Gridiron Baltic

Gridiron Baltic is a monthly podcast exploring connections between American football in the Baltic states—Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania. On the surface, America’s Game may seem to have little in common with three small-nation states in Eastern Europe. Basketball and ice hockey, however, are not the only North American sports intertwined with the histories of Estonian, Latvian, and Lithuanian nations.

Among other things, nineteenth century immigration and the shifting political borders of the twentieth century created a multitude of connections and entanglements, both in the West and in the East. From immigrant players in the regional leagues of the United States to the first (un)official games on Soviet and post-Soviet fields, Gridiron Baltic traces how a distinctly American sport intersects with the complex and interconnected histories of the three modern Baltic nations.

New episodes drop on the first day of each month. Some highlight early pioneers who helped build the sport (both in the United States and the Baltic region); others focus on its diffusion and present-day developments in Estonia, Latvia, and Lithuania.

Welcome to Gridiron Baltic!