Ten years ago, in late April, American Pharoah had achieved plenty in life, but the name didn’t carry nearly the weight it ...

This led to a rumble. I recalled an old Yankee: From what I know, Mickey Mantle was a hard-livin’ guy, no Boy Scout. Fine. But he was also a gent, at least in one respect: his home-run trot.

Picture this: It’s summer 1985. You’re sitting in morning traffic on the 101. Aretha Franklin’s “Freeway of Love,” a top 10 hit that year, plays, ironically, in the background.

Most procedurals from the ‘80s into the ‘90s had the same tall male protagonist, who was somehow a charming gentleman and a low-key brooding alcoholic. Andy Griffith’s character was that of ...