Blog Kiosk: 7/26/2019 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Check out this fantastic photograph that is currently available at Heritage Auctions (link here). It features Jackie Robinson, wearing a Montreal Royals uniform, shaking hands with the legendary Honus Wagner prior to the start of an exhibition/barnstorm game in October 1946. Heritage includes a link to a story about the game (Pittsburgh Post-Gazette -- "Around Town: Jackie Robinson quietly showed how to integrate one day here in '46"):

The 4 o'clock game pitted a team of major leaguers -- largely Pirates and Cincinnati Reds, second-division clubs -- against "Jackie Robinson's all-stars." The great Honus Wagner, then 72, managed the major leaguers, and a three-paragraph item at the bottom of the page the next day declared: "Robinson Stars As Team Wins." 

About 3,000 watched as "Robinson cracked out a single, double and triple and fielded flawlessly at shortstop . . .The Negro star, who starred with Montreal and is the property of the Brooklyn Dodgers, drew praise from his major-league opponents on his fine play."

BTW, Jackie's team included several teammates from Montreal -- Marvin Rackley, Al Campanis and John Wright (also a Negro Leaguer). Additionally, Larry Doby, Monte Irvin and Roy Campanella joined his "Jackie Robinson All-Stars" that winter. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1948 Leo Durocher, the traitorous manager who jumped ship to the hated NY Giants just ten days prior, shows up in ugly Halloween orange at Ebbets Field for the first time since stabbing Dodger fans in the back. He is not greeting warmly, but he has the last laugh. The Giants win 13-4. In 1950 Dodgers outfielder Jim Russell becomes the first ballplayer in major league history to hit a home run from both sides of the plate during a game for the second time in a career. His record is eventually surpassed by Mickey Mantle in 1956 when he accomplished the feat for a third time. In 1991 Montreal starter Mark Gardner no-hit the Dodgers for nine innings, but eventually lost the game in the tenth. He allowed two singles and reliever Jeff Fassero gave up the winning hit to lose, 1-0.  Dodger pitchers Orel Hershiser, Kevin Gross and Jay Howell combine for a two hit shutout. In 1995 the Dodgers signed free agent amateur pitcher Eric Gagne out of Seminole State College. In 2008 the Dodgers received third baseman Casey Blake from the Indians for Jon Meloan and Carlos Santana. 
• Happy Birthday, John Butler, Sam Leslie, Hoyt Wilhelm, Glenn Mickens, Jody Reed & Brandon Morrow!

Blog Kiosk: 100/26/2017 - Dodgers Links - Nobody Said it was Going to be Easy

Although we didn't come away with a victory last night, I am more certain than ever that THIS TEAM does not know how to give up. These guys battle -- always -- even after falling behind three times they still found the gumption to fight back. Sure, things didn't work out as planned, but that's okay. If there's one thing this game teaches it's perseverance, and THIS TEAM has got that. Per Ken Gurnick at MLB.com:

"I'm going to get my shot at them. When I get my shot, I'm going to help my team win," Jansen said after the Astros beat the Dodgers on Wednesday night in Game 2 of the World Series presented by YouTube TV, 7-6, in what is shaping up to be a true Fall Classic. "I'll be back for Game 3. The team will give me a shot again, my guys will pick me up again."

Graphic above via @Dodgers on twitter. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1950 Walter O'Malley became the ninth president and chief stockholder in the Dodgers franchise.  Following the death of team owner John L. Smith (who owned one-quarter of the club) O'Malley navigated a deal where he bought Branch Rickey's share of the club and essentially became a trustee over the Smith family portion to take over majority control.
• Happy Birthday, Doc Newton, Tommy Griffith, Ed Vande Berg, Mark Sweeney & Daniel Coulombe!

Dodgers Memorabilia at REA Auctions - The Historic

I've written it many times before, Robert Edwards Auctions consistently has some of the best Baseball memorabilia available.  They are the preeminent sports auction house in the country, and their catalogs are filled with so much history they are often kept by collectors as a hobby book.

Right now, REA is running their Spring Baseball auction and it is filled with so much Dodger memorabilia I just couldn't write one post.  In fact, I couldn't just write two.  Instead, I'll have as many as six different posts featuring the Dodgers, and I may throw in a general Baseball historical artifacts post just for the heck of it.  

To start with, I'll share some historically significant Dodger memorabilia for you to look at.

This first item is something that should be in a museum, and if the Dodgers are serious about building one then this item should be there.  Below is a letter written by the original Dodger owner, Charlie Byrne, to the National League seeking admission, and it has been signed and approved by the leagues governing board.

It states:

To the Secretary of - The National League of Professional B. B. Clubs. Dear Sir: The Brooklyn Base Ball Club and organization incorporated under the laws of the State of New York, respectfully asks for membership in your league. Said Club is duly organized and officered with grounds thoroughly prepared and equipped.

Very Truly Yours - Chas. H. Byrne - Pres. and Secretary.

Per the auction description:

Brooklyn's application was formally accepted by the National League, as noted by the pencil signatures of the members of the League's governing board directly below, which are preceded by the word, "Approved." The five League officials approving the application are "NE Young - Chairman," "John B. Day," W. A. Nimick," W. F. Hewitt," and "J. T. Brush." All of the signatures are boldly scripted and grade "9" or "10." The reverse of the document also bears the docket "Brooklyn/Nov. 14. 1889," scripted in black ink.

Nicholas Young was president of the National League at the time, while John B. Day owned the New York Giants, William A. Nimick owned Pittsburgh, W. F. Hewitt owned Washington, and J. T. Brush had owned the League's Indianapolis franchise up until that year. Charles Byrne owned Brooklyn from 1884 to 1897. Of the six men who have signed this document, Brush is the most important today. As owner of Indianapolis, he was responsible for creating the salary limitations for player contracts that was the main impetus for the formation of the Players' League in 1890. Brush later owned Cincinnati, where he rose to become one of the most powerful figures in baseball. In 1903 he purchased the New York Giants. One year later he unilaterally canceled the World Series by refusing to let his Giants meet the Red Sox in the fall classic, mainly because of a long-standing feud he had with American League president Ban Johnson. His ownership of the Giants continued until his death in 1912.

This document notes the birth of the Dodgers in the National League.

It has an opening bid $30,000.00.

(Auction Link)

The below trophy cup was presented to future Hall of Famer Honus Wagner by the Brooklyn Dodger franchise in 1917.  Per the auction description:

In (his) final season, many of the National League clubs honored him with special farewell ceremonies at their respective ballparks. The Brooklyn Dodgers were no exception, and on July 12th at Ebbets Field they honored Wagner by presenting him with this magnificent sterling-silver trophy cup. The engraving on the cup reads: "Presented to/John H. Wagner/by the/Brooklyn National League/Baseball Club/In commemoration of his long, faithful/and conscientious service/in the National League,/a gentleman on and off the field/and one who has earned/in his chosen profession/the highest esteem/of all interested/in the National Game./Brooklyn N. Y./July 11th/1917."

(Auction Link)

Below are two telegrams sent from 1947 sent by and to Branch Rickey in regards to the promotion of Jackie Robinson to the Majors.  The first telegram is to Arthur Mann, an assistant of Rickey's, by Branch, writing:

"Absolutely nothing either encouraging or discouraging or otherwise relative Robinson. Most important thing right now is avoid any and all publicity on whole subject particularly as to purpose of committee or even its existence. However very sensible for everyone to plan on assumption that something is liable to happen. This sounds like double talk at its best. Thats how I feel this morning." 

Per the auction description:

At the time this telegram was sent, Jackie Robinson and the Montreal Royals were in New York playing a series of exhibition games against the Brooklyn Dodgers. Rickey scheduled the games in the hopes that the Dodgers players, seeing how good Robinson was, would soften their opposition to his joining the club. The "committee" mentioned in the telegram was a thirty-two member panel, formed by Rickey, that was composed of black clergy and other civic leaders from each of the eight National League cities. The committee members were chosen to work with each respective city's local black communities to educate them regarding Robinson's impending debut and to make sure that Robinson received their full support when he came to town. As one can see here in this telegram, Rickey is making sure that the committee's activities remain clandestine prior to Robinson's debut. Mann was most likely able to read between the lines of this "coded" telegram, which told of Rickey's intention to promote Robinson very shortly. That promotion came exactly three days later, on April 10th.

The second telegram is from American theatrical producer Kermit Bloomgarden, and is dated April 10, 1947.  It states:

"Congratulations on your decision to bring Robinson to Brooklyn based on his record he deserves this opportunity and you deserve best=wishes from all of us who believe in fair play in sports and more important fair play in living."

(Auction Link)

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Blog Kiosk: 5/27/2013 - Some Dodger Links

Here is Buzz Aldrin and Vin Scully on Memorial Day at Dodger Stadium, pic via @Dodgers twitter.  See more pics from the day over at Jon SooHoo's Photog Blog, here.

• If you don't already know, Dee Gordon has been sent back down to AAA, as Jerry Hairston Jr comes back to the team off the DL, via a Dodgers Press Release.
• Dustin Nosler at Feelin' Kinda Blue provides at update on the surprising promotion of 16-year-old Dodgers prospect Julio Urias.  The Midwest League Traveler also writes about Arias' debut.
• Eric Stephen at True Blue LA let's us know that Josh Beckett has been shut down and will have an MRI. 

"The groin has been good, but the arm has been bad," said manager Don Mattingly before Monday night's game against the Angels. "He's still feeling numbness and tenderness in his fingers."

• Jon Weisman at Dodger Thoughts writes, "Dodgers on historic pace of futility with bases loaded."
• Peter Gammons writes about the struggles of Matt Kemp.

Kemp hasn’t whined or complained, but Mattingly told Kevin Baxter of the Los Angeles Times “He’s frustrated. The biggest thing we want to do with Matt is to try to keep the bat in the strike zone longer…when he’s going good he’s driving the ball to center, to right-center…I notice he’s cutting his swing off…if he’s top-spinning in left and left-center field, it tells me he’s getting extension to a certain point and he’s coming off just a little bit.”

• Jill Painter of the LA Daily News captures a quote from Adrian Gonzalez about Matt Kemp on twitter.

(twitter link)

• William Regenthal at Foul Bunt remembers Negro Leaguer John 'Mule' Miles.  He passed away this weekend.  RIP John Miles.  Nick Diunte at Examiner.com writes a about his life.
• Sports Collectors Daily lets us know that Arizona Diamondbacks owner Ken Kendrick spoke with FoxSports Arizona about the Gretzky T206 Honus Wagner card he owns.  There's a great interview included.

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Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 2/28/2013

The above pic is from Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo.  Check out more of his photos from yesterday on his blog, here.

• Today is the Dodgers' open tryouts at Camelback Ranch and CBS has a great story about a wounded veteran who is there to show off his stuff.  Check it out here.

Calling the opportunity a “dream”, Jacobs will take his skills to Dodgers spring training in Arizona after an invitation from Dodger legend Tommy Lasorda, whom he met at a California Disabled Veterans Business Alliance meeting and shared his dream.

“He can hit major league pitching,” said friend and former Angels star pitcher Justin Speier. “I have seen it first hand.”

• Alex Cora at Sons of Steve Garvey is stalking Sandy Koufax.
• Mark Langill, the Dodgers official historian, tells us that today is the anniversary of the infamous living room boxing match in Cuba between pitcher Hugh Casey and Ernest Hemingway... Yes, the writer.  Hemingway was considered one heck of a crazy drunk, so when he offered up a duel (with whatever weapon Casey wanted) the next evening Hugh declined.
• Mattingly is pleased with Hanley Ramirez's work at shortstop, via Bill Plunkett at the OC Register.

"Wally's (Tim Wallach) totally happy with his effort and what he's looking like," Mattingly said. "We film it and look at it pretty much every day. We're real happy with where he's going.

• Apparently, Topps is now in the t-shirt selling business.  Check out some of their vintage-style wares here.

• I had missed this from last year, Jim Fuller at the New Haven Register shares the story of when Yale almost upset the Brooklyn Dodgers.

The showdown on a frigid afternoon at Yale Field was not the only time the Yale baseball team played host to a star-studded major league squad. But watching the Bulldogs come tantalizingly close to knocking off a Brooklyn Dodgers team coming off a 104-win season made for one of the most scintillating baseball games played at the historic facility.

• Panini just released some preview pics of a new Baseball card product that they'll be releasing shortly (in April, I think) called 2012 Prizm Baseball; including the Kemp card below.  As you can see, they will be very shiny cards.  Shiny enough to blind you.

• Grantland tackles the Mona Lisa of Baseball cards in their newest '30 for 30 Documentary Series' called the "The Holy Grail: The T206 Honus Wagner."
• The Topps Archives stumbled across a rare find - a 1967 Topps Venezuelan Baseball card album. This is arguably one of the more iconic foreign made Baseball card sets; due primarily to the 'Retirado' subset filled with Hall of Famers.
• Roberto at Vin Scully is My Homeboy post up a couple of ESPN videos featuring the Dodgers as a part of their '30 Clubs in 30 Days' series.

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My Afternoon at the Long Beach Expo

This past weekend was the Long Beach Expo, so I decided to head out there on Saturday to check things out.  I received a free admission ticket due to my PSA Collectors Universe Set Registry membership.  (I know I haven't spoken about this in the past, but I've been slowly putting together a completely graded, PSA 7 or better, 1961 Fleer set)  I wasn't planning on purchasing anything this afternoon, but I ended up walking away with a handful of vintage cards.  Unfortunately, I haven't scanned them yet, so pics are not included in this post.  I'll scan them later tonight and post them up tomorrow.

Of special note, there were several notable autograph guest slated to appear.  So, going to the show had the extra benefit of seeing some stars.  On the left below is a peek at Jerry West, to the right is Magic Johnson, and below them was Darryl Strawberry.  The Straw-Man was not there as an autograph guestt.  I didn't see him sign for anyone, but I also didn't hang around long enough to find out.  Click on any pic to embiggen.

Another reason to go to this show was to see 7 different T206 Honus Wagner cards all at one place. The Wagner in the Black bordered lucite case was graded at a PSA 5 and will be on auction soon.  The attractive sales model speculated that it would sell for over a million dollars, and could come close to the record setting price sold for the PSA 8 Wagner (approximately at the low $2Million mark).  She went to say that the PSA 8 Wagner is likely worth over $8Million.  Personally, I think that's just a bunch of sales talk, but considering the mystic and controversy of that card, my jaw wouldn't drop if it sold for that much.  

Since the Long Beach Expo is more known for being a gathering place for coin, stamp and currency collectors there were some great non-sports related memorabilia on display.  For instance, check out a Peace Medal Exhibit below.

I also chatted a bit with someone from Legendary Auctions.  They had a small display near the autograph area.  Below are some photos I look of what they had to show.  Of note is the small pin on the left side, below.  It is a 1915 PM1 pin purported to be of Babe Ruth, and is the only example of him known to exist.  On the right side, below, is an early 1910's Ty Cobb Tobacco Tin.  Only a dozen are thought to exist today.

On the left is a 1912 S81 Turkish Trophies Large Silk Premium of Ty Cobb, and on the right is a 1951 Stan Musial game-used road jersey.

I also stopped by the Goldin Auctions table to take a closer look at the Tip Top Bread Labels near-set (at the very bottom below- red bordered).  It is missing just one card, and includes all known variations.  The Roy Campanella and Duke Snider labels are at the very bottom right.  These are extremely rare to find in any condition.  Above the labels are various key vintage cards; (from left to right) like a Babe Ruth strip card, a 1909 E90-1 Joe Jackson rookie card, a 1933 Goudey Napoleon Lajoie, a 1933 Goudey Babe Ruth, and 1933 Goudey Lou Gehrig.  The card at the very top is a Exhibit card with Babe Ruth.

(pic via GoldinAuction facebook)

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Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 11/8/2012

Hanley Ramirez just tweeted this photo of himself wearing long dreads in preparation for Winter Ball.

• Fox Sports AM570 and the Paralyzed Veterans of America have teamed up to present a Dodgers charity auction- PVARadiothon- today.  Go here for details.  Purchase a unique Dodgers field experience and some autographed memorabilia ranging from Kershaw to Willie Mays.
• Jon SooHoo put up some awesome Mark McGwire photographs from his archives.  I personally like the one with Bobby Bonilla and dinosaurs.
• Listen to Mark McGwire on AM570 Petros and Money speak about batting and steroids, here.  A great listen.  A must listen.
• Here's more stories on McGwire:  

Eric Stephens at True Blue LA: Mark McGwire Happy Baseball Brought Him Back Home
Bill Plaschke at LA Times: Mark McGwire Deserves His Chance for a New Path with Dodgers

• Shawn Green approves!

I've talked hitting with McGwire over the yrs & have to say he knows how to teach it as well as anyone...greajocktalk.com/post/id/8688
— Shawn Green (@shawngreen15) November 8, 2012

• Clayton Kershaw is one of 3 finalist for the Cy Young Award, via Stacie Wheeler at Lasorda's Lair.
• Via Steve Dilbeck at the LA Times, Colletti unlikely to find a pitcher through a trade.

Of the pitching market in general, Colletti said, “It’s not massive. It’s probably unlikely trade-wise. There are probably three or four different pitchers we have interest in. We’ll see. It’s still fairly early in the process. But pitching is most of our concentration right now.”

• The Onion discusses the T206 Honus Wagner Baseball card.
• This is not from the Onion.  Dodger reliever Todd Coffey erased his twitter account because Obama won, via The Outside Corner.  I call this Fox Derangement Syndrome. 
• Evan Bladh at Opinion of Kingman's Performance writes an excellent article on Jeff Kent's ride through Survivor.
• Speaking of the election.  Nate Silver, a well respected Baseball sabermetrics guy took his knowledge, skills and abilities to analyze political polls.  As you might expect from a purely non-partisan statistical analysis, he got the election polls right.  Dave Cameron at FanGraphs writes all about it.

The takeaway from last night shouldn’t be “always trust Nate Silver” or “always trust the data”. The takeaway should be that even mediocre data is often better than no data, and when you put mediocre data in the hands of smart people who understand its limitations and adjust accordingly, it can become quite useful indeed. 

• Larry Canale at Sports Collectors Digest writes about the upcoming 125th birthday of "Casey at the Bat."

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Legendary Auctions: Some Vintage Baseball Memorabilia

Legendary Auctions is running a small auction.  There are only 63 items to look at, but don't mistake that for a lack of quality.  Following up on my post from Friday featuring a game-used cap once worn by Don Drysdale, here are several other memorabilia items I thought were worth noting.

Below is the Babe Ruth Crown that was presented to Jose Canseco in 1988.  This award is given out by the Maryland Professional Baseball Players Association (MPBPA) based upon a point system from that seasons stats: 4 points for most home runs, 3 for most RBI, 2 for most total bases and 1 for best batting average.  Stamped along its ring are the following words:

"1988 All-Star Game - Sporting News All Star Team - A.B 610 - Runs 120 - Hits 187 - H.R. 42 - Total Bases 347 - S.B. 40 - R.B.I. 124 - B.A. .307 - 1988 - A.P. Male Athlete of the Year - American League M.V.P. - A.P. All Star Team."

Hilariously, Canseco didn't even show up to the awards banquet to receive this award. 

Canseco's failure to appear at the 1988 Tops in Sports Banquet—which he initially attributed to not having a tuxedo and later to his wife being ill—marked the first no-show in the Babe Ruth Crown's then-24-year history.

(Auction Link)

Below is a 1897 bat attributed to Hall of Famer Cap Anson.  Furthermore, this bat was displayed at "Nuf Ced" McGreevey's Third Base Saloon in Boston- considered the very first American sports bar.

A place where heated debates were settled by the owner's stock phrase "Nuf Ced!" and where every wall was decorated to the nines (literally!) with museum-worthy baseball photos and memorabilia. Most famously, the dangling light fixtures were composed of glowing orbs mounted on the game-used bats of saloon patrons such as Cy Young, Nap Lajoie, Hugh Duffy, King Kelly and, finally, the venerable 45-year-old retiree Anson.

McGreevey was the leader of the Royal Rooters fan club (predecessor to Red Sox Nation). Via Wikipedia:

On game days the Royal Rooters marched in procession from the 3rd Base Saloon to the Huntington Avenue Grounds, which was the team’s home field before Fenway Park opened in 1912. The Rooters had a reserved section of seats along the third base line, close enough to the field to intimidate or distract opposing players with their insults and vicious taunts. 

(Auction Link)

The below bat is the "pattern bat" that marks the very first professional player endorsement.  That's right, this bat started it all.

On September 1, 1905, Wagner famously signed a contract with esteemed bat-maker Hillerich & Bradsby that allowed his autograph to be branded on their Louisville Sluggers. It was the Big Bang moment, the genesis, of all sports endorsement deals to come—from the early crop of Cobb, Ruth, DiMaggio and Mantle, to the bling generation of Jordan, Woods, Armstrong, Beckham and LeBron.

Honus Wagner was one of the most recognizable athletes of the time and he was the first player paid for his endorsement.

(Auction Link)

Dodgers Blog Kiosk: 7/10/2012

Panini released more preview pics of their upcoming 2012 Cooperstown Baseball set.  Check out the above Don Sutton signature card above.  Go here to see more preview pics.

• Yasiel Puig, the Dodgers recent signee has officially reported to the Arizona League, via a Dodgers Press Release.

 “We’re thrilled that Yasiel has arrived in Arizona,” said Dodger Assistant General Manager, Scouting Logan White. “He's athletic, intelligent and someone that's ready to work hard and earn a chance to fulfill his dream of playing Major League baseball.”

Of special note, some other Cuban signings were also mentioned:

In the 2012 First-Year Draft held in June, the Dodgers took two Cuban players, pitchers Onelki Garcia and Alfredo Unzue, while signing another as a free agent, catcher Selme Angulo. Overall, the Dodgers are expanding their scouting efforts and player signings in Latin America.

• Christopher Jackson of the Albuquerque Baseball Examiner writes a guest post for MSTI focused on some young Dodger arms.
• Roberto is back in the swing of things.  Via Vin Scully is my Homeboy, Andre Ethier is scheduled to play in Rancho Cucamonga this coming Wednesday and Thursday on a rehab assignment.
• June's Dodger Pride Award Winners.
• AJW has an article out focused on Calbee's Japanese Baseball cards.  (Hat Tip: This Card is Cool)

Tokyo-based snacks maker Calbee Inc. this year celebrates the 40th anniversary of its "Professional Baseball Chips" potato chip line that offers trading cards featuring Nippon Professional Baseball players.

• ESPN writes about an attic vintage Baseball card find of 1910 E98's.  These are small cards the size of tobacco cards from the same time period, but were distributed by a candy/caramel company.  Furthermore, these cards are some of the most pristine (condition-wise) cards the hobby had ever seen.  Check out the PSA graded card of Honus Wagner at a pristine "10" grade above.  You can see it for auction here.  A remarkable 16 (that's right sixteen) Ty Cobbs were found all grading at a "9".  A partial set from this find is on auction and can be found here.  You just don't see this kind of find anymore!
• With 2012 Allen & Ginter Baseball cards now at a local retail shops near you (the official release date is actually tomorrow) I find myself wanting the Kate Upton autographed card below.  I'll have pics of Dodger cards from the set soon.

Lelands: Even the Dodgers Loved Honus Wagner

Lelands is running in recent auction to coincide with the National Sports Collectors Convention happening this week Illinois. 100 items are on the docket with a handful featuring treasures related to the Dodgers. This gold watch is one of those items.
To celebrate the return of Honus Wagner to Baseball as a coach after his retirement from play in 1917, Pittsburgh and many other Major League clubs reached out to honor him in 1933.

The broad community of National League baseball welcomed his return, and the Brooklyn Dodgers even threw a gala banquet for him when the Pirates first visited Ebbets Field that year. The coat-and-tie feast was held at the Half Moon Hotel on Coney Island where, among many others, celebrities Jack Dempsey, Bill Benswanger, Johnny Evers, and Max Carey toasted their hero. And it was during the course of this formal dinner that Wagner gifted the pocket watch to Max Carey.

Carey was a former teammate and close friend of Wagner. He was also the manager of the Dodgers at the time. This watch resided in Max Carey's estate.

(Auction Link)

Hunt Auctions: Tootsie's Dodger Collection, Part 2

To follow up on yesterday's post featuring items from Margaret "Tootsi" Chandler's collection, here are more items she stashed away. Along with the Jackie Robinson bat she also received a game used Carl Furillo bat. It sold for $1,300.00.

(Auction Link)

This is a great game used bat of Stan Musial. It sold for $6,500.00.

(Auction Link)

Here is a great Baseball signed by 13 National League umpires from 1947. It sold, for what I thought, was a very affordable price- $125.00.

(Auction Link)

This is a Spalding Sports Show program signed by Babe Ruth on the bottom right. It sold for $1,900.00.

(Auction Link)

How great would it be to be able to get an autograph from one of the original greats? This is a autograph from Honus Wagner. It sold for $550.00.

(Auction Link)

Daily Conlon: 1 through 9

I'm gonna start a new feature at Blue Heaven and it's something I've been wanting to do for quite some time. The Charles Conlon set of cards produced by The Sporting News is my favorite set of all time. It features, exclusively, photos from the master when he use to roam the fields during the golden age of Baseball. His photographs are famous and recognizable to just about any Baseball fan. Heck, even if you've never heard of the man, you know his work.

The Conlon set consist of an incredible 1,430 card distributed as 5 separate series over a 5 year period starting in 1991. I have been fortunate to gather up the first 4 series of cards (numbered to 1,320), but have failed to find a reasonably priced series 5. Unfortunately, it happens to be the hardest to find. Nevertheless, I will, hopefully daily, post up each 9 card page of the set that I have for you to enjoy. That means I have an easy 147 posts coming up of just scans.

So, sit back and enjoy the first page of 9 cards. It features everybody from the greatest batter of all time, Rogers Hornsby, to one of the greatest pitchers of all time, Walter Johnson.

More FanFest Pics From Twitter

More from FanFest.

Here is the All-Star Mickey at the convention center.

(twitpic link: MDLU)

Here is a game-used autographed bat once held by Michael Jordan. It was used during stay with the Birmingham Barons.

(twitpic: BigWestMD)

Torii Hunter's Gold Glove Award.

(twitpic link: Lil_elopez)

The T206 Proof card with Honus Wagner from Hunt Auctions.

(twitpic: BigWestMD)

Time Warner has a stage setup for fans to play out their fantasies as a Baseball Broadcaster. Check out one of the videos they have posted on YouTube of a couple of Dodger fans.

YouTube Link:

Hunt's All Star Game Auction: The Honus Wagner

As the story goes, American Tobacco Company was about to put out their now famous 1909-1911 T206 set in packages of cigarettes. In order to do this they needed to get permission from each individual player since a players union did not exist at the time. One player who had evaded their inquiries was Hall of Famer Honus Wagner. As you can imagine, it was hard to fathom releasing a set like this without one of the league greatest stars, so they procured the help of a local newspaper man to approach his old friend.

Legend has it that Honus Wagner still refused to allow his portrait on a card to be released in packages of cigarettes. He even offered to compensate his newspaper friend with the amount promised to him by the tobacco company. Wagner sent a check of $10.00 to his friend, but it was promptly returned out of respect to the ballplayer. From there a legend was born as the card was removed from the printing presses (although a few did go out) and would soon become the most valuable Baseball card in the hobby.

Below is proof strip card featuring the rare Honus Wagner T206 card (second on the left) that is currently at auction at Hunt's 2010 LiveAuction at the All-Star Game Fanfest in Anaheim. It resided for many years within the collection of fabled hobbyist Barry Halper and is said to have come directly from the estate of Honus Wagner. It is believed it was presented to Honus by American Tobacco to convince him to sign on with them. Considering its condition and giant crease across Wagner's face, I think it's safe to say that he didn't hold it in great regard. My recollection is that it was found folded and stuffed in one of Wagner's suit pockets. It is expected to sell for over 6 figures.

(Hunt's Auction Link)

Kendrick Owns the Wagner

The secret is now out. Purchase nearly 3 years ago for $2.8Million, the owner of the famed T206 Honus Wagner Baseball card once owned by Wayne Gretzky/Bruce McNall and then Walmart was a industry secret. It was put away in some hidden vault thought to never see the light of day again.

Well, the collector has come out of the dark and has finally revealed himself. Current Managing General Partner/ Owner of the Arizona Diamondbacks, Ken Kendrick, bought the card. On top of that, he is loaning it, along with a couple dozen other rarities to the Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown for special display starting tomorrow.

If you live in the area or plan on visiting and have never seen it, go take a good look. I had seen the card several years ago at The National Convention in Anaheim and it is quite simply a beaut. It is one of the cleanest, brightest and sharpest examples of a T206 card I have ever seen, rumors about its trimming notwithstanding.

Blog Kiosk: 6/28/2009

OK, I admit it. After one week I am now hopelessly addicted to twitter.

• Check out I Love This Game. Evan is a Albuquerque resident who is a Dodger fan. He also has a bunch of stuff on Manny's recent appearance in town.
  
• Check out some great Brooklyn Dodger photos via Life Magazine (Hat Tip: Twitter @Alyssa_Milano)
• Trader Crack's has photos of OPC's 1984 Michael Jackson set; including base cards and the puzzle set. Read Ryan's blog post about the set here.
• Check out Who Pooped.org.
  
• Just awesome! Check out Tim Carroll's artwork consisting of about a thousand cut-up commons. (Hat Tip: Sports Collectors Daily) This is titled "The Holy Grail."
• TS O'Connell writes about the recent Hall of Fame game in Cooperstown.
  
• The Topps Archives has a brief recap of the 1975 Bazooka Bubble Gum Blowing Chamionship.
• The Jackie Robinson Rotunda at CitiField.

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