Museum Worthy Jackie Robinson Memorabilia at Lelands

Imagine that your the first African-American to play on a Major League field -- the highest honor a ballplayer can ask for. Then imagine doing it at a time when racial discord and animus ruled the day. Layer on top of that a game where throwing at someones head was par for the course. Then mix that all together and you have recipe for violent confrontation.

This is what Jackie Robinson faced when he first donned Dodger Blue in Major League Baseball. He was cursed at, spiked at and thrown at. In fact, he got beaned nine times during his rookie campaign -- falling just one shy of the league lead -- and you know it wasn't because he leaned into them. Pitchers were throwing at his head, and that can cause some serious damage. So, how do you protect against that when the kind of batting helmets we see today did not exist?

Blog Kiosk: 11/9/2016 - Dodgers Links - Alvarez, Jansen, Turner and Hendrick

I thought I would start the day by sharing this pic of a group of vintage Ebbets Field postcards that are currently on auction at Hunt's Louisville Slugger Museum & Factory auction (Auction Link Here).  Most of these are the standard fare, with an exception being the B&W real-photo-postcard seen on the bottom row.  According to the auction description it dates to 1927 and features a group of students who play high school football running around the infield in the shape of the letter "S".

Below are more links to check out:

• Video: Watch Dodgers prospect Willie Calhoun speak with Sande Charles of FanRag Sports. (Link Here)

Blog Kiosk: 1/30/2015 - Dodger Links - Kershaw Blanket, MLB 15 and Bye Bye Billingsley

Dodger alumni (Kenny Landreaux, Tim Leary, Dennis Powell and Derrel Thomas) visited the LAPD's Harbor Division Station in San Pedro.  The photo above is via Juan Ocampo/LA Dodgers 2015.  Go here to check out more photos from him of this event.

Below are some more links to check out:

• With the Super Bowl this weekend David Davis at the Classical shares a fantastic interview with legendary sports photographer Neil Leifer, here.
• Here's an early peek at the Dodgers fleece blanket being given away on April 29th, via @Dodgers on twitter, on the right.  It's a Clayton Kershaw themed blanket.
• Here's more news on signing Cuban players Via Neil at Chicago Cubs Online, "Yoan Moncada Update: MLB Sent Memo to Teams Outlining New Regulations."
• Are you a gamer?  Planning on getting MLB15 when it comes out?  Well, Steve Noah at Operation Sports provides the, "MLB15 The Show Fact Sheet."  In case you forgot, Yasiel Puig is this seasons cover boy.  Below are a couple of gameplay pics of Puig.  Click on any pic to embiggen.  BTW, the PlayStation.Blog also mentions a gameplay reveal is scheduled for February 5th, at 2:00 PST, on Twitch.

• Boo!  I really like Billingsley.  At the same time I realize that there just wasn't any room for him in LA.  Via Mark Polishuk at MLB Trade Rumors, "Phillies Sign Chad Billingsley."

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Blog Kiosk: 12/10/2013 - Dodgers Links - Joe Torre Going to the Hall, Kasten on the Dodgers and Moving On from Uribe?

Check out this spectaular photo found on Reddit.  It is from a April 25, 1965 ballgame between the Dodgers and Phillies.  Willie Davis is captured by a well hidden camera sliding into 2nd base.  Photo by Neil Leifer/Sports Illustrated/Getty Images. 

• Tony Jackson at Dodger Scribe is shutting down his blog. 
• The Hall of Fame Expansion Era Committee decide its time to honor the managers.  Via Barry M. Bloom at MLB.com, "La Russa, Torre, Cox going into Hall of Fame".
• In honor of Joe Torre's selection into the Hall of Fame, Dodgers photographer Jon SooHoo shares a whole bunch of pics featuring Torre.  Check them out here.
• Via Mark Saxon at ESPN, "Stan Kasten on Bobby Cox and rebuilding the farm".

“This year, I think we’re more into fine tuning,” Kasten said. “That doesn’t mean we won’t be opportunistic if some opportunity presents itself, but it also wouldn’t surprise me if we went through the whole winter without doing a big deal.” 

• Mark Saxon also writes, "Dodgers prepared to move on from Juan Uribe".  Uribe is apparently testing the Dodger patience when it comes to their negotiations.

“Everybody can go do what they want to go do,” Colletti said. “Hopefully, this week we’ll have more conversations with them and at least get an update on their position. I’m in need of an update on their position.” 

• Via Roger Schlueter at MLB.com, "Kershaw's greatness reaching historic levels".
• Ken Gurnick at MLB.com writes, "D-backs' Gibson explains Ellis comment".
• Teenage hurler Takumi Numata of Japan visited Dodger Stadium yesterday.  Apparently, he took a tour of the facilities and had a physical.  It's possible that he'll soon sign with the Dodgers.  He shared a pic of himself at Dodger Stadium that you can see here.  In case you forgot, he agreed to sign with the Dodgers earlier in the year, circumventing Japanese Amateur Baseball Association rules, which earned him a lifetime suspension from that league.  
• Luke Adams at MLB Trade Rumors has a rundown of all the various rumors and gossip stories surrounding the Dodgers.  I have little patience for this kind of stuff, but if you're interested in the hot stove you should go there.

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Blog Kiosk: 10/30/2013 - Dodgers Links - Ryu, Puig, Magic and a Fred Claire Interview

Here's a great vintage photo of Vin Scully interviewing Hall of Famer Stan Musial before a game in 1963, pic via Sports Illustrated (Neil Leifer/SI).

• The Dodgers got shutout in the Gold Glove Awards.  Oh, well!  Tony Jackson at Dodger Scribe has a rundown of the winners.  
• Check out a new Dodger/Card Collector blog called Chavez Raving.  The writer, Alex Markle, has started sharing some of his Dodger card collection, and is currently running a contest.
• Via Yonhap News Agency, "Dodgers' Ryu Hyun-Jin makes triumphant return home after strong rookie year ".
• Tim Dierkes at MLB Trade Rumors discusses the arbitration eligible Dodgers.
• Mark Saxon at ESPN writes, "Magic: Not 'lost season' for Dodgers".

"We're excited about what we're building and we're ahead of schedule," Johnson said in an appearance on 710 ESPNLA Tuesday. "I never thought we would get there that fast, to play in the [NLCS]. I was excited."

• Phil Stone at Dodger Scribe writes, "Puig’s Path To Further Major League Success".
• Jeff Pearlman at The Score interviews former Dodger GM Fred Claire.

They need to adjust to the game, Jeff. And there are three words that will help Puig adjust, once he understands what those three words mean. Joey Amalfitano – a life-long baseball man who I have great respect for – used the words a lot. The three words that Yasiel Puig needs to understand: Respect the game. Respect the game. And you don’t respect the game when you hit that ball to right field and stand there like it’s long gone. And even staring down the umpire in a moment of the championship series. This guy is a great, great talent, so yes, you need some patience, but it has to be a continual education, or this player is going to run into continual problems.

• Check out who was hanging out with Flea at the Lakers Opening Night game, pic via Beto Duran on twitter.

. @YasielPuig and #rhcp @flea333 before #Lakers game. Sweet @MagicJohnson shirt pic.twitter.com/bNbOKj9QWe
— Beto Duran (@DuranSports) October 30, 2013

• Panini America Offers a Detailed First Look at 2013 America’s Pastime Baseball.  Check out some Puig cards below.  This high-end set comes out in December.

• Via Eric Nussbaum at The Classical, "Pitchers & Poets: The Ritual Game: The Cardinal Way & Red Sox Nation are not so different".  (Hat Tip: via Orel at Sons of Steve Garvey)

But the history of baseball should not be read as a bible. Believing in something -- whether the cosmic splendor of the Red Sox, or the correctness of the Cardinal Way, or the inherent superiority of the game itself -- doesn’t make it true. Believing does, however, make the world easier to take, easier to understand. Believing gives a sense of order to things like game-ending obstruction calls and pickoff plays that would otherwise drive us insane. Believing makes David Ortiz make sense.

• Ummm.... Wow.  Via Jamie Shoemaker at TTF Baseball, "C.J. Wilson will spend his offseason photographing … Lisalla Montenegro".  She is his fiance, and she's gorgeous.
• Ben Marks at Collectors Weekly shares some not so politically correct vintage candy wrappers.  Wow!
• This is funny stuff.  Check out San Diego State Aztecs Baseball play their annual Halloween ballgame below.

Video Link:

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Blog Kiosk: 3/13/2013

Check out this great photo of Sandy Koufax pitching to Stan "The Man" Musial that was posted up on reddit the other day, via carver1976.  As noted by another poster, LetsGetRamblin:

9/17/63. Musial singling in the 7th. I noticed that the hit actually broke up a no-hitter, so I searched it, and found a description of the at bat in the book "Koufax" on Google Books. (Bottom of page 159.) Photo by Neil Leifer.

• Via Dodgers historian Mark Langill, we learn that today is the anniversary of the day former Dodgers skipper Wilbert "Uncle Robbie" Robinson attempted to catch a Baseball dropped from a plane.  As the story goes, instead of a ball a grapefruit was substituted, so when Uncle Robbie caught it, it exploded.
• FanGraphs shares their list of Top 100 Baseball prospects, and 4 Dodgers make the cut:  #91 Zach Lee #96 Chris Reed #97 Corey Seager #99 Yasiel Puig.
• Forbes wonders if the Oracle of Omaha, Warren Buffet, would have paid as much for the Dodgers.

Walter and company had the option of purchasing the Houston Astros, a lackluster franchise but one in the fourth-biggest market in America. But Kasten said he and Walter agreed, “If something comes up with the Dodgers, we have to look at that much more seriously.” They feared they might have to pay $900 million. They later realized if they could do the deal for $1.3 billion it would be a bargain. But the bidding passed $2 billion and they had not reached their choking point. Only time will tell if the price was a good one, but early results point in their favor.

• Thanks to Left Field Pavilion, I've been enjoying my time checking out a message board called Brooklyn Dodger Memories.
• Via Dylan Hernandez at the LA Times, Josh Beckett is looking good.

“It seems like he’s even sharper now,” Manager Don Mattingly said after the Dodgers’ 6-2 defeat to the Cincinnati Reds Tuesday at Goodyear Ballpark.

Beckett had another solid outing, limiting the Reds to a run and two hits over 4 1/3 innings. Beckett has a 0.96 earned-run average in three starts.

• Listen to Dodger Talk with Kevin Kennedy and David Vasseg, here.  It's the March 12th edition.
• Don Mattingly speaks with Mike Lupica at ESPN radio to discuss the Dodgers.  Listen to it here.
• Just because I happen to be listening to their album as I write this.  Below is live footage of Joy Division playing She's Lost Control.

Video Link:

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