Baseball in England in 1755?

Last year Major League Baseball went to England to film an upcoming documentary about origins of the game. They ended up finding something unexpected.

Julian Pooley, the manager of the Surrey History Centre, said Thursday he has authenticated a reference to baseball in a diary by English lawyer William Bray dating back to 1755 -- about 50 years before what was previously believed to have been the first known reference to what became the American pastime.

The Diary entry is as follows.

"Went to Stoke Ch. This morning. After Dinner Went to Miss Jeale's to play at Base Ball with her, the 3 Miss Whiteheads, Miss Billinghurst, Miss Molly Flutter, Mr. Chandler, Mr. Ford & H. Parsons & Jelly. Drank Tea and stayed till 8."

This is fascinating stuff. Although, it shouldn't be surprising since Baseball is believed to have been developed from several English childrens games.

The film, called "Base Ball Discovered" is to be premiered at the 3rd Annual Baseball Film Festival in Cooperstown next week.

Hat Tip: VBCF:

Collection: 1981 Albuquerque Dukes

Its been awhile since I've posted anything from my collection. So, please check out my favorite Dodger Minor League Baseball card set. Below are cards from the 1981 Albuquerque Dukes. What makes this set so notable is the inclusion of the Sandy Koufax. I believe this is the only minor league set with a card of the Dodger Hall of Fame lefty.The Dukes that season was a phenomenal team.

They won the first half of the season by 13 games (48-16) and the second half by 10 games (46-22) and won the Pacific Coast League playoff by beating Tacoma (Oakland) three games to one.

You will also recognize many other former Dodgers. Above is "Mr. Slow Windup" Alejandro Pena and below is triple crown winner Mike Marshall. He hit 34 homeruns, recorded 137 RBI's and batted .373 that year.

Other notables are Ron Roenicke, Brian Holton, Jack Perconte, Rudy Law and Candy Maldonado. Check out a scan of the complete set here in my photoalbum.

ITPC Auction

This is the first time I have highlighted an Inside The Park Collectibles Auction, so I'm happy it has some great Dodger related items involved.

For those who collect rare vintage memorabilia this company should be well known. Several years ago they purchased one of the rarest collections of porcelain collectibles from the late 40's to early 50's. It was dubbed the "Gibbs-Conner" estate find and featured pre-production (prototype) samples of several previously unknown items.

Gibbs-Conner was a small manufacturer of porcelain products located in Cleveland Ohio. Although it was not their main source of income, in the late 40's/early 50's Gibbs-Conner produced several porcelain banks with the likeness of the Cleveland Indians mascot- Chief Wahoo. Their work rivaled that of their main competitor, Stanford Pottery (also based in the Cleveland area), although their workmanship has always been considered a touch below in quality. As far as we can tell, Gibbs-Conner closed their doors for business in the late 50's. The original banks were not produced in large quantities and are still very popular among figural collectors.

To ITPC's surprise a collection of rare porcelain items featuring many other teams (other than the Indians) was found in an attic. One of the teams present was the Brooklyn Dodgers. ITPC has been fairly quiet about the actual number of individual pieces, but they have said that only a handful of each example exist. Below is a Brooklyn Bum ashtray that sold for $807.00 a few weeks ago. In the past, I have seen a large cookie jar and coin bank featuring the Dodgers from this find. Go here and here for some additional information about this find.

Auction Link: Gibbs-Conner Dodger Ashtray:

Below is something I have never seen before. It is a souvenir statue from the 1956 World Series between the Brooklyn Dodgers and New York Yankees. As you all know this was the year of the Dodgers first World Series title.I wonder if this was sold in the stands during the October classic? It sold for $100.00.

Auction Link: 1956 WS Souvenir Trophy:

Dodger Videos

It seems I've been neglecting my duties of late. To make up for it, please check out the below Dodger themed videos.

Here is Manny's 5th inning homerun from this past Saturday filmed by a fan in the left field pavilion.

YouTube Link: Dodgerfilms:

Watch former Brooklyn Dodger Andy Pafko sing "Take Me Out to the Ballgame."

YouTube Link: Leinielodge:

Below is a public service announcement shot at Dodger Stadium to benefit the 8th Annual "Strike Out" AIDS charity. Andre Ethier is the honorary host.

YouTube Link: EdwardHeadington:

I love fireworks night at Dodger Stadium. It's one of the few times you can go out onto the field without being tackled by security. Check out this fans video from August 16, 2008.

YouTube Video: bigkatmanning:

Here is another video of a young fan dancing in the outfield on the same evening.

YouTube Link: davistruckingllc:

Blog Kiosk 9/7/2008

8 game winning streak and 1.5 games in first place. Just when I thought all was lost the Dodgers go ahead and turn things around.

• Baseball card hobby pioneer, Lionel Carter, passed away early this week at the age of 90. In 1933 he bought his first pack of cards and never looked back. He eventually amassed one of the greatest and most envied collections in the hobby. He was noted for being a true collector as he cared little about the value of the cards. Last year, to his consternation, he sold his entire collection after being burglarized in 2006 (It sold for $1.6 million last April). Keeping his treasures at home had became unsafe.

  “I sold every one of the cards because I didn’t want anything to remind me of them,” Carter said. “They meant so much to me (after) so many years of collecting. They were just a big part of my life."

  Go here for some tributes 1 2 3 4 . Here is an interview with him from NPR.
• Only 600 fans showed up for a Marlins game this past Wednesday. Tatiana & Wax Heaven, the married card collecting duo, sound off.
  
• The 1983 Fleer Project picks up another Dodger autograph- Pedro Guerrero.
• Zach was at Dodger Stadium and has some incredible photos detailing how to snag some balls. He was also in Anaheim and San Diego.
• I had meant to point this out previously. The Trolly Dodger visits Manzanar Internment Camp and checks out the Baseball field. He also links to the hilarious Angel Berroa/ Manny Ramirez postgame interview.
  
• If you are a LA Kings fan check out Rich Hammond's full coverage of the teams "Breakfast with the GM" meeting with season ticket holders yesterday here. I was there and all I got to say is that I believe in Dean's mission to build from within.
  
• Are Baseball card price guides destroying the hobby? Are price guides even relevant anymore? Are they even accurate? Sportscards Uncensored puts it all in perspective.

I agree with the above completely. In my mind, guides like Beckett or Tuff Stuff depend on advertising revenue. Therefore, they are beholden to card manufacturers and dealers. So, I'm sure there is some pressure to make sure values are high in order to drive the market and pad their advertisers revenues.

As a collector always focus on what you enjoy, not what it is worth.

Sign This Kid Up!

With the current woes plaguing the Dodgers right right now maybe it might be fun to consider some future prospect on the horizon that we should be keeping an eye on. After all, you can never have enough young players in the system.

Via The Huffington Post, we hear about one such player. His name is Jericho Scott and he's a pitcher. Jericho throws a wicked fastball that scares his opponents. He is very good. In fact, he is too good. The kid throws so hard at 9 years old the league has decided to ban him from pitching.

The right-hander has a fastball that tops out at about 40 mph. He throws so hard that the Youth Baseball League of New Haven told his coach that the boy could not pitch any more. When Jericho took the mound anyway last week, the opposing team forfeited the game, packed its gear and left, his coach said.
...

"He's never hurt any one," Vidro said. "He's on target all the time. How can you punish a kid for being too good?"

The controversy bothers Jericho, who says he misses pitching.

"I feel sad," he said. "I feel like it's all my fault nobody could play."

Ya know, there is something un-American about all this.