About
Welcome Chicago Sports Fans!
Welcome to Chicago Sports Then and Now, where fans can stay updated on the current happenings in Chicago area sports while also regularly looking back at great moments, teams, players and games in Chicago sports history. This site is for you, the fan, so please share your thoughts, memories and opinions.
Chicago Sports Then and Now is one of four sites in the Sports Then and Now network.
What is Sports Then and Now?: The history of sports in America is long and glorious, but too often the athletes, moments and memories of the past are forgotten when analyzing the issues and events of the current sports world. Sports Then and Now takes the “hot button” issues of today’s sports world and looks at them in the context of sports history.
Sports Then and Now is intended to be a “one stop shop” where sports fans can talk about current sports topics while also reminiscing about great players, teams, games and moments from the past.
Sports Then and Now Network: The Sports Then and Now Network consists of a national site covering sports across the country and world as well as three city specific sites dedicated to the sports teams, athletes and memories in Baltimore, Boston and Chicago.
Http://Baltimore.SportsThenandNow.com
Http://Boston.SportsThenandNow.com
Http://Chicago.SportsThenandNow.com
Site Creator: Sports Then and Now is the brainchild of Dean Hybl, a sports historian and journalist with a background in college and professional sports. Dean has worked in sports public relations for the Philadelphia Eagles, Richmond Braves, James Madison Dukes, Rollins Tars and Hampden-Sydney Tigers. He also served six years as the head statistician for the Capital One Bowl and occasionally serves as a talent spotter for ESPN, Westwood One and the Compass Sports Network.
Since starting Sports Then and Now, Dean has had articles featured by the Wall Street Journal Daily Buzz and on the ESPN Sweet Spot Blog. His articles have also appeared on CBS Sportsline and Bleacher Report. Dean recently penned a popular series looking at the Best Players at Each Position Not in the Pro Football Hall of Fame. He also has done features on the 1994 Montreal Expos, the Chicago College Football All-Star Game, and the evolution of quarterbacks in the NFL. His column “Waiting for the Weekend” appears every Friday.
Featured Writers: Sports Then and Now features a number of talented writers including Joe Gill (Boston, NFL, NHL, Columnist), J.A. Allen (Tennis, College Football, Big Ten Football), Todd Civin (Baseball, Features, Boston Red Sox), Nick Gelso (NBA, Boston Celtics), Jacob Nitzberg (Baseball, Chicago Cubs), Jake Perper (Football, Chicago Bears), Blaine Spence (Special Features), Matt Taylor (Baltimore Orioles), Scott Weldon (NHL), and John Howell (Special Features).
Special Features: Among the regular features of Sports Then and Now is a daily “On This Date” capsule, a weekly “Vintage Athlete of the Week” for each site and a weekly “Classic Rewind” that looks at one NFL game from the past featuring two teams that will match up on the field during the upcoming week. During the College Football season, Sports Then and Now is featuring a weekly contest where fans can match their skills for prognosticating against the Sports Then and Now Zultan. Anyone who “Tops The Zultan” is eligible for a end of season drawing for a $50 Best Buy gift card.
What is Sports Then and Now?
The history of sports in America is long and glorious, but too often the athletes, moments and memories of the past are forgotten when analyzing the issues and events of the current sports world. Sports Then and Now takes the “hot button” issues of today’s sports world and looks at them in the context of sports history.
Sports Then and Now is intended to be a place where all sports fans can talk about what is happening today while also reminiscing about great players, teams, games and moments from the past. Suggestions for story ideas, links and other content are always welcome.
We are also always looking for good writers, so if you have a passion about a team, city, player or sport and want a chance to share your ideas with other sports fans, this is the perfect place for you.
Send any story ideas or comments on the site to: dean@sportsthenandnow.com
Dean Hybl Biography
Dean Hybl has lived and breathed sports for more than 40 years and is excited about the opportunity to develop a sports site where fans can share a passion for sports history while also keeping up-to-date on current issues in the world of sports.
Dean learned to read so that he could read the stats on the back of his baseball cards and has been a passionate fan ever since.
After playing sports in high school and then writing about sports for the school newspaper and Sports Information Office while in college at James Madison University, Dean had the chance to live out every sports fans dream.
In the summer of 1989, Dean served as a public relations intern for the Philadelphia Eagles. The Eagles went 11-5 that season and made trips to London, San Diego, Miami and many other places that were new territory for a 21-year old from a small, rural community in Southern Virginia. The opportunity to meet and work with such greats as Buddy Ryan, Randall Cunningham, Reggie White, Clyde Simmons, Jerome Brown, Matt Cavanaugh, Terry Hoage and Al Harris was a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity.
Dean then did an internship with the Richmond Braves, then the Triple-A affiliate for the Atlanta Braves, and got to see future stars including Dave Justice, Steve Avery and Kent Mercker on their way to the majors.
For the next 15 years, Dean served as a college sports information director first at Hampden-Sydney College in Virginia and then at Rollins College in Florida. These great experienced allowed Dean to meet and work with many great young student-athletes and to continue cultivating his passion for sports.
Dean now writes about sports and sports history and has a communications consulting business in Orlando.
His sports writing has recently been mentioned in the Wall Street Journal Daily Sports Fix and by Rob Neyer in his SweetSpot blog.
Loading ...