Al Hunter’s Story Archive

Breakfast with Neto: Bobby “Slick” Leonard, Part 2

Bobby “Slick” Leonard, an ABA Pacers legend, Hoosier institution and Naismith Hall of Famer, died Tuesday, April 13. After I received the news I spoke to Neto and he recommended that I call some other people Slick was close to and gauge their reflections as well. I spoke to three … Read More

Breakfast with Neto: Bobby “Slick” Leonard, Part 1

I’ve known Bob Netolicky for well over 25 years now. Neto has a reputation as one of the greatest “flakes” in pro basketball history. In fact, he routinely turns up in the top 5 of sportswriters in charge of tabulating such lists to this day, pretty impressive when you consider … Read More

Galileo’s Bones

This column first appeared in December 2010. Some of the most popular articles I have written for the pages of this newspaper in the past concern the fascination with the public sale at auction of macabre relics associated with American pop icons. You might remember columns devoted to the sale … Read More

John Dillinger, the Ballplayer

Despite John Dillinger’s meteoric rise to infamy and spectacular headline grabbing death, his Indianapolis boyhood was unexceptional. He attended public schools for eight years in the Circle City and was a typical student. His teachers recalled that he liked working with his hands, was good with all things mechanical and … Read More

A Spring Training Trade You’re Not Gonna Believe!

Spring training 2021 is over and while the exhibition games lacked intensity, were meaningless and the stats didn’t count, they were nonetheless eagerly devoured by baseball fans everywhere who endured the long winter because they knew, come April 1st, the game will come alive again in earnest. Not since World … Read More