Sports References in Turtledove's Work

Like many authors, Harry Turtledove references the broad sports and athletes have (or have had) on society. Sometimes, these references can give a reader insight into how a particular timeline differs from OTL. Other times, they are more incidental and designed to invoke a specific era or culture. What follows is a list of such references which can be found in Turtledove's body of work, organized by athlete.

Note: As many homages are subtle, they can easily escape the notice of any given reader. Therefore we strongly encourage anyone who has found, or believes he has found, an homage not already on this list, or by an author not represented, to add it.

Adrian Constantine "Cap" Anson (April 17, 1852 – April 14, 1922) was a Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman. Including his time in the National Association (NA), he played a record 27 consecutive seasons. Anson was regarded as one of the greatest players of his era and one of the first superstars of the game. Anson spent most of his career with the Chicago Cubs, serving as the club's manager, first baseman and, later in his tenure, minority owner. He led the team to five National League pennants in the 1880s. Anson was one of baseball's first great hitters, and the first to tally over 3,000 career hits. Anson was inducted into the National Baseball Hall of Fame in 1939.

In the Worldwar series, during the Battle of Chicago, Lt. Mutt Daniels choses the name of Cap Anso as a password, on the theory that the Lizards would be likelier to have heard of recent players.