Hey Braddock … Go Long!

Few things in life will ever be as gratifying as getting paid for work and research you originally did for school. I have tasted that sweet fruit and it is good. For the last two-and-a-half years I’ve been visiting Braddock, PA. I started going as a writer, curious about the town’s sudden popularity in the news and later intrigued by its long and complex history. Along the way I met some people I now consider very close friends. I keep going back, partly to continue learning about a town that fascinates me and partly to enjoy the company of some amazing people. It’s been a fun couple years.

I wrote about Braddock for my master’s thesis. One topic that interested me, a topic that Braddock resident and good friend Joel Rice first told me about, was the 1959 Braddock High football team. The team had its sixth straight undefeated season under legendary coach Chuck Klausing (College Football Hall of Fame) and set the national record for consecutive wins that year. At the same time, the town of Braddock was suffering through the longest steel strike in the nation’s history — a strike that, in many ways, precipitated the decline of the American steel industry as a whole. Talk about a thematic backbone.

I pitched the piece to Pittsburgh Quarterly and they were interested. Truth be told, I ended up doing a lot of work to get it ready for submission. Still, it was great not to have to start from scratch. And it was a testament to the power and importance of editing. For the first time in a while I was removing words as the deadline approached. The piece is better for it. Lesson: leave time before the deadline to edit your pieces.

Below is the pitch I sent to Pittsburgh Quarterly‘s editor. I mention in the pitch that I’d had contact with Matt Stroud. I’ve never met Matt, but I did know his name from a few articles he’d written about Braddock for Pittsburgh’s City Paper. I was all set to send my pitch to the PQ editor when I noticed Matt’s name on PQ‘s masthead. Again, we’d never met, but Matt obviously knew something about Braddock and I figured I’d give him a shot. I sent an email explaining I wanted to pitch PQ, explaining that I’d read his articles, and asking if he had any advice. He did. He offered advice about timing the pitch right — the editor was on vacation. He was encouraging and, when it came time to send my pitch to PQ‘s editor, I had an in. It’s hard to pitch someone cold, much easier with a name (sincerely) dropped. Lesson: I dunno … work the angles?

PITCH:

(keep in mind I’m pitching a regional mag here, the editors of which would have some knowledge of Braddock already)

Hi Doug,

I hope you’re well. I corresponded with Matt Stroud a couple weeks back, who was very kind with his advice and encouragement.  

With its famous mayor, a controversial Levi’s Jeans campaign, and the heartbreaking loss of its UPMC hospital, it seems that Braddock has been a constant presence in the news these last few years. While the attention is certainly deserved, a different story, one that played out a half century ago, may be a better window onto the town, the region, and the state of manufacturing nationwide. 

On November 6th, 1959, the day before the fate of the largest steel strike in the nation’s history was decided by a devastating Supreme Court decision, the Braddock High Tigers played North Braddock Scott for a chance to set the national high school football record for consecutive games without a loss. That Friday evening, more than 10,000 fans, many of them striking mill workers months off the job, piled into a stadium built to hold 5,000. The game came down to a final play.

I propose to write a piece about the record-setting Braddock High Tigers for Pittsburgh Quarterly. The dual narrative of the story—the intersection of a town’s moment of triumph and an industry’s moment of collapse—will appeal to readers of PQ attune to and curious about their region’s fascinating history and crucial role in national events. 

While this story is indeed national in impact—the strike of ’59 and subsequent Supreme Court injunction carried calamitous consequences for every facet of American manufacturing while the Braddock High Tigers and their now-famous coach (http://www.collegefootball.org/famer_selected.php?id=70045) raised the bar for national high school athletics for decades to come—the topic is nonetheless intensely local. For residents who live in or have connections to the boroughs that give the region its character, the story of Braddock, of that momentary fulcrum between heyday and decline, will be both familiar and revealing. 

I have had the privilege to research and write about Braddock for more than two years. In 2009, my writing on Braddock earned the Cecil and Helen Rose Ethics in Communication Award from the School of the Arts at Emerson College. Previously, I have worked as an arts and entertainment writer for the Santa Barbara Independent and as a freelance reporter, photographer, and editor. I am currently wrapping up pieces for Miller-McCune and Ode Magazine. You can find my most recent published work here: http://www.missiontimescourier.com/article/Community_News/Local_News/Rabbits_Spell_Trouble_For_Gardens_Lawns/29587 & http://www.jackmag.com.co/articles/expomotriz/.

I have interviewed Coach Klausing, as well as players from the heralded 1959 team. I have access to the mayor of Braddock and to dozens of residents who vividly recall that remarkable Friday. The piece will come in around 4,000 words and would be a good fit for your Fall 2012 issue—football season for families in western Pennsylvania.

Thanks, Doug. Please let me know if you have any questions. I would love to discuss the story further.

Sincerely, 

Greg Nichols