Every fervent American hockey fan knows the name Hobey Baker - collegiate hockey’s most prestigious trophy is named for him - but few know the real story of this legendary player. Using an archive of personal letters, newly unearthed source materials, and extensive interviews, the podcast recontextualizes this athletic phenom through the lens of his lesser-known struggles as a queer man in the early 20th century.
The result of four painstaking years of research and reporting, it takes a profound investigative look at the complicated, unforgettable life of a fascinating figure. The journey not only takes us through that life, but also explores the ways we have
obscured, and too often marginalized, LGBTQ people in America: erasing them from history—especially when it comes to sports.
One of the challenges of telling this story was bringing the early 20th century, a time before audio recordings, to life. To do this, the production team worked with voice actors to read from a trove of personal letters, newspaper articles, and journal
entries. In addition, an immersive sound-design and original score were used to enhance the listening experience. The podcast features experts who explain how gay relationships in the late 19th and early 20th centuries were given
significantly more space than we might imagine. The growing and emboldened homophobia of the last two-thirds of the 20th century has blinded us to the comparative permissiveness of the decades before.
The Hobey Baker podcast shed new light on a sporting legend who was a football, hockey, military, and potentially LGBTQ pioneer. Narrated by David Duchovney, the podcast garnered significant social media attention - especially in the hockey community - with net sentiment virtually unanimously positive. Google searches for Hobey Baker increased exponentially after the podcast was released - from a 6-month index of virtually 0 to a 6-month index of 94 (on a scale of 0-100). It’s clear that after listening to the podcast people were willing to learn more and continue the conversation around Hobey - an icon who passed too soon over 100 years ago.
