Dave Winfield
Narrator and Host
Dave Winfield is the only athlete ever to have been drafted by the NBA, NFL and MLB. A twelve-time All-Star, Dave was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 2001 -- his first year of eligibility -- receiving the most votes cast.
His 22-year career began with the San Diego Padres, followed by the New York Yankees, California Angels, Toronto Blue Jays, where he drove in the winning run of the 1992 World Series, Minnesota Twins, and Cleveland Indians.
Dave was one of the first athletes to create a charitable Foundation. The Winfield Foundation provided healthcare, scholarships, holiday dinners and substance abuse prevention to children in and beyond the 6 major league cities in which he played. His philanthropy earned him numerous honors, including: the YMCA Brian Piccolo Award, the Branch Rickey Community Service Award and Major League Baseball's Roberto Clemente Award.
Winfield has served on the boards of President Clinton's National Service Program, Morehouse School of Medicine, Hackensack Medical Center, Major League Baseball Players Trust and the Peace Corps. He currently serves as a member of the board of the San Diego Padres, and is their Vice President/Senior Advisor.
Dave has been a studio baseball analyst for FOX Television. He appeared in the movie The Last Home Run, and made appearances on popular sitcoms Married With Children, The Drew Carey Show and Arli$$.
Topping off Dave's career are his numerous literary accomplishments. His autobiography, Winfield: A Player's Life became a New York Times best seller. He also wrote a drug education book, TURN IT AROUND! There's No Room Here For Drugs; an acclaimed "how-to" The Complete Baseball Player.
Dave resides in Bel Air, California with his wife, Tonya, and their twins, Arielle and David.
Dave Winfield Press Materials
- Dave Winfield - Full Bio
- Dave Winfield - Short Bio
- Dave Winfield - Press Photo 1
- Dave Winfield - Press Photo 2
- Dave Winfield - Press Photo 3 (BW)
Bob Thompson
Music Director
Robert (Bobby) Thompson (Music Director, Founder & Producer) grew up in Hawthorne, New York, the resting place of Babe Ruth. Bob’s claim to fame is that he played trumpet at George Steinbrenner’s daughter’s wedding, for which George gave him two crisp one-hundred-dollar bills which Bob in turn blew on Yankees’ tickets. A south-paw, he still sleeps with his left-handed catcher’s mitt under his pillow. For ten years (until he was hit by a nerf baseball) Bob was the President and Director of Universal Edition, one of the world’s largest classical music publishing companies, based in Vienna, London and New York. He is currently the Associate Dean in the Conservatory of Music at Purchase College, State University of New York and Director of its Arts Management program. The recipient of two National Endowment for the Arts Grants, Bob is a former Professor of Music at the University of Kentucky and Hope College where he taught Trumpet and Jazz Studies. He holds a Doctorate in Music from the Eastman School of Music, University of Rochester. Bob has produced two Grammy nominated recordings, and served as Music Consultant to the Johnny Depp-Cate Blanchett Film, “The Man Who Cried”. He recently hosted the XM Radio Show, “Voices of the Game” with singer/songwriter Randy Newman as Bob’s guest. The co-author of the best selling book, “Baseball’s Greatest Hit: The Story of ‘Take Me Out to the Ball Game’”, Bob considers himself to be the world’s foremost Baseball Musicologist (even though the American Musicological Society has yet to recognize baseball musicology as a legitimate field of study worthy of post-doctoral research).
Bob Thompson Press Materials
Misty Castleberry
Soloist
Originally from Atlanta, Georgia, Misty Castleberry moved to New York to attend the Eastman School of Music where she earned both her Bachelor's and Master's degrees in vocal performance. During her time in Rochester, Misty performed in many productions with Eastman Opera Theatre, including the roles of Clara in Passion, Miles in The Turn of the Screw, Cissie Woodger in Albert Herring and Laura in The Goblin Market. A specialist in the music of Kurt Weill, Misty presented several recitals of Kurt Weill's music at Lincoln Center and sang the soubrette role in Mahogonny Songspiel at the Kurt Weill Festival in 1998. Equally proficient in oratorio, Misty sang both the St. Matthew and St. John Passion, as well as Haydn's Lord Nelson Mass and the Haydn Harmonie Messe, Bach's Cantata 140 "Wachet auf," Mozart's Mass in C Minor and the Mozart Requiem. Misty performed the role of Lily in The Secret Garden at the Fulton Opera House in Lancaster, Pennsylvania, and will be returning home to perform the role with the Atlanta Lyric Theatre in April 2006.
A fair-weather fan of the Atlanta Braves, Misty couldn't stick out the tough years in the late 1980's and early 1990's. But when they won the World Series in 1995, she didn't miss a wink of it. Misty fondly remembers family baseball games every summer, and although she never played in an organized league, she still loves the feeling of rounding third base, knowing you're almost home. And she still dreams of singing the National Anthem at a professional game.
Misty Castleberry Press Materials
Forrest Mankowski
Soloist
Born in St. Paul, Minnesota in 1966, Forrest "Woody" Mankowski has been performing professionally since age 12. Besides singing, he also plays tenor, alto and soprano saxophones, as well as clarinet and flute. He is a graduate of the University of Wisconsin-Green Bay, with a B.A. in Music Performance. He lived in New York City for two years, where he played regularly with the band "New York City Swing" and also composed and arranged music for the off-Broadway theatre group, "Project 400".
Woody has also worked in many recording studios as a commercial singer/instrumentalist. You may have heard him on television or radio singing/playing lead on literally hundreds of jingles for clients such as Turner Classic Movies, Simplicity Lawn Mowers and Miller Lite.
As a free-lance musician, Woody has backed up popular artists such as The Temptations, The Four Tops, James Ingram and Peabo Bryson. He has played in the pit orchestras for touring Broadway shows including "The Producers", "Chicago", and "Hairspray".
Woody taught Jazz Saxophone at Lawrence University for six years. At the time of this writing, he has written thirty-five music transcription books for Hal Leonard Corporation. Woody leads a jazz quartet, and frequently collaborates with other musicians in the Midwest.
Concerning baseball, Woody says: "Growing up in Wisconsin, I remember spending summer evenings floating on a pontoon boat up at the lake by my Grandparents' cabin. There always seemed to be a transistor radio playing a Brewers game. Now, my own son is finally old enough to start learning how to play the game. I haven't yet been able to convince him that catching is as important as batting. Musically, though, he knows how to swing, and he might even have perfect pitch, which would be nice."
