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Serving Queen Anne & Magnolia Since 1919
DECEMBER 27, 2023
www.QueenAnneNews.com
VOL. 104, NO. 52
History and sports from 100 years ago still alive today
By Laura Marie Rivera | Contributing Writer
Submitted by Laura Marie Rivera Photographer Jeff Schenekl visits Seattle every year during the holidays. He was born and raised in Chicago but now lives in Arlington and has been practicing photography since 2016. “Seattle has so many nostalgic locations. It’s always my goal to make the most of my visits to these beautiful places and share my work, hoping to make someone’s day a little brighter,” Schenekl said. PRSRT STD U.S. POSTAGE
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SEATTLE, WA PERMIT 1271
While Seattle sports history is powering Hollywood’s holiday lineup, another inspirational Seattle sports tale likewise received a new treatment. Queen Anne author Kevin Ticen has released the second edition of his book, “When It Mattered Most.” When It Mattered Most tells the triumphant story of the Seattle Metropolitans, America’s first Stanley cup champions, as they claimed hockey’s greatest prize amidst the uncertainty of the United States entering World War I. The new second edition features an updated hardback cover and six additional chapters taking the story through the war’s conclusion, the Spanish Flu pandemic, and culminating with the monumental 1919 Stanley Cup Final. Daniel James Brown, author of The Boys in the Boat, calls Ticen’s book “a fine addition to the growing body of works that unveil forgotten chapters of Seattle’s sports history.” Brown knows these stories captivate us because the dramas of sports competitions present themselves like life in miniature. “Athletic struggles reveal character in the same way that war and other extreme events do, but with a lot less bloodshed,” Brown said. While Brown was able to interview a few of his subjects to glean their story, Ticen’s heroes were all long since deceased. Instead, Ticen relied on newspaper accounts and his own athletic experiences to fill in gaps and bring the Mets story back to life. A former captain of the University of Washington baseball team, he played professionally in the Los Angeles Angels organization before returning to coach at UW and the 18U Boys of Summer teams. While he was successful in carving out a career in sports as a player, coach, manager, and ambassador, he had not yet realized the role writing had played throughout his life. Raised by a writer, he had spent his coaching days writing speeches as well as recruiting and donor material, and his postcoaching days writing event bids and blog posts. A chance meeting brought everything together. “Writing has always interested me. It is the thread that has run through every part of my life,” Ticen said. In 2017, Ticen was working at the Seattle Sports Commission when he was asked to plan a centennial celebration for the Seattle team that had won America’s first Stanley Cup. Unaware SPORTS Page 3Æ