Friday, July 20, 2012

Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 7/20/2012

With the National Sports Collectors Convention around the corner, here's a look at a Topps promo mini card that will be handed out to attendees.  It's of Matt Kemp showing off his "O" face.  See the other Topps promos at Beckett.
Any trade, he said, would "have to be governed by reason" and "make sense long term."
As more consumers follow games with even more prolific graphic presentations on the Internet, iPhones or iPads, will play-by-play be something of a lost art in future Frick Award ceremonies?

"I wouldn't be selfish to say it, but I sure hope not," said Scully, the 1982 Frick Award winner for his work with the Dodgers, both in L.A. and Brooklyn, as well as on NBC.
Scully stands by the Red Barber philosophy of having one voice in the booth narrate for radio or TV. He says he saw the trend of analysts taking over came back in the 1970s, when he was asked by ABC producer Chuck Howard if he'd be interested in becoming the first play-by-play man on "Monday Night Football."

Heritage Auctions: Some Incredible Vintage Baseball Pieces

Right here are some museum quality beauts!

Following up on Wednesdays post featuring a Jackie Robinson Game-Used bat on auction at Heritage, I wanted to take a moment to focus on a handful of great vintage Baseball memorabilia items they have up.  These pieces are historically important Baseball artifacts that should be in a museum somewhere, but are likely to remain in a collectors personal collection. 

Below is a 1866 Trophy Baseball celebrating a game between the Excelsior's of Brooklyn and National's of Albany. It was common in the day for important matches and series' to have a game ball painted and marked with game highlights.
(Auction Link)
I'll let the auction description take it from here:
1866 Excelsior vs. National of Albany Trophy Baseball. Just a year after General Lee surrendered his Confederate troops to bring a close to the American Civil War, the presented baseball was utilized and then memorialized to celebrate a victory during the absolute infancy of organized baseball. The victor in the contest was Excelsior of Brooklyn, one of the founding members of the National Association of Base Ball Players (NABBP), the first organized baseball league. The game was played at the Capitoline Base Ball Grounds, located between Nostrand Avenue and Marcy Avenue in the Bedford-Stuyvesant section of Brooklyn, where Excelsior battered National of Albany by a tally of forty-eight runs to twenty-eight on August 17, 1866.
This Baseball is covered in gold leaf and has the following word drawn on it.
"Excelsior 48, National of Albany 28, Aug. 17th, 66."
(Auction Link)
Below is the 1917 Honus Wagner Day Presentational Loving Cup.  It was present to Honus Wagner the season after his retirement from Baseball by the Pirates.  I'll let the auction description describe the scene.
A parade of 150 automobiles and two dozen marching bands formed a procession from Wagner's Carnegie home to the ballpark, where 12,000 spectators cheered their greying hero as Mayor Joseph G. Armstrong presented Wagner with the stunning loving cup presented here. Artfully engraved on the obverse are the words, "Presented to John P. Wagner By His Admirers, Friday June 22, 1917, Wagner Day." Wagner's monogram forms a skillful design on verso.
(Auction Link)

Here is another piece from the early days of Baseball.  From the auction description:
1865 Trophy Bat Presented to Shortstop Ike Wilkins of the Athletic Base Ball Club of Philadelphia by the Team's Main Rival. Just eight months and three hundred thirty miles from the surrender of the Confederate troops at Appomattox Courthouse to bring an end to the bloody American Civil War, this incredible relic from the infancy of our National Pastime found a proud new owner. That recipient was a star ballplayer named Ike Wilkins, whose name is artfully engraved upon a silver plaque affixed to the barrel of this hefty hunk of hardwood, the full text reading:

"Presented to Ike Wilkins by his Friends and admirers of the Minerva Base Ball Club, Dec. 7th, 1865."
(Auction Link)

Ike Wilkins was an early Baseball star, and he received the above bat commemorating his prowess.  
Also here is a photocopy of a column from the January 18, 1866Philadelphia Inquirer, which reads, in part:

"Testimonial to Mr. Isaac Wilkins, the well-known short-stop of the Athletic Club--A committee of the Minerva Base Ball club, consisting of Messrs. Theo. E. Wiedersheim, C.J. McClary, Richard M. Neuman, Edward B. Paul and William Colbert, waited upon Mr. Wilkins and presented him with a handsome silver-mounted prize bat, wrapped handle and tastefully ornamented. The President of the Minerva (Mr. Wiedersheim) presented it in an appropriate speech, and alluded to the playing of Mr. Wilkins upon all occasions, and noted in particular the game at New York for the championship, where Mr. Wilkins' playing was the subject of comment, and thanked him for the manner in which he had always acted towards the Minerva Club. Mr. Wilkins responded and thanked the members of the Minerva for their kindness, and hoped always to merit the treatment just received. His modesty forbade him saying all he wished to. The bat, which is considered the handsomest ever gotten up, will shortly be on exhibition on Chestnut Street, where all base ball players will have an opportunity of seeing it."

Here are some close up pics of the bat below.  BTW, this bat was found hiding in an attic just a few months ago.

(Auction Link)

(Auction Link)

(Auction Link)

Collection: Beltre Donruss Signatures






Can you tell how much I miss Adrian Beltre at third base?

Here are a couple of more Beltre certified autograph cards in my collection.  These are 1998 Donruss Signature Series cards.  Above is the normal base series autographed card, and below is the Millennium Marks parallel autographed card that is printed to 1000 copies.  Not very rare by todays standards.