John L. Sullivan

. . . only 59, done in by the ravages of baseball and the alcohol abuse that usually went hand-in-hand with daytime exploits on the ball diamond. With a career batting average well above .300, John was content to field the hot corner until a boxing promoter lured him into the ring with the promise of better liquor. While PEABODY'S IMPROBABLE HISTORY focuses mostly on the Sullivan mustache, getting sloshed regularly was far more important to John than any amount of facial hair. However, Sullivan's 75-round TKO against Jake Kill-Rain depicted here was an actual event, though this picture omits the 74 shots of bourbon that enticed John L. To keep the fight going.

. . . Major League Baseball. Unlike JOHN L. SULLIVAN's Improbable History, Mr. Peabody never made a tribute to Jack Dempsey or Joe Louis, mostly because they did not play big league ball. Max Shelling also was absent from the hot corner, where SULLIVAN hung out, which raises the question: Can you picture the Minnesota Twin's Berlin native Max Kepler doubling as the world's pugilistic heavyweight champ? I'm not sure that Max could garner even the flyweight belt. When it comes to "Improbable History," the Twins could greatly benefit from the infusion of someone fresh such as John L. Sullivan in this crucial final week of the 2024 MLB season, as they try to avoid one of the most catastrophic September collapses in global history.