Lelands just opened up their Spring auction and it includes several incredible Negro League items featuring future Dodgers. The best of the bunch is the above 1939 photo of an 18-year old Roy Campanella (on the right) as a member of the Baltimore Elite Giants. (Auction Link) Crouching with Campy is his catching mentor Robert 'Eggie' Clark. Eggie was about 33-years old at the time and would soon be a backup to Campy the following season.
Check out this fantastic photo tweeted out by Alex Cheremeteff. Dated to 5/29/1953, it features several old-tyme Dodgers ushering in a new season for the Uptown Little League at Kennard Field, Pittsburgh. On the top row are (from L-R) Roy Campanella, Gair Allie, Jackie Robinson, Joe Black, Carlos Bernier, Sam Narron, and Ronald Gray holding shoes on left. Photo was taken by Pittsburgh photographer Charles “Teenie” Harris during his 40-year career with the Pittsburgh Courier. I also ran into another photo of Harris' from this day located in the archives of the Carnegie Museum of Art that you can check out on the right.
Posing prettily here at the Brooklyn Dodgers Vero Beach camp are the five top flingers of the Dodgers/ In Front: Russ Meyer, latest acquisition; and Carl Erskine (right). Rear: (from left) Joe Black, Billy Loes and Preacher Roe.Below are more links to check out:
Labels:
Blog Kiosk,
Goldin Auctions,
Jackie Robinson,
Joe Black,
Jose DeLeon,
Loons,
Sandy Koufax,
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Vin Scully
The jersey was acquired by a former MLB executive in 1973 (who lived in the Los Angeles area at the time) and has remained within his collection until the current offering. Additionally, the executive was a good acquaintance with long time Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers General Manager Buzzie Bavasi. In 1975, Bavasi became aware of the offered Koufax jersey within the collection of the consignor and in jest sent the executive a charming and satirical official MLB typed communique. The note was hand signed by Buzzie and dated July 31, 1975 teasing him that he "owed" Buzzie a check for $56.00 payable to him for the "stolen" uniform.
SLIDE, JUNIOR, SLIDE--Vero Beach, Florida.....Second baseman Junior Gilliam slides in under the watchful eye of Field Director Al Campanis at the Dodgers training quarters as pitchers Don Newcombe and Joe Black watch.Below are more links to check out:
“I would say all hitters all have their own unique style,” Hyers said. “It’s my job to understand their swing. And it’s not my swing, it’s their swing. You want to get to know them as a person and a player. Be the eyes for them. That’s what I try to do — get to know them, understand and work within the framework of their swing. Stay within the framework of their swing. When they start struggling, remind them of who they are as a player, how they got there and the things they do to be successful. Hitting, a lot of it is mental. It’s negative, because of so many times we fail. There’s the physical part, but the mental part is there also.”
We made a thing and named her Cassidy pic.twitter.com/t0lSnblp9R— Brandon McCarthy (@BMcCarthy32) March 11, 2016
Ruggiano, who made $2.505 million in 2015, would have been eligible for salary arbitration had he remained on the 40-man roster. He has enough service time that he can reject the assignment and become a free agent.
BTW, per Eric Stephen at True Blue LA, Ruggiano chose to enter free agency. I wouldn't be surprised if he ended up staying a Dodger.
What does this mean going forward? Despite flaming out in the second half, the 2015 season cannot be considered a bust for Young Joc. The twenty-three-year-old hit an inevitable slump but made adjustments that paid off in the last two months of the season, though they may have gone unnoticed by some. Now that National League pitchers have seen a full season of Pederson’s swinging tendencies, adjustments will need to be made at the plate. Pederson needs to continue his patient approach and force pitchers to come to him. If he is able to stay away from outside pitches and can wait for more favorable pitches (low and inside) to land in the zone, then Pederson will be a formidable threat at the plate once again.
The report lists 50 professional sports teams from the NFL, MLB, NBA, NHL and MLS that received some sort of federal funding to do a “pay for patriotism” promotion where it appeared to be honoring a military member or branch, but where they were receiving money for engaging in the activity.
The other day I ran into these gouache on cardboard paintings at an Clean Sweep auction and couldn't help but think that they looked familiar. Then it hit me.
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SLIDE, JUNIOR, SLIDE--Vero Beach, Florida.....Second baseman Junior Gilliam slides in under the watchful eye of Field Director Al Campanis at the Dodgers training quarters as pitchers Don Newcombe and Joe Black watch.Below are some links to check out:
"It's frustrating, but not everything's going to go good and go the way you want it to be," he said. "You have to grind through things. You're going to have ups and down, not only in the course of the year but in the course of your career. You have to figure out a way to ride them out and keep fighting and keep finding a way to improve and make adjustments."
Dear Mr. Finch,
Everything is fine with me. I truly hope its the same with you. Concerning Doby, he can hit, run and throw very good. Hits with a lot of power, but needs to learn how to pull. I've seen him hit home-run in Ruppert Stadium, Newark also Shibe Park, Philadelphia. He has a nice personality, good habits and is intelligent. At present I am watching a right hand pitcher of the Elite Giants. His name is Joe Black, 22 years old, attends Morgan College in Baltimore, Md. He spent three years in service pitching for Tommy Bridges [sic] team and was the only negro on the team. He has an exceptionally good fast ball, good change, good curve ball. Very good disposition. He's very apt to catch on. I will send you a report later on this week about him. Also, I will be too [sic] you the beginning of next week.
Respectfully yours, Roy Campanella
P. S. The home-runs Doby hit were in the left-field seats.
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Dear Mr. Finch,I love how the above letter provides an update to the Joe Black discussions. Roy mentions that he has scheduled a meeting with him.
I saw a very good game here, between the Baltimore Orioles and Baltimore Elite Giants. Romby pitched for the Giants, and won 3-2. He struck out eleven men in seven innings. The boy really looked good. Concerning Black, the pitcher I mentioned in my previous letter. I have an appointment with him Friday. The young boy Gilliam, has the making of a good player. He is one of the youngest players in the league. He is very apt and has good habits. Hope all is well with you. I will be in the office Tuesday morning at ten o'clock.
Sincerely yours, Roy Campanella.
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Labels:
Branch Rickey,
Jim Gilliam,
Joe Black,
Larry Doby,
Negro Leagues,
REA,
Robert Finch,
Roy Campanella
Pin #1 - Rookies of the Year (Jackie Robinson Award) - In 1992, Eric Karros became the 12th Dodgers overall, and 8th LA Dodgers to win the Rookie of the Year Award, a major league record. Dodger winners include Jackie Robinson, 1947; Don Newcombe, 1949; Joe Black, 1952; Jim Gilliam, 1953; Frank Howard, 1960; Jim Lefebvre, 1965; Ted Sizemore, 1969; Rick Sutcliffe, 1979; Steve Howe, 1980; Fernando Valenzuela, 1981; Steve Sax, 1982; Karros, 1992.
Pin #2 - No-Hitters - Since the Dodgers moves to LA in 1958, no other Major League team's pitchers have hurled more no-hitters (through 1992): Sandy Koufax, 6/30/62; 5/11/63; 6/4/64; 9/9/65 (perfect game); Bill Singer, 7/20/70; Jerry Reuss, 6/27/80; Fernando Valenzuela, 6/29/90; Kevin Gross, 8/17/1992.
Pin #3 - Dodger Stadium Hosts Rockies - This Collector's pin commemorates the Dodgers' first game against the expansion Colorado Rockies on Friday, May 21, 1993, at Dodger Stadium.
Pin #4 - Dodger Stadium Hosts Marlins - This Collector's pin commemorates the Dodgers' first game against the expansion Florida Marlins on Monday, June 7, 1993, at Dodger Stadium.
Pin #5 - 35th Anniversary of Dodgers in LA - The Dodgers played their first game in Los Angeles on April 18,1958. Since then, the club has won 5 World Championships and 9 National League pennants, both league highs.
Pin #6 - Largest Crowd - A major league record crowd of 93,103 packed the LA Coliseum on May 7, 1959, as the Dodgers mat the Yankees in an exhibition game that featured an emotional salute to Hall of Fame catcher Roy Campanella.
Durocher compliments Stengel who has a question mark over his head, noting “What A Swell World This Would Be If All The Players Were As Nice As The Braves And All The Managers As Fair As You Casey!” A small player holding box of cigars stands between the two facing Stengel saying “Compliments Of Mister Durocher” as other players talk in background including mention of Braves relief pitcher Errickson.What's funny about this drawing is that Durocher was the man who coined the phrase, "nice guys finish last." Considering that Stengel's Braves never finished better than 5th during his tenure, this must be a the papers way of saying that Stengels is too soft to manage. Of course, Casey would prove the Boston paper wrong when he went on to win 7 World Championships with the Yankees a decade later.
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Baseball had long been the National Pastime of the Dominican Republic when, in 1937, Dictator Trujillo decided that he would sponsor a team to win the Championship of the Dominican Baseball League, to beat the teams owned by his political opponents, and increase his popularity with the people, and his hold on the country.
Trujillo took control of two teams, which he merged to create a single powerhouse team which he named the "Cuidad Trujillo Dragons." As the season progressed, the Ciudad Trujillo team soon found themselves locked in a bitter struggle for the Championship of the Dominican League with the Santiago team, led by the great Martin DiHigo. To remedy the situation, Trujillo sent his henchmen to the U.S. with $30,000 and instructions to recruit the best Negro League players in the United States to add to the already very talented Ciudad roster to help them secure the championship.
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They (eventually) won the title in a tense finale. The night before the final game, according to interviews with pitcher Chet Brewer, Trujillo actually put the players in jail for the night so that they could not be disturbed, or get into any trouble. Legend has it that Trujillo's players were under armed guard, and were "instructed" to win at all costs.
The American players literally feared for their lives if they were not successful. When the players arrived at the stadium for the seventh and deciding game of the championship series, they found Trujillo's troops lined up with rifles and bayonets along the first base side of the field.
According to Satchel Paige, the team was given a "pep talk" by the manager, in which they were told, very simply, that "you had better win." When Paige inquired exactly what this meant, he was told "I mean just that. Take my advice and win." Fortunately, Bankhead's grand slam over DiHigo won the title, and the players took the first opportunity they were given to get on a Pan Am Clipper and leave the Dominican Republic as quickly as possible.
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Black told Kahn that it wasn’t until he was 11 that he fell in love with baseball. He didn’t own a real baseball, so he taught himself to pitch with a sponge ball. As a kid, Black cut photos of Lou Gehrig, Met Ott, Paul Waner, Paul Derringer, Charlie Gehringer and Hank Greenberg out of the newspaper and glued them into a scrapbook.
No arbitration for #Dodgers this year. They reach agreement at $4.3 million on one-year deal with Kenley Jansen. He asked for $5.05m
— Bill Plunkett (@billplunkettocr) February 11, 2014
"I eat six meals a day," he said. "I've done this on my own. I just want to be stronger. I was nervous that it would slow me down, but I played in Puerto Rico and I saw that nothing happened to my speed. That was a relief. And I'm hitting the ball with more authority."
Merkin was a American painter and illustrator who taught his craft for over 40 years at the Rhode Island School of Design. His own works reside in the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian Institution. He also wrote for Vanity Fair and illustrated the book "Leagues Apart: The Men and Times of the Negro Leagues." BTW, pop culture enthusiast might find it interesting to know that Merkin appeared on the cover of the Beatles Sgt. Peppers Lonely Hearts Club Band album (back row, right of center).He was an avid collector of vintage Negro League photography as evidenced by his collection that has appeared at Hake's over the past couple of years.
Photo show(s) 12 players, 11 of which played in the Major Leagues and are wearing a MLB uniform. The only exception is Othello Renfroe who played in the Negro and Mexican Leagues and is shown here in a Toronto uniform. The others players/uniforms are: Larry Doby/Indians, Dave Hoskins/Indians, Jim Pendleton/Braves, Bob Boyd/White Sox, Don Newcombe/Dodgers, Harry Simpson/Indians, Joe Black/Dodgers, Bill Bruton/Braves, George Crowe/Braves, Roy Campanella/Dodgers, Jim Gilliam/Dodgers.
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At the end of World War II, Ozzie Sweet’s picture of a friend posed as a German soldier surrendering appeared on the cover of Newsweek — “the magazine of news significance,” as it billed itself then. Not a stratagem that would pass muster in contemporary journalism, but Mr. Sweet, who had apprenticed to the Mount Rushmore sculptor Gutzon Borglum, appeared in a Cecil B. DeMille film and helped create promotional ads for the United States Army, found the art in photography to be in creating an image, not capturing one.In the below photo, Sweet can be seen working with Jackie Robinson during a photo shoot.
He considered himself not a news photographer but a photographic illustrator, and like the work of the painter Norman Rockwell, whom he claimed as an influence, his signature images from the 1940s through the 1950s and into the 1960s, many in the fierce hues of increasingly popular color film that emulated the emergent Technicolor palette of American movies, helped define — visually, anyway — an era.
But Mr. Sweet became most closely associated with Sport, a monthly magazine that predated Sports Illustrated and after 1947 featured dozens, if not hundreds, of his portraits on its cover. Johnny Unitas, Jim Brown, Maurice Richard, Ted Williams, Joe DiMaggio, Sandy Koufax and Mickey Mantle were all his subjects.Sometimes, he positioned them trading-card style, in poses suggestive of action, as with Jackie Robinson seemingly in midslide; sometimes, he contrived an imaginative image, as he did with Roger Maris, with a half-dozen bats flying in the air around him. (To make the picture Mr. Sweet suspended the bats in midair with fishing line.) Still others were immediate, intimate close-ups.
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| (Ozzie Sweet directing Jackie Robinson during a shoot for the October 1951 cover of Sport Magazine. Ozzie Sweet Archives) |
