Echo of the Whistle

Harry Swartout
  • 5.0 (8)
  • Sports

Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports? How did the 1975 Chicago Blackhawks end up facing off against Sesame Street characters? Why did a Hall of Fame baseball player end up dead at the bottom of Niagara Falls? Let the chat shows chat and the hot takes get cold because this show tells sports stories that stay with listeners after the clock hits double zeroes.

  1. 12h ago

    Mascot Masters

    Everybody knows their favorite team's mascot. Almost NOBODY knows the person who DESIGNED that mascot. These are the stories of Carlo Bergoglio, Art Evans, Ava Buric and Charles Palminteri: Mascot Masters that changed the game by creating the characters at the center of fandom. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Mascots for Knights (1:25) Carlo Bergoglio's Heraldry of Football (3:10) Icons to Mascots (7:34) A Worthy Mascot Master (9:23) Art Evans and Ava Buric (10:31) Art Evans' Signatures (14:51) Disney Influence (16:43) Making Modern Mascots (18:55) Who Drew Mr. Met? (25:30) Disney Influence (16:43) Making Modern Mascots (18:55) Who Drew Mr. Met? (25:30) The Search (29:55) Charles Palminteri, Mr. Met's Dad? (31:19) Here's to the Mascot Masters (37:15) SOURCES Cartoons are Just His Business (George Comroe Anaheim Bulletin 07/31/1963) Decals Are Sticky Business - Fullerton Firm Makes It Pay (Hank Davis Anaheim Bulletin 10/01/1968) Multiple Personalities (Dick Anderson Occidental Magazine 02/11/2013) L’ARALDICA DEI CALCI, LA PACIFICA “RIVOLUZIONE” DI CARLIN (Marco Cianfanelli Pennants Museum 08/01/2019) The mystery of Mr. Met solved sort of (Paul Lukas ESPN.com 08/09/2012) What's in a Nickname? Exploring the Jungle of College Athletic Mascots by Ray Franks Mascots: the History of Senior College and University Mascots/Nicknames by Roy E. Yarbrough Special Thanks to Ava Buric, Paul Lukas and Marco Cianfanelli. Visit Marco's pennant museum at www.pennantsmuseum.com STAY CONNECTED Patreon: Echo of the Whistle Twitter: @echothewhistle Instagram: @echoofthewhistle Threads: @echoofthewhistle Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle YouTube: @EchooftheWhistle Website: echoofthewhistle.com

    Mascot Masters

  2. Aug 31

    Rooting for the Story: Extra Time with Jordan Rizzieri on Premier League Match Fixing

    Jordan Rizzieri LIVES for the Premier League upset because it's always a better story. Harry is joined by Unfiltered Soccer Podcast Producer Jordan Rizzieri to talk about the Prem losing its hooligan roots, if you could still fix Premier League matches with three guys and a garage door opener, and whether Kevin Hart is to blame for America's gambling problems. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) The Sublime Pain of an Upset (1:13) Stories are the Best Wins (5:46) Finding Soccer in the States (7:58) The End of Hooliganism (12:12) Choosing a Premier League Spokesperson (19:27) Match Fixing is Always Unexpected (21:43) Do you Trust the Prem? (27:00) Gambling Pressure on Young Players (29:13) Blame Kevin Hart? (34:29) We're Not Vegas People (37:51) The Next Match Fixing Scam (42:03) Rigging Prediction Markets (45:48) Where to Find Jordan Rizzieri (46:40) STAY CONNECTED Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/echoofthewhistle Twitter: @echothewhistle Instagram:@echoofthewhistle Threads: @echoofthewhistle Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle Website: echoofthewhistle.com

    Rooting for the Story: Extra Time with Jordan Rizzieri on Premier League Match Fixing

  3. Aug 24

    Who Turned Out the Lights?

    In the late 90s, a string of power failures at Premier League games... didn't cause a stir at all. The grounds were ancient, and leaks, cracks and even darkness were part of the charm. That was until police received a tip that something nefarious was going on. Their investigation revealed the outages to be part of an elaborate match fixing scam by Far East syndicates that still reverberates in today's instant gambling world. CHAPTERS Lights Out (:00) Premier League Goes Global (3:17) Old Grounds (7:33) The Sting (9:25) Tipped Off (11:15) The Syndicate's Match Fixing Plot (12:33) Dodged Consequences (17:15) The Rise of the Instant Micro Bet (21:25) Modern Match Fixing (22:55) 1999 or the Future? (26:40) SOURCES Floodlights scam to beat bookies (Vivek Chaudhary and Linus Gregoriadis The Guardian 08/20/1999) Soccer floodlight plot gang jailed (The Guardian 08/25/1999) The floodlights went out and an Asian betting syndicate raked in a fortune (Mark Hughes St. Louis Post-Dispatch 08/30/2010) UK Man guilty of floodlight plot (BBC News 08/20/1999) Special Thanks to Peter Kenny Jones, Andy Sellers, and Jon Cohen STAY CONNECTED Patreon: Echo of the Whistle Twitter: @echothewhistle Instagram: @echoofthewhistle Threads: @echoofthewhistle Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle YouTube: @EchooftheWhistle Website: echoofthewhistle.com

    Who Turned Out the Lights?

  4. Aug 17

    Creating Thanksgiving Eve: Extra time with Trey Wingo on The St. Louis Stallions

    How did Trey Wingo end up at a St. Louis Stallions rally in 1993? Harry is joined by sports broadcasting legend Trey Wingo to talk about the St. Louis' warring Stallions bids, Walter Payton dissing Jacksonville, and the NFL's bid to create a new holiday - Thanksgiving Eve. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Trey Wingo's 90s-tastic Sweater (:27) St. Louis' Stallions Hubris (3:16) What Killed the Stallions (7:26) Cash Rules the NFL (10:26) Stallion Merch Contraband (12:40) NFL Creates "Thanksgiving Eve" (18:07) LA's "Homefield Disadvantage" (20:26) London Before St. Louis (23:12) NFL wants Jacksonville? (27:20) Yes Money, No Lawyers (30:44) Find Trey on the Wingo Network (32:02) STAY CONNECTED Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/echoofthewhistle Twitter: @echothewhistle Instagram:@echoofthewhistle Threads: @echoofthewhistle Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle Website: echoofthewhistle.com

    Creating Thanksgiving Eve: Extra time with Trey Wingo on The St. Louis Stallions

  5. Aug 3

    The Team That Never Was

    When the NFL announced their expansion franchises in 1993, St. Louis was SURE football was coming back to their city. They had fans gather in the thousands to cheer on the St. Louis Stallions, wearing the team's purple and gold horse logo proudly on their chests. The only problem? They didn't get the franchise. What's a oft-jilted city supposed to do with their fanatic football devotion - and ALL THOSE SHIRTS - for a team that never was? CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Rally For the Stallions (2:20) Cardinals Stadium Woes (4:53) The Stallions are Born...Sort of (7:17) It's in the Bag (11:13) Sportsprint Inc. Jumps the Gun (14:27) The Announcement (15:43) The Stallions' Downfall (16:37) Delayed Gratification (18:52) Battle for Ownership (21:08) Unstable St. Louis (22:35) The Shirt Off Your Back (24:40) The Rams Arrive...and Leave (27:31) Stallions Resale Rebirth (29:13) SOURCES Sports Talk Weekly: St. Louis Stallions Rally for NFL Expansion Team in 1993 Sports Talk Weekly: St. Louis (Stallions) loses NFL expansion bid to Jacksonville in 1993 Sports Talk Weekly: St. Louis (Stallions) lose NFL expansion bid to Charlotte in 1993 The NFL team we almost had... ESPN 101 St. Louis St. Louis SACKED CBS KMOV 4 Stallions? Expansion Hopefuls Told to Pick Nicknames (Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 11/03/1992) Stop the Press! NFL Keeps 80,000 T-Shirts in Boxes (Lorraine Kee Montre St. Louis Post-Dispatch 10/27/1993) Losing their Shirts (Lorraine Kee Montre St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12/01/1993) NLF 30, St. Louis 0 (Jim Thomas St. Louis Post-Dispatch 12/01/1993) Special Thanks to Ed Wheatley, Brad Straubinger and Matt Rockamann STAY CONNECTED Patreon: Echo of the Whistle Twitter: @echothewhistle Instagram: @echoofthewhistle Threads: @echoofthewhistle Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle YouTube: @EchooftheWhistle Website: echoofthewhistle.com

    The Team That Never Was

  6. Jul 27

    Overdosing on Creatine: Extra time with Jeff Eisenband on The Radioactive Golfer

    Should the PGA tour bring back wearing knickerbockers? Harry is joined by PGA TOUR LIVE Play-by-play commentator Jeff Eisenband to talk about Eben Byers's radioactive golfclubs, cheating at golf, and accidentally taking too much creatine to putt. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Being U.S. Amateur Champion in 1906 (4:01) Yale's RICH Golfing History (9:18) Overdosing on Creatine (18:07) Capitalism and Twitter Community Notes (24:41) The Radiendocrinator vs. Aging (29:34) Comebacks and Fashion (33:52) What's the Handicap for Being Radioactive? (42:09) Golf Gadgets to Help You Cheat (46:00) Jeff Eisenband on Socials and PGA TOUR LIVE (50:46) STAY CONNECTED Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/echoofthewhistle Twitter: @echothewhistle Instagram:@echoofthewhistle Threads: @echoofthewhistle Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle Website: echoofthewhistle.com

    Overdosing on Creatine: Extra time with Jeff Eisenband on The Radioactive Golfer

  7. Jul 20

    The Radioactive Golfer

    Eben Byers had it all. He was the 1906 National Amateur Golf champion. He was a millionaire before he was even born. He was such a ladies man they nicknamed him "Foxy Grandpa." He also had the misfortune of being the poster boy for the dangers of patent medicine. Byers thought he was taking a health supplement – a 2 oz shot of water that was part of the newest health craze in America – and ended up 6 feet UNDER the green, so radioactive he had to be buried in a lead lined coffin. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Eben Byers was RICH (1:50) Yale and Golf (4:30) Ladies Man or "Foxy Grandpa" (7:11) Eben Byers: Elite Golfer (8:25) The Byers Gravy Train (14:27) The Injury (15:57) The Perpetual Sunshine of Radithor (17:18) William J.A. Bailey: Quack (19:03) Radiation Fever (20:13) The Radithor Con (23:40) Radioactive Decay (26:14) The Death of Byers and Radiation Fever (29:22) Bailey Escapes Blame (32:27) The Ballad of Eben Byers (33:59) SOURCES Quackery: A Brief History of the Worst Ways to Cure Everything by Nate Pedersen and Lydia Kang Golf at Yale: The Players, the Teams, the Course by Bill Kelly and John A. Godley The Great Radium Scandal by Roger M. Macklis The Radium Water Worked Fine Until His Jaw Came Off by Ron Winslow Eben M. Byers: The Effect of Gamma Rays on Amateur Golf, Modern Medicine and the FDA by C. Prentiss Orr Pittsburger Won the Title (July 15, 1906 The Pittsburgh Press) E.M. Byers, of Pittsburg, Defeats the Golf Champion (July 18, 1902 New York Daily Tribune) Special Thanks to Bill Kelly and Nate Pedersen STAY CONNECTED Patreon: Echo of the Whistle Twitter: @echothewhistle Instagram: @echoofthewhistle Threads: @echoofthewhistle Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle YouTube: @EchooftheWhistle Website: echoofthewhistle.com

    The Radioactive Golfer

  8. Jul 13

    Rapping the Lakers' "Just Say No" at Karaoke: Extra Time with Jamel Johnson on Savoring Victory

    WARNING: making the recipes from the World Champion Los Angeles Lakers Are Cookin' cookbook can be hazardous to your health. Harry is joined by comedian and ball-knower Jamel Johnson to talk about NBA Championship Cookbooks, fancy cornbread, baking too much dairy, and if any of the Showtime Lakers could actually rap. CHAPTERS Intro (:00) Fancy Cornbread (1:00) Don't Put Dairy in the Oven (4:32) Did the Lakers Really Make This? (6:13) NBA Getting Scurvy (7:50) Laker Ladies Making Creepy Crawlers (10:23) "Just Say No" at Karaoke (12:20) Pat Riley's Roll on Great British Bakeoff (19:39) Which Laker is being "Ratatouilled"? (21:30) Bill Walton's Recipes (26:20) A Washington Wizards & Mystics Cookbook (29:01) Hakeem Olajuwon's Rocket Fuel ISN'T Celsius (33:56) Modern Cookbooks: Chef Curry Anyone? (36:51) Is Luka the White Charles Barkley? (38:51)2026 Knicks Cookbook? (40:31) Jamel Johnson on "Mid-Range" and Just So Many Podcasts (44:34) ABOUT ECHO OF THE WHISTLE: Playing to the “echo of the whistle” means to give 100% and then just a little bit more, fighting for that extra inch when the other team has stopped playing. Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports? How did the 1975 Chicago Blackhawks end up facing off against Sesame Street characters? Why did a Hall of Fame baseball player end up dead at the bottom of Niagara Falls? Let the chat shows chat and the hot takes get cold because this show tells uncommon sports stories that stay with listeners after the clock hits double zeroes. STAY CONNECTED Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/cw/echoofthewhistle Twitter: @echothewhistleInstagram:@echoofthewhistle Threads: @echoofthewhistle Bluesky: @echothewhistlepod.bsky.social TikTok: @echo_of_the_whistle Website: echoofthewhistle.com

    Rapping the Lakers' "Just Say No" at Karaoke: Extra Time with Jamel Johnson on Savoring Victory
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5
out of 5
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About

Echo of the Whistle goes beyond what happens on the field of play to trace sports’ ripples across time and culture. What can one statistical anomaly tell us about the most difficult position in sports? How did the 1975 Chicago Blackhawks end up facing off against Sesame Street characters? Why did a Hall of Fame baseball player end up dead at the bottom of Niagara Falls? Let the chat shows chat and the hot takes get cold because this show tells sports stories that stay with listeners after the clock hits double zeroes.

Information

  • Creator
    Harry Swartout
  • Years Active
    2026
  • Episodes
    13
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © Copyright 2026 Harry Swartout
  • Show Website
    Echo of the Whistle