Last year, my grandfather told me about a college football game he saw in person all the way back in 1944. That game featured a play so bizarre that he remembered it for more than 80 years. After our conversation, I set out to learn as much as I could about what really happened that night in LSU’s Tiger Stadium. What I ended up finding was a much bigger story, about chicanery and ethics and a century’s worth of players hiding in plain sight.

Interviews:

Irwin Miller

Scott Blair

Paul Johnson

Andrew Hawkins

Rodger Sherman of the Sports! newsletter

Paul Putz

George Mathews III

Andy Demetra

This episode was reported and written by Josh Levin. It was produced by Kevin Bendis, who also made the theme song and did the scoring. Derreck Johnson created our artwork.

Some of the audio you heard comes from the Amos Alonzo Stagg Collection, Holt-Atherton Special Collections, University of the Pacific Library.

Special thanks to Mike Wurtz, Mitchell Schwartz, Jordan Hirsch, Bill Smee, Joy Fowlkes, Maisie Hurwitz, and Jessica Seidman.

To see videos of the trick plays and for a list of sources used in this episode go to: https://www.replaybooth.show/p/replay-booth-episode-2-a-history

To stay updated on what we’re doing, subscribe to the Replay Booth newsletter at http://www.replaybooth.show.

You can also send feedback and ideas for future episodes to replayboothpodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.

In this episode, originally released in 2025, two mysterious Mets-related buttons kick off a journey that spans more than 60 years, with stops at a New York high school, the 1964 Republican Convention, a tiny town in rural Texas, and the courtroom where Donald Trump got fined $355 million.

Interviews:

Mitch Stephens

Arthur Engoron

Ron Swoboda

Rod Gaspar

Ronald Einziger

John Low of West Howard Antiques

Christen Carter of Busy Beaver Buttons & Merch and The Button Museum

Wilbur Huckle

This episode was reported and written by Josh Levin. It was produced by Kevin Bendis, who also made the theme song and did the scoring. Derreck Johnson created our artwork.

Special thanks to Ted Hake, Rick Trimble, John Tures, Stefan Fatsis, Dan Engber, Lowen Liu, Gabriel Roth, Jordan Hirsch, Bill Smee, Dan Check, Hillary Frey, Ben Richmond, Joy Fowlkes, Maisie Hurwitz, and Jessica Seidman.

For a list of sources used in this episode, go to: https://www.replaybooth.show/p/replay-booth-episode-1-wilbur-huckle

To stay updated on what we’re doing, subscribe to the Replay Booth newsletter at http://www.replaybooth.show.

You can also send feedback and ideas for future episodes to replayboothpodcast@gmail.com.

Hosted on Acast. See acast.com/privacy for more information.