Sports And The Golden Age Of Hollywood

The Oscars are Sunday night, and we wanted to get in on the fun. So this week on Only A Game, three sports stories with a Hollywood connection. First, the story of the Universal Pictures basketball team, which went to the Olympics — with a little help from Frankenstein. Also, swimmer-turned-movie star Esther Williams and a decades-long game of "exceedingly low cunning and vile stealth." Also, how Major League Baseball's first $100,000 bonus baby helped shape modern baseball. Join us!

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Universal Pictures, 'Frankenstein,' And Basketball: The Story Of The First U.S. Olympic Team
Universal Pictures used a basketball team to promote its movies. Then, that team earned the right to represent the U.S. at the 1936 Olympics.

For 70 Years, Allied Navies Fought Over This Old Photo Of Esther Williams
How did a swimmer-turned-movie star find herself at the center of an international military competition that spanned 7 decades?

MLB's First Bonus Baby And The Hollywood Big Shot Who Changed Baseball
Through high school phenom Paul Pettit, the film industry helped change the way baseball does business.