In 2020 a few friends and I made a trip to Cleveland for a Cleveland Indians baseball game. Since then, we have been to 34 current and former Major League Baseball stadiums, only missing four current ones. We also added several stadiums from other sports. A few years ago, I read about Ken Smoller, whose stadium count far surpasses mine.

Smoller has visited more than 2,700 stadiums in 48 states and 26 countries on his journey that began when he was at the University of Michigan. As photo editor of the Michigan student newspaper, Smoller began photographing stadiums on road trips. More than 35 years later, his journey continues.

The first statement on his Stadium Vagabond website is “exploring the world through the prism of sporting events and stadiums.” In our Talking Travel interview, Smoller echoed that statement. He spoke of experiencing the food, culture and personality of areas through their stadiums. He talked about visiting areas he probably wouldn’t have if not for the stadiums, yet oftentimes those were fascinating areas. As a stadium chaser, I know I have been to many more cities and regions than I would have otherwise. Smoller has taken it to another level, though.

Smoller also wrote Last Comiskey, a book based on the documentary of the same name which focused on the last season of Comiskey Park in Chicago. On his own, Smoller took hundreds of photos of Comiskey Park. Years later, those pictures came to life again in the book and documentary. Currently, Smoller is working on a book about stadiums in Illinois. He has plans to visit the area’s newest stadium when Northwestern’s Ryan Field opens October 2. That book should be published in late 2027 or early 2028.

Talking Travel is an interview series on Global Traveler. Subscribe to the GT YouTube channel to be notified of all future interviews and other travel-related videos.

— John Wroblewski, podcaster