Have a Wonderful Memorial Day

On the day we remember the sacrifices of our men and women in uniform, have a great Memorial Day.

eBay: Erskine Filming Kelly

Here is a great vintage press photo from the Sporting News Archives Collection of Carl Erskine filming the famous Emmett Kelly as the Dodger Bum. It sold for a reasonable $26.52.

(eBay Auction Link)

Another Fire?!?

Man, maybe there is a curse on the Dodgers this year. Per ABC Channel 7:

Firefighters were back at Dodger Stadium on Monday morning after a small fire broke out for the second time in just a couple days.

Firefighters responded to a cinder-block storage room at 5:10 a.m. after reports of light smoke coming from the structure. The fire was declared a knockdown by 5:17 a.m.

It was the same storage room where a fire broke out during Saturday night's game against the Florida Marlins. Firefighters say that fire was caused by paper products igniting.

Firefighters are trying to figure out if Monday's fire is related to Saturday's fire or if there was a new source.

Clearly, this has been one of the most unusual years to be a Dodger fan.

(Hat Tip: Dodger Thoughts on Twitter)

1983 Dodgers Police Set

It's been over 4 months since I shared any Dodger Police sets in my collection. With the current team in a bit of disarray I thought it might be nice to reminisce about a much better time. These sets were put together during the age of O'Malley- when the Dodgers were about family and team stability was the norm. Man-O-Live, I miss those times. Anyway, here is the Dodger Police set from 1983. Below is an example of what the card back looks like.

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Legendary Auctions: The Lost No-Hitter

To underscore the futility that was the old Brooklyn Superbas, here is a vintage scorecard from August 1, 1906 game that featured a no-hitter that never was. How do we know this. Well, it was scored by a fan and it provides a rundown of the afternoons event. I'll let the auction description tell the story.

Through nine innings of regulation play (indeed, into the 11th), the Brooklyns held Pittsburg hitless. Problem was, the Superbas’ several hits had likewise failed to generate a run. The contest was an August 1st 1906 tilt in Brooklyn’s Washington Park where the home nine clashed against Honus Wagner and his Pirates. On the hill that Wednesday afternoon was Pittsburgh’s Lefty Leifield, dueling Brooklyn’s Harry McIntyre. The scoreless game went into extra frames but McIntyre seemed the more valiant – holding Pittsburg to just one base runner – issuing a walk to Tommy Leach in the 9th. In the Pirate 11th, however, Claude Ritchie punched a two-out single, but that proved for naught as Ed Phelps followed with the inning-ending out. In the twelfth, the Pirates went quietly, and though Brooklyn knocked two hits, they again failed to score. The game was decided in the 13th as Pittsburg’s first three batsmen – Bob Ganley, Honus Wagner, and Jim Nealon – all hit safely against the theretofore invincible McIntyre. Nealon’s RBI hit proved the coup-de-grace as Brooklyn again failed to score in the bottom half of the inning.

It sold for $300.00.

(Auction Link)

Auto Collection: Frank Howard Archives

Big Frank Howard was an intimidating as they come. He was 6 foot 8 inches tall and had a bat equal to his size. In 1959, as a the Dodger minor league, he belted 43 home runs. The next year he roamed the Dodger right field and garnered Rookie of the Year honors after hitting 23 home runs while batting .268 with 77 RBI's. Unfortunately, a move from the LA Coliseum to newly opened and spacious Dodger Stadium did not bode well for his statistics. He was eventually traded away to the Senators and found his stroke as he belted as many as 48 dingers for Washington.

In 2005 Howard recalled welcoming the trade despite going from a pennant contender to a weak expansion team, noting, "I was essentially a fourth outfielder in L.A., hitting 25 home runs a year in the biggest baseball park in America and doing it on 400 at-bats." He added, "What could I do if I get 550 at-bats? I had my best years here."

The worse part about these encapsulated cards is that they just don't scan very well. Here is a 2001 Topps Archives autographed card of Frank Howard.