I research the history of sports media, and a few years ago, I set off to find out how the press covered Payson. I figured she must have been prime fodder for the tough New York media. When I was growing up, the Yankees and Mets never sank to the depths that Payson’s team did, yet the press still rebuked Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and the Mets’ FRED Wilpon, whose ownership group bought the team from the Payson family in 1980.

I spent many hours scanning newspapers on microfilm and digital databases. I made a trip to the Yale University archives to sift through Payson’s papers, and I combed her file at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and museum, too.