I had the pleasure of attending the freshman Convocation in Stockton’s Performing Arts Center on September 23, 2011.  Our speaker was John Thorn, the official MLB Historian.  Thorn explained how he grew up in a displaced person’s camp for the Holocaust.  Thorn learned the English language from the backs of baseball cards.

Thorn began speaking about a full range of topics such as a man named Rothstein, The Great Gatsby and our freshman reading book Shoeless Joe.  After simply listening and taking notes, I began to see where Thorn was leading the audience; everything was connected!  The Black Sox scandal was a part of The Great Gatsby and Shoeless Joe.  A man named Rothstein was the mastermind of the scandal in real life, while Wolfsheim was the character depicted as Rothstein in the Great Gatsby.  On the subject of Shoeless Joe, Thorn regarded it as a great book.  On the surface, it seems that Shoeless Joes is only about baseball, yet the themes make it so much more than that.  Thorn explained this by saying, “Baseball is not about baseball…at least not entirely.”

Thorn concluded the speech by telling us to follow our dreams and convictions and to also take risks.  John Thorn is a master of Q and A which followed the speech.  One audience member asked what team Thorn thought would win the World Series this year.  Thorn replied the Phillies which obviously pleased the crowd by their applause.  Sadly his prediction will not come true this year.  All in all, it was a great speech and welcome to the incoming freshmen.