the Bible, and breaking news stories included headlines such as Local Cemetery Board Hires Custodian; Win Places [Boy] on State Vegetable Judging Team; and Evening Womans Club Meets in Kyle Home, a story that included the following dispatch: Howard Brown, County Supt. The one largely responsible for getting them to that title game will not be there physically with his teammates to celebrate their achievement. But hed never seen anything like this. You know why its a great story? Sweet was working in Washington when she wrote a series of stories exposing the Democratic National Committee offering big money donors access to the Clinton White House and the Clinton administration's practice of allowing donors to fly on Air Force One. This is the kindof baseball book that has long arms: YA readers, avid baseball fans,sports readers, and narrative nonfiction readers who like to be firmlyset in a particular time and place should all find it joyful." By the time Sweet arrived in 1965, Macon was a largely self-sufficient town of twelve hundred, boasting one bank, two grocery stores, two barber shops, a post office, and enough jobs and farmland that residents didnt have to look elsewhere for their needs. One Shot at Forever: A Small Town, an Unlikely Coach, and a Magical Baseball Season. Think of that next spring when the baseball Ironmen will be celebrating the 50th anniversary of the their success on the diamonds. Get to know Barrington Real Estate Broker Owner Lynn Sweet at RE/MAX Home Sweet Home and find ratings, reviews, recent listings, contact information and more! "A . I lived with it. Decatur, IL: Macon County Historical Society, 1969. That he had only a couple months of experience didnt bother Britton. --Jeff Pearlman, New York Times bestselling author of Boys Will Be Boys and The Bad Guys WonIn 1971, a small-town high school baseball team from rural Illinois, playing with hand-me-down uniforms and peace signs on their hats, defied convention and the odds. Map. We grew up with Doug, Brad, The Ottas, etc, and ,of course, was lucky enough to Have Sweet for English. Lynn is CEO and chief technology proponent at EZappt "EZ-appointment", assisting organizations in managing appointments, queuing, and tracking. It is a beautiful narrative that readers will find compelling and enjoyable. And the book is a wonderful testament to the spirit of high school sports and its impact on the lives of players, coaches and community.Stuart Shiffman reviews books for bookreporter.com and Judicature as well as Illinois Times. Streamline your workflow with our best-in-class digital asset management system. I got the job?. I figured I did so much research already (for the magazine article) that it will come easy. Thank you again for telling their story. Lynn Sweet is an American journalist and in October 2013, became the Washington, D.C. bureau chief for the Chicago Sun-Times. As a variety club award winning vocalist, she is always the crowd pleaser, a superb singer with patter to match. Also, the saying that someone or something is off the grid is a way of suggesting that someone or something is unusual, or nontraditional. Your email address will not be published. Update your device or payment method, cancel individual pre-orders or your subscription at. Listen to audio of Sun-Times Obama interview", "Political columnist speaking at Flagler", https://www.pressreader.com/usa/chicago-sun-times/20070515/282638913153182, "Feinstein and Sweet to Appear at IGS Salon Gala", "And the Peter Lisagor Award nominees are", "5th Annual Washington Women in Journalism Awards - A Night of Recognition", https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Lynn_Sweet&oldid=1139516820, University of California, Berkeley alumni, University of Illinois Urbana-Champaign alumni, Pages using infobox person with multiple credits, Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License 3.0, Northwestern University Medill School of Journalism, Medill Hall of Achievement, Chicago Journalism Hall of Fame, Washington Bureau chief, Chicago Sun-Times, 2006 Medill Hall of Achievement, Northwestern University School of Journalism, 2013 Winner of the Bill and Patrice Brandt Alumni Leadership Award by the University of California, Berkeley, for her 2012 presidential campaign and election coverage, 2018 Winner of the Women in Journalism Award for outstanding journalist in print, 2019 Power 25 List of the most powerful women in journalism, This page was last edited on 15 February 2023, at 15:07. This blog is entitled, Leadership off the Grid. Why did I select this title? Portsmouth, NH Madbury, NH Professional Information Broker address: RE/MAX Home Sweet Home 8 Commerce Way Barrington, NH 03825 Cell phone: (603) 765-5325 Broker phone: (603) 664-9090 Websites: Website, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn Screenname: lynnsweet Member since: 06/11/2008 Real Estate Licenses: DB909137 (ME) Shartzer lives in Alabama and his politics are opposite of Sweet. Lynn Sweet Sweet and Mr Thomas made us feel like we could do anything. Birthday: 1961. I can relate to being the small town underdog. He struck Sweet as an easy man to get along with, and most of the time he was. ", is powerful, inspirational and--in an era where sports are too oftenmarred by scandal--as pure and true as a warm spring breeze. Instead of pushing the kids, he often shows them his own opinions, encouraging them to "step up to the plate" because out of desire for play. Without question, Macon lost one of its all-time sports heroes with the recent passing of Steve Shartzer. To pass the time he rolled down the windows, letting the cool air fly through his hair, and hummed a song about a Tambourine Man. Even though I am somewhat ambivalent to baseball, I could not put this book down. Having to care for six children, my father worked two jobs while mom stayed home. What made you want to spend an ungodly amount of time turning it into a book? Right in the end, when he's back in Macon, there suddenly seemed to be something honorable about it, something like he let down his town. Next spring Macon will celebrate the 50th anniversary of its Hollywood baseball season when Steve Shartzer led Lynn Sweets Ironmen to second place in the Illinois High School Associations state baseball championships. In 1971, every Illinois school, regardless of enrollment, battled for one state baseball championship. Excerpted from ONE SHOT AT FOREVER by Chris Ballard. Parker Lynn joined the Saint Vincent College athletic department in November 2021 as assistant baseball coach and manager of athletic facilities. St. Louis Cardinals activated RHP Lance Lynn from the 15-day disabled list. The story plays out so well and the reader identifies with the characters in the story. I emailed him a little, but it was when I talked to him on the phone and he told me the trophy was in a gas station I thought maybe there's something there. This was the big experience in their lives. We asked her a few questions about herself and her STEM career to get to know her and her work a bit better before her live event. The Ironmen beat Lane Tech in the semis, and lost 4-2 to Waukegan in the Championship Game. With #DeSantis2024 wooing cops today in Chicago suburb, Trump counters, said he would direct DOJ "to open civil rights investigations into radical leftist prosecutor's officers" in Chicago, LA, SF, "to determine whether they have illegally engaged in race-based law enforcement." Lynn Sweet. It is a true story of a small, conservative farm communitys baseball team. I tried to get details from opponents, weather records and piece it all together. Since then Macon High School has merged with Blue Mound to become Meridian High School. Please use a different way to share. How did you come upon this story? Map of Illinois Central R.R. Every once in a while, Sweet breezed through a town, but mostly it was just him and that big blue sky. Six children, my father worked two jobs while mom stayed home individual pre-orders or your subscription at town an... A Chicago powerhouse in a dramatic game that would change their lives forever achievement! 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