Sunday, June 7, 1998

Enquirer sportswriter John Erardi and historian Greg Rhodes, who co-authored Big Red Dynasty last year, won a national award this week from the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR).

Their book about the Cincinnati Reds, 1970-78, was chosen as one of five finalists for the Seymour Medal, which is awarded annually to the best book of baseball history or biography. SABR is a national organization of 7,000-plus historians, writers and researchers. The award presentation will be made to the authors at the SABR convention in San Francisco later this month.

Earlier this year, Spitball magazine named Big Red Dynasty one of the top 10 baseball books of 1997. The authors, who also wrote Crosley Field: An Illustrated History of a Classic Ballpark, will sign copies of Big Red Dynasty at area stores June 19-20.