Blog Kiosk: 6/19/2020 - Dodgers Links & News - Some Odds and Ends

I'm just as confused as Dodger coach Jake Pitler in the photo above, taken by Barney Stein (eBay auction link). It features skipper Walter Alston in the midst of digging a hole. Unfortunately, there isn't any background information describing the event.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1965 (OT) Union army general Gordon Granger arrived in Galveston, Texas to inform everyone that all people held as slaves in Texas are free. This event is celebrated as Juneteenth -- a celebration of emancipation within the confederacy. In 1938, a day after signing a contract with the club, Babe Ruth puts on a Dodger uniform for the first time. In 1952 Carl Erskine threw a no-hitter against the Cubs in the Dodgers' 5-0 victory at Ebbets Field. This is the first of two no-no's he would throw in his career. The only Cub to get on base was the opposing pitcher, via a walk. In 1973 Dodger outfielder Willie Davis collected his 2,000th career hit at Dodger Stadium when he two-run home run. In 1990 Dodgers catcher Gary Carter broke a National League record for career games caught at 1‚862. He passes former Dodger Al Lopez who set the record in 1946.
• Happy Birthday, Bill Swift, Larry Miller, Bob Aspromonte, Jerry Reuss, Butch Davis, Doug Mientkiewicz & Claudio Vargas!

Blog Kiosk: 3/26/2020 - Dodgers Links & News - Some Odds and Ends

This just might be the best photo from the 1955 World Series - the Dodgers first World Championship. Featured are a group of Dodger wives (see Rachel Robinson on the far left) celebrating right after the victory, available via RMY Auction. This photo was taken by Barney Stein and it is a re-strike -- printed in 1980.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1953 the St. Louis Browns returned pitcher Tommy Lasorda to the Dodgers after having just purchased him a month prior. In 1984 Jackie Robinson was posthumously awarded the Presidential Medal of Freedom by President Ronald Reagan in a White House ceremony. Rachel Robinson accepted the award on her late husband's behalf. At the time, Jackie was just the third ballplayer to be given the distinction (Moe Berg and Joe DiMaggio were the others). You can watch the presentation here. In 1991 the Dodgers sign free agent catcher and future Hall of Famer Gary Carter to a one-year $500,000 contract. 
• Happy Birthday, Jack McCarthy, Joe Klugmann, José Vizcaíno & Frank Lankford!

Blog Kiosk: 3/4/2020 - Dodgers Links & News - Some Odds and Ends

Here are five Dodger pitchers warming up during Spring Training in 1949. Per the descriptor on the reverse:

Brooklyn Hurlers Limber Up

Vero Beach, FLA... A quintet of the Brooklyn Dodgers' pitching staff limbering up throwing arms as the Dodgers Spring Training program went into high gear at Vero Beach. Left to Right are Hank Behrman, Joe Hatten, Preacher Roe, Rex Barney and Ralph Branca. 

Dated to 3/4/49 the International News Photo above was taken by famed sports photographer Barney Stein. (eBay auction link) Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1912 Charles Ebbets breaks ground on his new ballpark in the Pigtown section of Brooklyn. It was originally going to be called Washington Park, but will be renamed Ebbets Field. In 1984 Pee Wee Reese is elected into the Hall of Fame by the Special Veterans Committee. In 2009 the Dodgers re-signed outfielder Manny Ramirez to a two-year $45 million contract.
• Happy Birthday, Jim Korwan, Jeff Pfeffer, Johnny Enzmann, Dazzy Vance, Lefty O'Doul, Bill Hart, Leron Lee, Giovanni Carrara, Bruce Aven, Hiram Bocachica, Sergio Romo & Rubby De La Rosa!

Blog Kiosk: 9/24/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Here's a fun, dated circa 1957 on the reverse, photograph of Pee Wee Reese lounging comfortably on a leather armchair. It was taken by Dodger photographer Barney Stein and includes five well-dressed gentleman surrounding Pee Wee. I have no idea who those guys are or what is going on, but I suspect this was some sort of pregame activity/ceremony. I know for certain that there was a Pee Wee Reese Night at Ebbets Field in 1955, but am unsure if they did it again two years later. Maybe this was a pregame promotion where they gifted Pee Wee the easy-chair to promote the product. I dunno. (eBay Auction Link)

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1901 Brooklyn outfielder Jimmy Sheckard became the first 20th-century player to hit grand slams in two consecutive games, as Brooklyn pounds Cincinnati, 16 - 2.  In 1957 the last Major League game is played at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. Pirates first baseman Dee Fondy makes the last out when he grounds to Dodger shortstop Don Zimmer with starting pitcher Danny McDevitt on the mound. The Dodger win, 2-0. In 1971 Dodger lefty Al Downing wins his 20th game of the season -- defeating the Atlanta Braves, 2-0. He would finish third in Cy Young voting this season. In 2003 Eric Gagne ties the NL record for saves when he records his 55th save of the season against the Padres in extra innings, 5-3.
• Happy Birthday, Tom Seats, Dixie Walker, Otis Davis, Dick Nen, Hubie Brooks, Larry White & Jim Neidlinger!

Blog Kiosk: 6/7/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Check out this fantastic Barney Stein photo of a young and dapper Vin Scully at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn. It is unfortunately undated (eBay Auction Link).

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers Baseball: In 1898 Brooklyn owner Charles Ebbets stepped in to be the teams manager for the remainder of the season. The team would not fare well. The Dodgers would have a record of 38-68 under Ebbets and finish in 10th place overall with a 54-91 record. In 1982 Steve Garvey played in his 1,000th consecutive game. He would receive a standing ovation from fans at Dodger Stadium. In 1995 Tommy Lasorda won his 1,500th game as a major league manager when his Dodgers defeated the Expos, 7-1. 
• Happy Birthday, Ike Benners, Bones Ely, Lafayette Henion & Roy Jarvis!

Blog Kiosk: 3/7/2018 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

For several years during WWII the Dodgers spent their spring training in up-state New York -- Bear Mountain. Located just 20 minutes from West Point, it was not unusual for the team to train at the West Point Academy Field House; especially when the weather turned ugly. Above you can see the Dodgers play ball at the Field House as cadets check out the action. The photo is dated March 18, 1945, and was taken by famed sports photographer Barney Stein for the NY Post (eBay auction link). BTW, the photo originally comes from the personal collection of former Dodger Cookie Lavagetto.

Below are more links to check out:

• Happy Birthday, Doc Scanlan, Dan Griner, Merwin Jacobson, Dick Loftus, Joe Gallagher & Jeff Kent!
• Today's Game: The Dodgers take on the Angels in their home field, and Japanese two-way sensation Shohei Ohtani is slated to bat 7th as a DH. Kershaw is scheduled to start, so it's likely they'll face each against each other for the first time. 

Blog Kiosk: 12/6/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Just awesome!

Above is an original 1958 Spring Training photograph taken by the legendary Barney Stein currently on auction at RMY (auction link). As you can see, it features the entire team, and it is purported to be the very first team photo of the newly minted Los Angeles Dodgers. As you know, the club would play in LA for the first time that season.

I've personally placed a bid on this photograph, but have little hope I'll walk away with it. This auction just opened up and it already has six bids. I suspect it'll sell for far more than I am willing to pay. That said, there are a bunch of great vintage pics in the auction, so stay tuned as I highlight other favorites I run into.

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1960 actor Gene Autry is awarded an American League Los Angeles franchise that would be known as the Angels -- borrowing. In 1973 the Dodgers traded Claude Osteen and Dave Culpepper to the Astros for outfielder Jim Wynn. Wynn would go on to have a stellar year the following season in Los Angeles. He slashed .271/.387/.497/.884 with 32 homers and 108 RBI's, and would come in at fifth place in MVP voting. In 2006 the Dodgers signed free agent pitcher Jason Schmidt. In 2007 signed free agent outfielder Andruw Jones.  
• Happy Birthday, Tony Lazzeri, Tommy Brown & Dodgers broadcaster Joe Davis!

Blog Kiosk: 3/16/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Spring Odds and Ends

Above is a fantastic vintage 1956 photo taken by legendary Dodger photographer Barney Stein.  It provides a glimpse of the player pregame procession before one of the games of the Brooklyn Dodgers Goodwill Tour in Tokyo.  They are to play the Tokyo Giants.  It recently sold at RMY Auctions (link here).

Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History:  In 1976 Dodgers right-handed pitcher Andy Messersmith is granted free agency.  He is principally responsible for the end of the "reserve clause" and is credited for signing the very first contract of the free agency era about a month later.  He won an arbitrator case in favor of free agency in December 1975, and MLB naturally appealed.  They would lose their appeal on March 9th, 1976.  A few days later the league declined appealing to the Supreme Court; effectively granting Messersmith free agency.
• Happy Birthday, Patsy Donovan, Jake Flowers, Lloyd "Little Poison" Waner, Hee-Seop Choi, Brian Wilson & Brandon League!
  

Blog Kiosk: 11/29/2016 - Dodgers Links - Bellinger, Candelario, Younginer and Vin Scully's Birthday

Spring training is in full swing in the vintage photo above, originally taken by legendary Dodger photographer Barney Stein in 1953. (eBay auction link here)  As you can see, a large group of players are in the midst of some calisthenics.  On a side note, this reminds me of that famous Life Magazine cover from 1948 featuring just as many Dodger rookies (see that on the right).

Below are more links to check out:

• Happy Birthday, Brian Holton and Vin Scully!
• This is horrible.  Via BBC News, "Brazil's Chapecoense football team in Colombia plane crash."  My deepest condolences to family, friends and fans of all those who have perished.  I still remember when former LA Kings forward Pavol Demitra and most of his entire hockey team from Lokomotiv died in a 2011 plane crash in Russia.  It was a bit gut-wrenching.

A Couple Vintage Dodgers Collectibles at Lelands Auctions -- The Sym-Phony Band and an Wrigley Flag

With our teams unceremonious exit from the 2016 postseason, I thought it would be fun to take one last look at the current Lelands Auction for some more vintage Dodgers memorabilia.  After all, there is no better way to get over the hump of another disappointing Baseball season then by seeking out the past for some guidance, and this auction is filled with stuff that could assist us.  For instance, last week I dived into this auction and shared pics of a couple of great vintage editorial cartoons featuring the Brooklyn Dodgers "Bum" (link here) -- which seems fairly apt considering how things ended for us.

Blog Kiosk: 12/31/2014 - Dodger Links - Kuroda, Kershaw and Garvey

An obviously befuddled Jake Pitler, a Brooklyn Dodger coach, looks on as skipper Walter Alston takes a pick axe to a Dodgertown mound during Spring Training.  The photo was taken by legendary team photographer Barney Stein in 1955.  Check out the eBay auction where I found the photo here.

Below are some links to check out:

• RIP, Hank Presswood.  Via Nick Diunte at Examiner.com, "Hank Presswood, Negro League player with Cleveland and Kansas City, dies at 93."

“Willie Grace went to the Buckeyes and he was the one who told them about me,” Presswood said to me during a 2010 phone interview. “He was from Laurel, Mississippi. One day I was working and who was at my job, Grace and the foreman! He asked me about going, and I wanted to go you know. … I said, ‘What in the world are you doing here, I thought you were with the Buckeyes?’ He said, ‘I am with the Buckeyes, but I told them about you. I came after you.’ I was really surprised. I accepted and went on up there.”

• Wow!  The vintage Roy Campanella worn Brooklyn Dodgers jacket I featured in a post last month sold at Grey Flannel Auctions at $71,554.00.
• Via Barry M. Bloom at MLB.com, "Clutch Garvey merits a place among game's best."
• Via Ron Cervenka at Think Blue LA, "Hiroki Kuroda – Dodger Stadium’s other near perfect game."

Even though Kershaw’s no-no has been ranked as the most dominate no-hitter in modern baseball history by ‘Game Score‘ and was but a Hanley Ramirez throwing error away from becoming baseball’s 24th prefect game, it was not the only near perfect game to be tossed by a Dodger at The Ravine.

• Via Eno Sarris at FanGraphs, "The Best Pitches of 2014 (By Whiffs)."  Clayton Kershaw is mentioned as having the best slider of all starting pitchers... Of Course!
• If you don't already know, there will be a hockey game between the Washington Capitals and the Chicago Blackhawks on News Years Day at Nationals Park in DC, and Mike Bertha at Cut4 has some video of them transforming the field into a hockey rink.  There's also a video of the NHL ice crew playing some ball on ice.  Go here to check that out.

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eBay: A Couple of Barney Stein Photos

As many fans noticed the other day, Dodgers photographer Jon SooHoo shared a great photo he had taken of Vin Scully with Sandy Koufax in the press box.  In his post he referenced another great Dodger photographer from their days in Brooklyn, Barney Stein.  He said,

"Now I really feel like Barney Stein."

So, being an astute Dodger fan and memorabilia hound that I am, I had to search out a couple of Stein photographs to share here.  On a side note, I think Jon's statement above has to do with his staging of the photograph.  Barney Stein was known to have a gift for getting folks to pose as he wished, in funny and dramatic ways.

Featured in this post are two Barney Stein originals that I found on eBay.  Above and below (it's the reverse of the above photo) is a June 23, 1942 photograph of former Dodger Herman Franks.  He is sporting a rather dapper naval uniform, as he had recently joined the service during World War II in the middle of his Baseball career.  Stein writes on the reverse:

"Here's a shot I made of Herman Franks, ex Dodgers, now an ensign stationed at Pensacola.  Made it one of the twilight games last week."

(eBay Auction Link)

Below is a 1937 Barney Stein photograph of Heinie Manush.  Heinie would play just two seasons in Brooklyn during his Hall of Fame career.  A notable aspect of this photo is that it was likely taken just after Stein was hired as the Dodgers official photographer.

As the story goes, Barney who was already working for the Brooklyn Times Union had a chance meeting with Dearie McKeever Mulvey (daughter of one of the Dodgers' owners) and was asked to photograph her.  Following this encounter Stein would soon be hired on with the Dodgers in the Spring of 1937.  So, the below photo is one of his first as a Dodgers employee.

BTW, there is a Barney Stein website.  Go here to check it out.

(eBay Auction Link)

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Hunt Auctions: All-Star Auction with some Old-Time Dodgers

With the All-Star game around the corner collectors know that Hunt's annual All-Star Game FanFest Auction is coming up.  For the past several years Hunt Auctions has teamed up with the All-Star Game FanFest to organize a live auction of vintage Baseball memorabilia.  This year features collectibles from the personal collection of Hall of Famer Harmon Killebrew, items from the collection of Eddie Onslow (a pre-War Ballplayer), and several awards from Jim Palmer (3 Cy Young's and 2 Gold Gloves).  Check out some of the Dodgers related memorabilia that caught my eye below.  Be sure to click any pic to embiggen.

Here is a 1951 Pee Wee Reese game-used jersey.  It is expected to reach $20k to $30k.

(Auction Link)

Below are items related to Eddie Stanky Day at Ebbets Field in 1946.  There is a Presentation Good Luck Charm and several vintage photos.

(Auction Link)

Here are a couple of great vintage photographs signed by some vintage Dodgers.  Eddie Stanky and Pee Wee Reese is directly below.  This photo was also taken by noted Brooklyn photographer Barney Stein. 

(Auction Link)

Barney Stein's New Book

Nostalgia is as thick as fog these days. The Dodgers are celebrating their 50th Anniversary in Los Angeles this year with a game at their original ballpark in the Coliseum. Dodger Stadium is going through a complete face lift, complete with new concessionaires. Dodgertown is no more as the team removed itself from one of the last reminders of its Brooklyn heritage. Fortunately, the past is not all lost. The family of Barney Stein, the long-time official photographer for the Brooklyn Dodgers, just released a book of their fathers great photos. Go to their website for more info.

Barney, only 5-foot-4, was known as “the spry little guy with the camera.” He was the embodiment of perpetual motion, on the field and in the photographers’ box suspended between home plate and first base or in the locker room.

...

He not only taught me photography, but I learned about the strong emotions of the game and friendships among the players and those associated with the team.

In those days the Dodgers were like an extended family, and his photo archives are like a family album. It was a time when the fans walked the players home, win or lose, and the players would willingly sign autographs and pose for photos with their adoring fans. Major League Baseball blogger Derek Savage recently wrote: “They were the only team in MLB history to be named for a neighborhood rather than a city or state. It was all about community. The Dodgers were family; a metaphor for life in America. In the 1950s, the Brooklyn Dodgers were America.”

Below is Ralph Branca after his pitch to Bobby Thompson.

Barney-Stein Photography Website:
Story Link: Naples News:
Hat Tip: Sports Collectors Daily: