St. Lawrence County native and screenwriter Marc Isaacs will present a special table read of his historical sports drama EHMKE this summer in Jamestown, as part of Howard Ehmke Night with the Jamestown Tarp Skunks.

The event takes place at 1 p.m. on Saturday, July 13, at the Robert H. Jackson Center, followed by a Tarp Skunks home game at 4 p.m.

Isaacs, a St. Lawrence University alumnus, studied Speech & Theatre before managing Potsdam’s Roxy Theatre in 1995, a formative experience that sparked his lifelong passion for storytelling and film. 

Now based in Western New York after years working in television and marketing roles, Isaacs discovered the remarkable story of Howard Ehmke, a pitcher-turned-inventor, thanks to historical signage in Ehmke’s hometown of Silver Creek.

Ehmke’s legacy includes a little-known but game-changing innovation: the baseball infield tarp.

His first canvas tarpaulin was used during the 1925 World Series at Pittsburgh’s Forbes Field. In the years that followed, Ehmke launched a manufacturing company—still in operation today in Philadelphia—that helped transform ballpark maintenance nationwide.

Isaacs’ screenplay focuses on the final chapter of Ehmke’s Major League career with the Philadelphia A’s, culminating in his surprise start in Game 1 of the 1929 World Series after only appearing in 11 games during the regular season. His story brings him face-to-face with some of the game’s greatest figures, Babe Ruth, Lou Gehrig, Ty Cobb, and Connie Mack among them.

To ensure historical accuracy, Isaacs worked closely with Ehmke Manufacturing Company, which provided insight into the company’s roots and continuing legacy in American industry.