New Year’s Day, 1925. The Rose Bowl: As the capper to the college football season, it’s the Big One, the kingmaker, the Grandaddy of Them All.

By the mid-1920s, the Rose Bowl’s reputation as a top highlight on the sports calendar was already well affirmed and the 11th game featured two programs about to enter the national consciousness forever: the Pop Warner-coached, Ernie Nevers-led Stanford University versus the Four Horsemen of Notre Dame.

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer, having flown across nearly the entire country and witnessed via ghostly vision the future of the game, is set to cover sports history in the making. But when radio whiz kid Freddy Carson is incapacitated, can Orville and the daughter of the late sportswriter Ernie Doogle call an audible to save the day – on radio…?

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is an audio drama podcast from Number 80 Productions and the Sports History Network.

The Rose Bowl script and story by Os Davis.

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer stars Doug Fye, Ilona Fye, and Eric Bodwell. The Rose Bowl co-stars in order of appearance Caedmon Holland, Abrianna LaValley, John Roberts and Forrest Hartl.

Additional direction by Eric Bodwell. Sound recording and primary editing by Don McIver.

The theme song of Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is “the Dayton Triangles Rag” and was arranged and performed by Bruce Smith.

Other tracks in this episode include

• “Rose Bowl intro” by Mike and Gene Monroe;

• “Orville Mulligan’s Ragtime Dream” by Shane Ivers of Silverman Sound Studios;

• “Pasadena” (1923) by Burt Firman; and

• “Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer (Outro theme)” by David Liso of Dynamo Stairs.

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is produced by Os Davis and Darin Hayes. Series concept by Darrin Hayes.

Stay tuned for more episodes of Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer – coming soon!

December 1924. Legendary Ernie Doogle has passed away – but that’s not about to stop him from having some fun with his old pal in the trenches, Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer.

By the grace of the almighty Harold, the man most knew as “Doogs” returns in ghostly form to take Orville on a metaphysical ride to witness Football Past, Football Present and Football Future.

Traveling (or does he?) from the 1880s to 1920 to the far-flung marvelous future of the 1950s, Orville may gain deeper insight into the proverbial meanings of life, universe and everything, but he’ll definitely learn a thing or too about the evolution of football…

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is an audio drama podcast from Number 80 Productions and the Sports History Network.

A Christmas Football Carol script and story by Os Davis.

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer stars Doug Fye, Ilona Fye, and Eric Bodwell. A Christmas Football Carol co-stars in order of appearance John Roberts, Forrest Hartl, Vernon Poitras, Joe Gallegos, Abianna LaValley and Szilvia Morvay.

Additional direction by Eric Bodwell. Sound recording and primary editing by Don McIver.

The theme song of Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is “the Dayton Triangles Rag” and was arranged and performed by Bruce Smith.

Other tracks in this episode include

• “The Downhearted Blues” (1923) by Bessie Smith;

• Symphony no. 8 (Allegro con brio) by Antonin Dvorak;

• “Jazz Club” by Kriss (available through fair-use agreement via FreeMusicArchive.org);

• “Rockapalooza” by Shane Ivers of Silverman Sound Studios;

• “Toot Toot, Tootsie (Goodbye)” (1922) by Al Jolson;

• “Pasadena” (1923) by Burt Firman; and

• “Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer (Outro)” by David Liso of Dynamo Stairs.

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is produced by Os Davis and Darin Hayes. Series concept by Darrin Hayes.

Stay tuned for more episodes of Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer – coming soon!

December 1924. When Orville Mulligan, Sports Writer for the Pittsburgh Guardian newspaper is assigned to cover the Rose Bowl in five days, he figures he’s out of luck – until learning he’ll be traversing the country in a whole new way: Via air.

Piloting Orville to the big game is Walter Lees, a private-sector test pilot, member of the Caterpillar Club, and top competitor in the recently-born world of air-racing.

Along the journey of 3,000 miles, Orville learns of the early history of aeronautics and gets of view of the commercial possibilities for the exciting new technology.

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is an audio drama podcast from Number 80 Productions and the Sports History Network.

Flight script and story by Os Davis.

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer stars Doug Fye, Ilona Fye, and Eric Bodwell. Flight co-stars in order of appearance Forrest Hartl, Os Davis and John Roberts.

The theme song of Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is “the Dayton

Triangles Rag” and was arranged and performed by Bruce Smith. Other tracks in this episode include

• “Cletus Train Music” by Mike and Gene Monroe;

• “Piano Concerto no. 2” (1924) by Sergei Prokofiev;

• “Helena’s Lament,” “Climb” and “Get a Little” by Silverman Sound Studios;

• “Pasadena” (1923) by Bert Firman; and

• “Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer (Outro)” by David Liso of Dynamo Stairs.

Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer is produced by Os Davis and Darin Hayes. Series concept by Darrin Hayes.

Stay tuned for more episodes of Orville Mulligan: Sports Writer – coming soon!