ATHENS, Ohio -- Ohio University Distinguished Professor of History Charles Alexander, a noted baseball historian and author, will deliver the keynote address at the annual Cooperstown Symposium on Baseball and American Culture on Wednesday, June 5, in Cooperstown, N.Y.

Alexander, who has spent more than 40 years as a history professor, has been teaching university courses on baseball and sports history for more than 20 years. He was recently recognized in the 2002 edition of "Who's Who in America," and his latest book, "Breaking the Slump: Baseball in the Depression Era," has just been published by Columbia University Press.

He has written other baseball-related books, including "Our Game: An American Baseball History" and biographies about Ty Cobb, John McGraw and Rogers Hornsby. Alexander prides himself on being a historian who uses baseball as a backdrop. Since 1995, more than 3,000 Ohio University students have learned about baseball and American history in Alexander's classes, "American Baseball to 1930" and "American Baseball Since 1930."

The symposium, which is co-sponsored by the State University of New York at Oneonta and the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum, examines the impact of baseball on American culture. In addition to Alexander's speech, 24 scholarly papers on baseball and American culture will be presented with all sessions being held at the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum.

This spring, Alexander has been teaching at the University of Missouri at Rolla as the Maxwell C. Weiner Distinguished Professor of Humanities. The Cass County, Texas, native, earned his bachelor's degree from Lamar University and his master's and doctoral degrees from the University of Texas.