Meet the Team
The researchers and writers for Iowa Baseball History
The content on this site is made possible by a group of passionate individuals who have devoted their lives to researching and writing about all things related to baseball in the state of Iowa. Our forum is always growing with content that offers an in-depth look at the players and moments that have defined baseball in Iowa.
Steve Dunn
Steve Dunn had four decades of newspaper experience before he retired in early 2014, moved to Des Moines, Iowa, and joined the Society for American Baseball Research (SABR). He worked as a reporter, sports writer and managing editor for daily and weekly newspapers in three states, including the last fifteen and a half years as managing editor of the Daily Gate City in Keokuk, Iowa.
He has written six bios for SABR of Randy Hundley, Don Kessinger, Joe Decker, Kevin Tapani, Kerry Wood and Charlie Hollocher and is working on a seventh of Salty Saltwell. The life-long Cub fan also has written four game stories for SABR, including Ernie Banks’ 500th home run; Banks’ first game with the Cubs on September 17, 1953; the Cubs’ extra-inning victory over the St. Louis Cardinals on April 6, 1971; and Ron Santo’s major league debut on
June 26, 1960. He and former state Sen. Pat Deluhery have written a book about the latter’s political career, including working for U.S. Sen. Harold Hughes of Iowa from 1969 to 1975 and briefly for U.S. John Culver of Iowa after that in Washington, D.C. Deluhery also served in the Iowa Senate from 1979 to 2002. “Engaged: Pat Deluhery and the Golden Age of Democratic Party Activism” is available in print and e-book versions on amazon.com. Dunn was an usher for the Iowa Cubs, the Triple-A affiliate of the Chicago Cubs, from 2015 to 2019. He also participated twice in Randy Hundley Cubs Baseball Fantasy Camps in
January 2018 and 2019 in Mesa, Arizona, where he played on teams coached by Hall of Fame pitcher Fergie Jenkins and former Cub pitchers Rick and Paul Reuschel. His teammates included Joey Banks, the son of Mr. Cub Ernie Banks.
He and his wife, Cindy, have two daughters and three grandchildren who live in West Des Moines and Phoenix, Arizona. For more, go to https://stevedunnauthor.com.
John Liepa
John is Professor Emeritus of History and Political Science at Des Moines Area
Community College (DMACC.) He taught courses in Political Science, U.S., and Iowa
History from 1972-2010. He has a B.S in History and an M.A. in Political Science from
Iowa State University. He received an “Excellence in Education” award in 2001 and was
honored as DMACC’s “Educator of the Year” in 2004.
He served five terms on the State Historical Society of Iowa’s Board of Trustees from
1998 - 2113, having served both as Chair and Vice-Chair; and, on the Iowa Historical
Foundation, the fundraising arm of the State Historical Society of Iowa. Since retiring,
he has taught courses for the Senior College of Greater Des Moines on “Iowa’s Role in
the Civil War,” Iowa’s Ethnic Heritage,” and the “Early History of Baseball in Iowa.”
John has been a 22-year member and Program Chair of the Des Moines Civil War
Roundtable and has done presentations on “Iowa’s Role in the Civil War,” “Lincoln’s
Assassination,” TheCivil War’s Impact on Baseball’s Evolution,” and “The Impact of
Journalists During the Civl War.”
A life-long baseball card collector, John owns an extensive collection of cards and
memorabilia representing Iowa’s 222 Major Leaguers, featuring Iowa’s seven Hall-of-
Famers. A charter member of Iowa’s “Field of Dreams” chapter of the Society for
American Baseball Research (SABR), he has published numerous articles on Iowa
baseball history and currently serves on an ad hoc committee working with Major League
Baseball to host activities at the Field of Dreams site as part of the game to be played in
August 2021. Over the past 11 years, he has done over 150 presentations on baseball
history throughout Iowa, often appearing as Montrose, Iowa’s Calvin McVey, Iowa’s first
professional baseball player, who played for America’s first all-professional baseball
team-the 1869 Cincinnati Red Stockings.
John lives in West Des Moines, Iowa with his wife, Dianne.
David L. Porter
David L. Porter taught American history nearly four decades at William Penn University, specializing in twentieth century, political, biographical, and sports history. He has a B.A. in history from Franklin College of Indiana, an M.A. in history from Ohio University, and a Ph.D. in history from Penn State University. He has authored or edited seventeen books on topics related to sports history and the U.S. Congress. His more recent books include Their Greatest Victory (2013), which profiles twenty-four athletes who overcame seemingly unsurmountable medical odds to attain athletic success; Mary Norton of New Jersey: Congressional Trailblazer (2013); Michael Jordan: A Biography (2007); and The San Diego Padres Encyclopedia (2002). Porter edited ten Biographical Dictionary of American Sports volumes, including three on baseball (2001) and one on basketball (2005), and books on African-American Sports Greats (1995) and Latino and African-American Athletes Today (2004). His numerous articles on congressional, sports and biographical history have been published in popular and professional academic journals. His polls on America's ten greatest Presidents, Senators, Secretaries of States, and Sports figures have been cited in numerous publications. Porter served as Associate Editor for the twenty-volume American National Biography (1999) and contributed articles on Mike Busch, Kory DeHaan, Bud Knox, and Jerry Kutzler for the SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) Biography Project. For two decades, he wrote a sports column for the Oskaloosa Herald. He also has presented papers at several academic conferences, including SABR and the North American Society for Sport History. He and his wife, Marilyn, live in Oskaloosa and have two grown children and three grandchildren.
John Shorey
John Shorey is an emeritus professor of history and political science at Iowa Western Community College. For twenty years he also taught a course on “Baseball and American Culture." Shorey has done research on various baseball topics, and has presented his research at the Symposium on Baseball and American Culture at the National Baseball Hall of Fame, the NINE’s Conference in Phoenix, and at other venues. He also has articles published in The Baseball Research Journal, Baseball Digest, and other publications.