What if the hottest summer ticket in Kansas sports has been hiding in plain sight for 92 years? We sat down with Katie Woods, director of the National Baseball Congress in Wichita, and walked away completely obsessed with bobbleheads, Bananaball, and a baseball tournament with more history than you'd ever guess. From a 3 AM game under the lights to a decade-before-Jackie-Robinson integrated championship team, this conversation covers just about everything that makes baseball in Kansas special.

Highlights

Katie Woods introduces herself as director of the National Baseball Congress (NBC), founded in Wichita in the 1930s by Hap Dumont
The story behind the brand-new Ozzie Smith backflip bobblehead giveaway
How NBC teams work today: summer collegiate players (ages 18-22) from colleges across the country
Why Katie fell into baseball via an internship with the Houston Astros, then the Frisco RoughRiders and Everett AquaSox
The wild history behind minor league team names and mascots
Hap Dumont's decades of innovation: pitch clocks 60 years early, glow-in-the-dark baseball, mic'd-up umpires, and even early attempts at instant replay and an automatic ball-strike system
"Baseball Around the Clock" — 11 games in 33 hours, complete with tent camping, RVs, and survivor t-shirts
The emotional and communal side of directing an all-night tournament
Trophy and prize money: the historic Cessna Cup and an $18,000 winner's purse
Plans for the NBC's upcoming 100th anniversary/centennial celebration
Digitizing decades of NBC archives with Wichita State's Special Collections
The incredible true story of the 1935 Bismarck Churchills — the first integrated team to win a national title in any sport, a decade before Jackie Robinson broke the color barrier
The growing role of women in baseball, including Katie being the NBC's first female tournament director in 90 years
A rousing round of Stories from a Hat, covering white lies, favorite chairs, and nostalgic Wichita hangouts

Chapters

0:00 — Studio Backdrop Reveal

0:27 — Wood Carving Nerd Out

1:42 — Show Intro & Baseball Tease

2:15 — Meet Katie Woods

2:51 — Ozzie Smith Bobblehead

4:42 — What Is the NBC?

5:53 — How Teams Work Today

7:05 — Why Katie Chose Baseball

9:37 — Career Path to Kansas

11:30 — Why the NBC Matters

12:27 — Tournament Venues & Logistics

14:39 — Minor League Name Madness

16:07 — Banana Ball and Innovation

20:45 — Wichita NBC Community

22:04 — Offseason Planning Pipeline

22:56 — Baseball Around the Clock

23:57 — Camping at the Ballpark

25:03 — Director All Night

26:00 — Sunrise and Sacrifice

27:32 — Trophy and Prize Money

28:05 — Kansas Community Baseball

29:29 — Centennial Plans

30:43 — Digitizing the Archives

32:09 — Hap Dumont's Vision

33:45 — How to Watch & Support

34:46 — Colorblind: Origin Story

37:28 — Women in Baseball

40:01 — Host Wrap and the Organ

41:33 — Stories from a Hat

46:00 — Closing and Merch

Resources Mentioned

NBCBaseball.com
NBC Baseball on Facebook, Instagram and YouTube
Colorblind by Tom Dunkel

Learn more about the podcast at askakansan.com!

This show is part of the ICT Podcast Network, for more information, visit ictpod.net