"Jim" Harrison, both living in Covington, Kentucky at the time, came up with the idea of a literary baseball magazine while having lunch at Riverfront Stadium in Cincinnati, Ohio.

[1] Initially dedicated to poetry only, the magazine expanded to include short fiction, prose, art, and book reviews.

Also printed in the magazine are rare photographs, articles, and interviews with authors.

[1] After an irregular frequency of issues, the magazine became a quarterly publication before several decades.

The award was created by Shannon and Harrison in 1983 and named after the poem "Casey at the Bat".