Veteran Sportswriter Jack Curry Gives Readers a Behind-the-Scenes Look at ‘The Greatest Team Ever’

When Jack Curry, FCRH ’86, began interviewing players for a book about the Yankees’ 1998 season, he asked Hall of Fame shortstop Derek Jeter to describe the team. “Greatest team ever,” Jeter told Curry. “That’s what comes to mind.” And that’s how the subtitle of Curry’s latest book, The 1998 Yankees: The Inside Story of the Greatest Baseball Team Ever (Hachette, 2023) was born.

Curry has been covering the team for decades. He co-wrote Jeter’s 2000 book, The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams, and he’s also written books with former Yankees Paul O’Neill and David Cone. Since 2010, he’s been an analyst on the YES Network, and for more than two decades prior to that, he was a sportswriter for The New York Times, including during the 1998 season.

Now, 25 years later, he takes readers through the team’s incredible 125-win season, from a sluggish 1-4 start through an impressive postseason run that culminated in the Yankees’ 24th World Series title (they’ve added three more since then). And while Curry recounts all the big moments fans know so well, he also peels back the curtain so readers can appreciate the back stories and see how the players—and a dramatic season—came together.

Curry shares how the night before David Wells threw a perfect game, he was out drinking until the wee hours with then-Saturday Night Live star Jimmy Fallon; how a connection General Manager Brian Cashman made the season before helped the Yankees sign a contract with pitcher Orlando “El Duque” Hernández, who defected from Cuba on Christmas Day, 1997; how closer Mariano Rivera came across his signature cut fastball during a game of catch; and how Scott Brosius went from “a player to be named later” in a trade to World Series MVP.

For Yankees fans and baseball fans alike, Curry’s latest book offers a front-row seat to the team’s journey from a heartbreaking playoff loss in 1997 to the top of the world just a year later.

—Kelly Prinz, FCRH ’15

Jerry McGill Explores Family Dynamics, Betrayal, and Forgiveness in The Color of Family

In his latest novel, The Color of Family (Little a, 2023), Jerry McGill shares a portrait of the Paynes, an upper-class, African American family that lives in suburban Connecticut. Despite appearances, the Paynes aren’t quite as happy as people assume—made all the more evident when twins from France, the result of one of patriarch Harold Payne’s extramarital affairs, arrive on the family’s doorstep.

One fateful night, brothers Devon and James are in a car accident that leaves Devon paralyzed. James eventually goes off to college and excels at the sport they both loved. When Devon is moved into a rehabilitation center across the country, the distance between them—wrought by their explosive, sports-fueled rivalry—is no longer just figurative.

Years later, as Devon travels around the world over the course of a decade to visit his seven siblings, he sees how the traumatic accident of his youth has affected—and connected—them all. They each may have moved on, but it’s only through forgiveness and coming to terms with the past that they’ll be able to live freely in the present.

Though Devon is at the center of the novel, McGill weaves in diary entries and first-person narratives from the other characters, giving readers a chance to examine the relationships, events, and heartbreaks from multiple perspectives. The novel is fewer than 300 pages long, and that, coupled with the shifting points of view, makes it a great, page-turning summer read.

McGill is the author of two other novels, including Bed Stuy: A Love Story, and a memoir, Dear Marcus: A Letter to the Man Who Shot Me. Read our 2012 profile of McGill and review of his memoir.

Award-Winning Novelist Andrew Krivak Evokes the Effects of War on Four Generations of a Pennsylvania Family

The title and epigraph of Andrew Krivak’s century-spanning new novel come from the Book of Joel. Warning of ecological disaster, the biblical prophet compares a plague of locusts to war horses: “Their appearance is like the appearance of horses, and like war horses, they run.”

The proverbial war horses run through each generation of the family at the heart of this lyrical, moving book. Homecomings are both longed-for and fraught, as each generation is haunted by the moral complexities of war, and by their own struggles to survive battles intensely physical and psychological.

The novel begins in 1933, when a teenage Bexhet “Becks” Konar flees fascist death squads in Hungary. He appears at the Dardan, Pennsylvania, homestead of Josef Vinich, who saved his infant life at the end of World War I. Vinich, now co-owner of a roughing mill, treats Becks like a son. Eventually, Becks and Vinich’s daughter, Hannah, fall in love, marry, and have two children, Bo and Samuel, before Becks is sent to fight for his adopted country in World War II.

He returns from the war a shell of his former self, and in 1949 he’s killed in a hunting accident—shot through the chest by Paul Younger, whose father had been forced to sell his land to Vinich years earlier, and whose family becomes even more intimately linked with the Konars.

In the 1960s, Samuel enlists in the Marines, becomes a prisoner of war, and develops a heroin addiction. Both he and Bo eventually learn about their father’s battles in World War II, which include a charge of desertion, imprisonment, and a bloody stint as part of the Romani resistance.

From one generation to the next, peace is elusive. And while Krivak depicts the violence of war with frightening intimacy, he’s also attuned to the persistence of beauty and grace in nature and in what love endures.

In 2012, when Krivak received the Dayton Literary Peace Prize, which recognizes “the power of the written word to promote peace,” he dedicated the award to the people who shaped him, including his immigrant grandmother, whose stories about life in what is now Slovakia continue to inform his fiction.

“They’ve all done their work. They’ve all found their peace,” he said in an acceptance speech. “What remains is for us to keep telling of it as well as to keep praying for it, to keep insisting upon it as well as to keep hoping for it, and to keep listening so that we’ll know when to act, whether it’s out in the world … or at work on a sentence, alone in a room with words.”

Like the Appearance of Horses (Bellevue Literary Press) is the culmination of Krivak’s Dardan Trilogy, a saga that began with his 2011 debut novel, The Sojourn, which focuses on Josef Vinich’s experiences as an Austro-Hungarian conscript in World War I. Each book in the series, which also includes 2017’s The Signal Flame, can stand on its own.

Krivak is also the author of the 2020 novel The Bear (read an excerpt), a collection of poetry, and A Long Retreat: In Search of a Religious Life, a 2008 memoir about his eight years as a Jesuit.

—Ryan Stellabotte

Browne credits her college years at Fordham for laying the foundations for a resume that includes high-profile reporting and anchoring positions at News 12 Long Island, MSNBC, and Fox News. As a communications major, she began developing her journalistic chops working at WFUV (90.7 FM, wfuv.org), Fordham’s radio station. That experience sparked a passion for broadcast news, although she joined the station in her first year with a different goal in mind: She wanted to host Ceol na nGael, the station’s popular Irish music program.

“I became involved in the news department because it was a requirement if I wanted to be on the Irish show,” she said. “My parents would always listen to the show when I was growing up. But I had to work my way up to that. WFUV said, ‘Write some newscasts, eventually anchor the news. Then you can be a gopher on the Irish show.’”

A Training Ground for Success

Browne spent most of her free time in the studios, then located on the third floor of Keating Hall, where she wrote and presented short news updates and eventually anchored the half-hour Evening Report. By the time she reached her junior year, Browne had risen to WFUV news director and was assigned to co-host the Irish show with Kathleen Biggins, FCRH ’87, GSE ’91, who is now a longtime CBS News writer and still a host on WFUV. Browne praised her former classmate for being a supportive mentor and “extremely well-versed in Irish music and culture.”

As an undergraduate, Browne worked with many other WFUV colleagues who went on to successful careers in broadcasting, including Lou Rufino, FCRH ’86, the WFAN and WABC broadcast engineer who worked on Don Imus’ nationally syndicated morning show for years; New York Giants play-by-play announcer Bob Papa, GABELLI ’86; and sports journalist and New York Yankees analyst Jack Curry, FCRH ’86.

“WFUV is a 50,000-watt radio station. That is the same size as commercial stations in the tristate area,” Browne said. “It is taken very seriously, and the training was rigorous. I’m glad I got to make my mistakes there and learn a lot.” During her years at Fordham, Browne also worked part time at Newsweek and served as editor of a Fordham literary magazine called Alternative Motifs.

After graduating, Browne worked as a morning news anchor at Long Island’s WLIM Radio. She later earned a master’s degree in communication arts at New York Institute of Technology, where she taught undergraduate news writing and served as a reporter on NYIT’s evening cable news show.

Following a stint as Michigan bureau chief on WSJV-TV in South Bend, Indiana, Browne returned to New York to work at News 12 Long Island. She was then an anchor at MSNBC for three years and spent 17 years at Fox News. Her reporting earned her an Associated Press Regional Award for a documentary feature, a FOLIO Award, and the Dennis Puleston Award for Environmental Achievement. She was also named one of the top 30 in Irish American Media by The Irish Voice. And in 2012, she was inducted into the Hall of Fame for the Roman Catholic Diocese of Brooklyn, which includes Queens, where she grew up.

‘Living with Integrity and Working Hard’

Browne’s retirement was something she foresaw from the beginning of her career. “When I was in my 20s, I said, ‘I’m not going to do this forever. Probably when I hit 50, I’m going to stop because it’s a difficult job.’ You’re not working nine to five. You’re working weekends, holidays, early mornings, late nights, overnights. It’s very difficult to be present for your family.”

Family has always been important to Browne, who has two sisters, including a twin. She is grateful to her parents for instilling in her and her siblings faith, gratitude, and a solid work ethic. “They set a really good example for how to be successful in life by living with integrity and working hard,” she said.

While she was living in New York City, Browne met her husband, Mike, at Holy Trinity Church on the Upper West Side, where they eventually married. The couple has a son, Connor, who was born 11 weeks premature, weighing just over two pounds. In her book, she describes how motherhood—and Connor’s early and challenging start to life—instantly shifted her priorities.

Over the years, Browne has remained connected to her alma mater. She is a member of the Fordham Alumni Chapter of Long Island and has participated in fundraising efforts and career seminars at WFUV. In 2016, she moderated a forum about Pope Francis prior to his New York visit.

Her Fordham roots also grew deeper with her marriage. “I ended up marrying a guy whose parents went to Fordham and actually met at Fordham, so we have Rams on both sides of the family,” said Browne, who fondly recalled many tailgate parties and said she’s looking forward to celebrating her upcoming 35th Jubilee in June.

Browne’s son, Connor, is now a college-bound high school student who runs track, plays the tuba, and is a soon-to-be Eagle Scout. She is grateful to have more time to spend with him and her husband camping and enjoying the outdoors and volunteering at their church in Nassau County. She also does freelance voice-over work and has devoted the past year to writing her book. In addition to recounting the perks and challenges of her career, Browne writes about growing up in Queens, her years at Fordham, and her decision to walk away from the spotlight to focus more on faith and family. The message she hopes to send readers is that it’s possible to “take control of your own destiny and write your own story.”

Fordham Five (Plus One)

What are you most passionate about?
Motherhood. Twenty years ago, I would’ve said “my career,” but priorities shift. My son is my pride and joy.

What’s the best piece of advice you’ve ever received?
There’s a famous quote by author and motivational speaker J. Richard Lessor that I have found to be true throughout my life: “Happiness is like a butterfly: the more you chase it, the more it will elude you, but if you turn your attention to other things, it will come and sit softly on your shoulder.”

What’s your favorite place in New York City? In the world?
My favorite place in the city is Central Park. While living on the Upper West Side, I explored every nook and cranny of this beautiful oasis. I miss it now that I’m in the suburbs. My favorite place in the world is the west coast of Ireland.

Name a book that has had a lasting influence on you.
Mere Christianity by C. S. Lewis. It makes the case that faith and logic are not incompatible.

Who is the Fordham grad or professor you admire most?
I had some excellent professors, but I think Fordham’s former president Joseph A. O’Hare, S.J., might be the person I admire most. A Bronx native, son of a cop and a teacher, he was inspired to become a priest by watching Jesuits fight corruption in the 1940s. He was an open-minded man of intelligence, integrity, honesty, and civility. He was influential not just on campus but in the world beyond, as editor-in-chief of America magazine and founding chair of New York City’s Campaign Finance Board. More personally, he was accessible to Fordham’s students. I was fortunate to spend some time with him over my four years at Fordham. In addition to the qualities I already mentioned, he also had a great sense of humor. He was witty and a great storyteller. He left his mark on Fordham and the world.

What are you optimistic about?
The future of faith in America. The trend in the U.S. has been toward secularization, but I believe the pendulum will start to swing back toward God as people figure out the current path isn’t working.

Interview conducted, edited, and condensed by Claire Curry.

But on Sunday, September 13, the Yankees made Vitalone’s dream come true, in a slightly different fashion. The team played a video of his rendition of the anthem for the players and coaches in attendance, as well as viewers watching the broadcast of the Yankees’ afternoon game against the Baltimore Orioles.

For Vitalone, a World War II veteran, developmental psychologist, and former coach and professor at William Paterson University, the inspiration to sing “The Star-Spangled Banner” at Yankee Stadium came from a desire to honor a boyhood friend who was killed during that conflict.

“The reason for all this is the loss of my friend Joe [Romano] during World War II,” he told Jack Curry, FCRH ’86, on Curry’s show YES We’re Here on the YES Network last April. “This has been a lifelong dream to sing at the Yankee Stadium, but after Joe was killed, every time I heard ‘The Star-Spangled Banner,’ I thought of Joe automatically.”

Vitalone told Curry that the boys grew up together and bonded over their common love for baseball.

“I think it says so much about you that a person that you met when you were both altar boys in Yonkers as 12-year-olds, that all these years later—and it’s so unfortunate that Joe was lost more than 70 years ago—but yet, that bond was so strong that you still think about him, you still talk about him, and he still brings you such calm in your life,” Curry said.

Singing the anthem was the latest achievement for Vitalone, who besides his service and teaching record, has won numerous Senior Olympics medals. Vitalone credits being active with his ability to “stay young.”

“I realize that the thing that has been my saving grace has been my attitude towards activity, which is something I developed as a playground athlete when I was a kid,” Vitalone told Fordham News in 2014. “The thing is, the more active you are, the more you can delay the descending curve.”

Watch Vitalone sing the national anthem for the Yankees.

Jack Curry, FCRH ’86, arrived at Fordham as an undergraduate hoping to play college baseball. The Jersey City native had played at Hudson Catholic High School, but after one practice with the Fordham team, he realized he was in over his head. He signed up for The Ram and WFUV the next day.

Now, that experience as a student journalist provides the foundation for a major league media career. Since 2010, Curry has been an analyst for the New York Yankees on the YES Network. He’s also the co-author of two best-selling books with Yankee legends. He worked with Derek Jeter on The Life You Imagine: Life Lessons for Achieving Your Dreams (Crown, 2000), and his latest book, written with David Cone and published last month, is Full Count: The Education of a Pitcher (Grand Central).

Curry had been thinking about the project with Cone for close to 20 years, from the time when he was a Yankees beat writer and a national baseball correspondent for The New York Times. He wanted to write a book with a pitcher with a creative mind, one who could really explain the mentality needed to master the craft, and he thought Cone—whom his former teammate Paul O’Neill calls “as smart and gutsy as any pitcher I ever played behind,” and whom former pitcher and author Jim Abbott calls one “our generation’s finest and most clever pitchers”—was the perfect fit for the job.

While Cone may be best remembered for his perfect game with the Yankees in 1999—a feat that has only been accomplished 23 times over the course of Major League Baseball’s 144 years—Full Count is full of anecdotes and insights that highlight his place as one of his generation’s greats: a five-time All-Star, five-time World Series champion, and the 1994 Cy Young Award winner.

With the assistance of Curry, a four-time Emmy winner, Cone tells of his working-class upbringing in Kansas City and of the mental and physical demands of a 17-year baseball career. Of particular note are chapters in which Cone describes playing for the thrilling but hard-partying Mets teams in the late 1980s, the unique nonverbal conversations performed by pitchers and catchers to try to outsmart hitters, and being part of a dynastic Yankees team from 1995 through 2000.

Throughout Full Count, Cone and Curry weave a story of all that it takes to play baseball at a high level for as long as Cone did, from his brainy approach to facing batters—like staring in a certain way at his catcher instead of shaking his head to disapprove of suggested pitches, so as not to tip off the batter—to his off-the-field commitment to studying the game. Baseball fans will walk away from the book with a deeper understanding both of this particular player and of the science of pitching. From throwing off batters to finding ways to recreate a spitball without illegally adding moisture to the ball, there are many lessons to be learned for young players and fans of the game alike.

As Curry says, “Thanks to Coney’s insight in this book, I now have a doctorate in pitching.”