Kuttler: Q&A with MLB Official Historian John Thorn
From Hillel Kuttler at the Jewish Baseball Museum on April 19, 2016, with SABR member John Thorn:
John Thorn had an unconventional start for someone who would become Major League Baseball’s official historian.
Thorn was born in a displaced person’s camp in Stuttgart, Germany, in 1947; his father Richard, a Holocaust survivor from Poland, worked there as a translator for the Hebrew Immigrant Aid Society (HIAS). In November 1949, the Thorn clan, including John’s mother Victoria and their cousin Adam, came to the United States, settling in the New York City boroughs of the Bronx and then Queens.
As a young boy, baseball proved to be a gateway to American society. Ultimately, he would craft a career in the letters: as an editor, publisher, writer and historian. He’s authored numerous books on baseball, football and New York City history; written a column on folklore; and consulted on Ken Burns’s landmark documentary film series on baseball history. Appropriately, Thorn has been honored by the Society for American Baseball Research.
Read the full article here: http://jewishbaseballmuseum.com/spotlight-story/qa-john-thorn-mlb-official-historian/
Originally published: April 28, 2016. Last Updated: April 28, 2016.