LAKELAND, Fla. (March 3, 2009) — Florida Southern Colleges Center for Florida History welcomes Rody Johnson, author and former publisher of the Sebastian Sun, to the Florida Lecture Series on March 12. Johnson discusses his book, "The Rise and Fall of Dodgertown: 60 Years of Baseball in Vero Beach." The lecture will start at 7 p.m. in the William M. Hollis Seminar Room of the Thad Buckner Building on the FSC campus. The event is free and open to the public. A book signing follows the lecture.

"We are delighted to have Rody Johnson with us. Baseball season is just around the corner. Rody's program on spring training's most hallowed ground will be informative and entertaining," said James Denham, professor of history and director of FSC's Center for Florida History.

A graduate of the University of Virginia with engineering and MBA degrees, Johnson worked for the Harris Corporation in Melbourne, Fla., managing engineering development programs for the Department of Defense. After retirement, Johnson began his writing career when he became publisher of the Sebastian Sun. "The Rise and Fall of Dodgertown" (2007) offers a fascinating and remarkable history of the most hallowed spring training site in baseball. Johnson, a resident of Vero Beach, was granted special access to the teams archives and personal interviews with players, management, and staff. The Los Angeles Times review stated that Johnsons book captures "the symbiotic relationship between the team and its town." The book was the basis for an ESPN piece on Dodgertown and was featured on Fox and CBS TV affiliates in Florida, nationwide XM Radio, and Japanese national television.

Also available for purchase will be Johnson's other book, "Different Battles" (1999), the story of a World War II German U-boat attack on a tanker off the Florida coast. Featured in the book are two men involved in the incident. One is the author's father, a Coast Guard volunteer who rescued the tanker crew; the other is the U-boat commander who torpedoed the ship The author later found and visited him in Germany.

About the Florida Lecture Series
The Florida Lecture Series is produced by the Center for Florida History under the direction of Dr. James M. Denham. The program brings speakers to the Lakeland campus who approach the issue of "Florida Life and Culture" from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, music and art. Its overall objective is to create an opportunity for members of the community, faculty, and student body to listen to, interact with and learn from leading scholars and specialists of the states history and culture.