Tuesday, May 12, 2020

Check out this Vintage Brooklyn Dodgers License Plate


Here's something new to me.

Featured is a vintage license plate topper that advertises Brooklyn as a future vacation spot. It includes a fantastic graphic of a loudmouthed umpire, the Brooklyn bridge, a batter and a palm tree (I think) with "Coney Island" written across it. "Dodgers" is also written in cursive, in the middle of the drawing.

BTW, it might be that the tree seen in the graphic is in reference to book -- 'A Tree Grows in Brooklyn.'  For those who don't know, this was a 1943 book by Betty Smith that uses a tree as a metaphor for the ability to thrive in an difficult environment.
There's a tree that grows in Brooklyn. Some people call it the Tree of Heaven. No matter where its seed falls, it makes a tree which struggles to reach the sky. It grows in boarded up lots and out of neglected rubbish heaps. It grows up out of cellar gratings. It is the only tree that grows out of cement. It grows lushly...survives without sun, water, and seemingly earth. It would be considered beautiful except that there are too many of it.
— A Tree Grows in Brooklyn, Introduction
Unfortunately, the license plate is undated, but is clearly pre-1958 (the year the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles). It also measures 10" x 4 3/4".

This piece recently sold on eBay (auction link) for a hefty sum -- $177.50 -- so the marketplace recognized its scarcity right away.

* Please follow on twitter @ernestreyes *
* Dodgers Blue Heaven home page *

Blog Kiosk: 5/12/2020 - Dodgers Links & News - Some Odds and Ends


Here's a look at a mundane activity that happens in every clubhouse -- the manicuring of a Baseball uniform. Featured is Dodger coach Leo Durocher, circa 1961, having the sleeves on his shirt trimmed by a clubhouse attendant (eBay auction link)

Below are more links to check out:
  • This Day in Dodgers HistoryIn 1956 Dodgers hurler Carl Erskine throws his second career no-hitter -- becoming the eighth Dodger to do so in their history. He blanked the New York Giants, 3-0 (boxscore), at Ebbets Field. In 1979 Saturday Night Live Weekend Update anchorman Bill Murray announced that lovable All-Star second baseman Chico Escuela (played by Garrett Morris) would quit baseball after Steve Garvey crushed a ball that hit Escuela in the crotch -- rendered him irreversibly infertile. In 2004 Alex Cora had his famous 18 pitch at-bat (including 14 consecutive fouls balls) at Dodger Stadium against Matt Clement of the Cubs that culminated in an unbelievable two-run home run.  You can watch this at-bat hereIn 2015 Giancarlo Stanton owned Dodgers pitcher Mike Bolsinger when he become only the fourth player to hit a home run out of Dodger Stadium. Watch it here. Stanton's homer would prove to be the only run the Marlins would score (boxscore).
  • Happy BirthdayLave CrossDutch HenryRafael Bournigal & Adam Liberatore!