Audiobooks by Greg Oliver

Mat Memories: My Wild Life in Pro Wrestling, Country Music and with the Mets

John Arezzi was a lifelong Mets fan who dreamed of a job in baseball. In 1981, he took a job with the Mets Class A team in North Carolina. But Arezzi had another love: professional wrestling. He ran a fan club for the villainous 'Classy' Freddie Blassie as a teenager, then progressed to wrestling photographer, and finally even stepped into the ring himself as John Anthony. Eventually he escaped to pursue a new life in altogether different world: country music. After adopting a new name, John Alexander, his many accomplishments include discovering both Patty Loveless and (decades later) Kelsea Ballerini. But wrestling is tough to shake . . . In the 1990s, Arezzi hosted the pioneering radio talk show Pro Wrestling Spotlight. He also ran the first major conventions, assembling a wrestling who's who to meet with fans. He promoted shows, both at home and abroad, and was a key figure behind importing lucha libre into America. Mat Memories is Arezzi's chance to hold the mic, and he holds nothing back-he names names and tells the untold behind-the-scenes stories: from the ring, the stage, and the diamond.

Greg Oliver, John 'alexander' Arezzi (Author), John Arezzi (Narrator)

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Gibby: Tales of a Baseball Lifer

Over eleven years and two separate managerial stints with the Toronto Blue Jays, John Gibbons endeared himself to fans with his folksy manner and his frequent battles with umpires: 'Here comes Gibby!' Winning helped too. Under Gibbons's management, the Jays made the American League Championship Series in 2015, ending a twenty-two-year playoff drought; then they did it again in 2016. Along the way the team defied odds, won over a nation, and with one flip of a bat produced one of the most iconic moments in MLB history. Now, in his memoir, Gibby shares the story: an on-field career that didn't pan out, but a managing career that did . . . eventually. Raised in a military family, he played his first competitive baseball in Newfoundland and Labrador, and, with the family now in San Antonio, Texas, Gibby, a catcher, developed into a first-round draft pick of the New York Mets. While Gibbons only played eighteen major league games, he did earn a World Series ring as the 1986 Mets bullpen catcher and knew all the characters from that team, including Doc Gooden, Darryl Strawberry, Lenny Dykstra, and Gary Carter. In 1990, Gibby began his journey as a coach and manager. An old teammate, J. P. Ricciardi, hired him to work with the Jays, and he moved his way up the ranks and into the hearts of baseball fans.

Greg Oliver, John Gibbons (Author), John Gibbons (Narrator)

Audiobook

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