Garret Mathews writes for The Evansville, Ind., Courier & Press. Born in Abingdon, Va., he graduated from Virginia Tech and worked on the Bluefield, W. Va., Daily Telegraph before coming to Indiana. In 2000, he was named Columnist of the Year for Scripps-Howard newspapers.

His books include “Baseball Days”, “Swing, Batta,” “Past Deadlines: Past Lives,” “Can’t Find a Dry Ball,” “Defending My Bunk Against All Comers, Sir!” and “They Came to Play.” His theatrical play about the civil rights movement, “Jubilee in the Rear View Mirror,” was recently published.