Team Player
Writer Jeff Labrecque, A&S '95, has known Hopkins baseball
coach Bob Babb, A&S '77, for more than a decade. "As a
pitcher for Babb from 1992 to 1995, I was constantly amazed
and often rescued by Babb's strategies," says Labrecque,
who profiles his former coach in "Mind Game." After
graduating from Hopkins, Labrecque worked in the
university's Sports Information office for two years and
came to know Babb as a friend. In writing his story,
Labrecque, who later joined Hopkins' alumni office and is
now a reporter for Entertainment Weekly, relished
learning about Babb as a player. "Hearing his coach and
some of his ex-teammates talk about what a great player he
was — like he was a lightning-fast base runner
— made me smile," he says. Labrecque lives in
Hoboken, N.J.
Fielding Photos
Rob Brown was in fourth grade when his first sports
photograph was published in a daily newspaper. At 12, one
of his football photographs made the Richmond Times
Dispatch's front page. Brown, who photographed baseball
coach Bob Babb for this issue, likes to shoot football and
baseball — football for the intensity, baseball
because he loves the game. "I'd rather go to a Hopkins
baseball game than an Orioles game," says Brown. "Bob Babb
is a fantastic manager. He knows the game and is always
thinking one step ahead." In addition to documenting the
Jays, Brown takes photos of the Baltimore Ravens,
Washington Redskins, Philadelphia Eagles, and other NFL
teams as a freelancer for the Associated Press and for
Sportpics, a stock agency.
— Maria Blackburn
The Johns Hopkins Magazine |
901 S. Bond St. | Suite 540 |
Baltimore, MD 21231
Kay Downer, A&S '04 (MA), wanted to experience how a
magazine gets put together during her semester-long tenure
as Johns Hopkins Magazine's Corbin Gwaltney Fellow.
She did that and more, taking on a story about the
university's new general counsel and covering a couple of
neurology researchers who brew beer in their spare time.
For this issue, the Atlanta native was responsible for
reporting and coordinating the photography for "Join the
Club!" — a feat of logistics that involved juggling
schedules and getting to learn about such pastimes as
badminton, rugby, and paintball. Before coming to the
Writing Seminars at Johns Hopkins, Downer majored in
biology at Harvard University. It's been great working with
you Kay. We'll miss you!
It was cold, dark, and windy the night Gail Burton
photographed the Hopkins women's lacrosse team and their
coach, Janine Tucker, for "A Taste for Victory." Still, she
was able to capture their spirit. "They are a very talented
team," says Burton, a professional photographer since 1988.
Coach Tucker "seemed to have a real bond with the players.
She was very inspirational." Burton freelances for the
Associated Press at Ravens and Orioles games. Her work has
appeared in Sports Illustrated, ESPN Magazine, The New
York Times, and The Washington Post.
