Dodger Mural in Nashua, NH

You never know what you're gonna find when you cruising through the internet. Over the weekend I stumbled upon this great photo from Nashua, NH. It is a mural recently painted to commemorate the the arrival of soon-to-be Dodger greats Don Newcombe and Roy Campanella in 1946.

In 1946...Branch Rickey desegregated the Dodgers by sending Jackie Robinson to Montreal AAA. Five months later, he opened a second phase by signing catcher Roy Campanella and pitcher Don Newcombe. He had to send them to A ball because of their history as Negro League stars, but 3 of the 5 Dodger A teams were in segregated states. That left Danville, IL and Nashua, NH. Danville refused the 2 players, but Nashua GM Buzzie Bavasi said If they can play ball better than what we have, we dont care what color they are.

Starrgzr, the photographer if this piece, provides more historical information about their stay in Nashua.

Nashua, New Hampshire, according to Wendell Smith, was a typical New England town, quiet, liberal, and staid in its ways. Located forty miles north of Boston, Nashua residents seemed to have no qualms about welcoming the two black athletes. These people are wonderful, reported the ebullient Campanella. Newcombe and I go anyplace we want to, do anything we please, and are treated like long lost sons. Newcombe and Campanella and their wives constituted the entire black population of Nashua. They rarely saw the other blacks in the area, who lived at a lumber mill several miles outside of town. We even had to go to the white barber shop, recalls Newcombe. He didn't know how to cut black peoples hair. We got scalped many times by the barber who tried. He could have said No, I don't cut black peoples hair, but he tried. Bad haircuts, however, seemed a small price to pay. The two black families had no trouble finding lodgings and experienced no problems in restaurants or at the stadium. We were very lucky to play in that area, says Newcombe.

Photo Link: Flickr: Starrgzr:

Update II: Did you know that Roy Campanella was the 1st African-American to coach an affiliated Major League Team. NashuaPrice.com provides more details:

When Nashua manager Walter Alston was ejected from a game that year (1946), he left the team in the hands of Roy Campanella, who became the first African-American to manage an affiliated major league game. The Nashua Dodgers beat the Lawrence Millionaires 7-5.

Also,

there is another interesting note to the 1946 season. A local poultry farmer, Jack Fallgren, offered 100 baby chicks for every home run hit by a Nashua player. At the end of the season, Campanella shipped 1400 chicks to his father, who started a chicken farm outside of Philadelphia.

Update: If you happen to be in the area check out the mural. I believe it should still be there. It was completed less than a year ago.

This is just off Main Street at a tire company's (Maynard & Lesieur) building at 31 West Hollis Street. Maynard & Lesieur has been in business since 1928 and were around when the duo played in Nashua.

Watch David Copperfield Destroy Gretzky's Wagner

This video is great. If features the wizard of magical illusions David Copeprfield destroying and then restoring the Wayne Gretzky/ Bruce McNall Honus Wagner Baseball card.



YouTube Link:

I Need a Drink

OK... Maybe I need a whole pitcher of beer. Last nights game was worse than hearing Celine Dion sing Christmas tunes. It was aggravating to the ears and caused my eyes to water. The 7-2 loss to the Mets was frustrating. We had many chances to score, but we just couldn't get that big hit.

All year we have rocked back and forth between a team that can score at will and a team that can hardly score at all. With 3 games left with the New York Mets, who have the best record in Baseball, the Dodgers must get back on track.

Of course, maybe I'm getting a bit over-worked. Afterall, this game was just one contest in a 162 game season. This series, in the whole scheme of things, is against a non-divisional team and may not have a significant bearing on where the Dodgers end up at the end of the season. It certainly is not as important as the divisional games coming up against the Padres, Giants, Diamondbacks and Rockies.

So keep your head up and continue looking forward. Although we lost last night the chances of a better return this evening are still bright. No need to panic just yet, but I do plan on drinking that entire pitcher.

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A Postseason Preview

I'm nervous with anticipation. My palms are sweating and my lips are stuttering. Why does the season have to be so long?

The Dodgers and the Mets face off tonight in a very important match-up between the team with the best record in Baseball and a team fighting for a playoff spot. Brad Penny will take the mound for the Dodgers. Tom Glavine will pitch for the New York Mets.

Other important roster changes for the Dodgers include Lugo batting 2nd and playing third base and Matt Kemp playing center field. Lets' hope that Kemp builds on his 2 hit performance yesterday.

I'm worried about the Mets recent acquisition of Shawn Green. He has absolutely killed the Dodgers this year. Paul LoDuca is still very dangerous- especially since he has found a way to continue hitting well even in the 2nd half. Jose Reyes and David Wright are infield studs.

This is going to be a tough series and will be an indicator of how good this team really is, or is not.

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King of the World

Inside the Dodgers lets us know that James Loney is the winner of the 2006 Minor League Batting Title with an average of .380. This isn't for only AAA or AA. This title is for the entire Minor League Baseball system. He has had an unbelievable year! Congrats!

I hope that this foreshadows what we might expect in the future.

Picture Link via Flickr: dnova (To note: the photo above appears to be from Spring Training at the Washington Nationals training facility in Melbourne, FL. Check out more of dnova's pics of the Dodgers in Spring Training by clicking the link above.)

eBay Find: Reading Giants Vintage Postcard

Above is a vintage real photo postcard of a Black Baseball team called the Reading Giants. It was recently sold on eBay over the Labor Day weekend holiday. No doubt this is a rare and possibly one-of-a-kind Baseball item. Also, considering it sold for $555.82 should tell you how rare this really is.

I had made an early bid on the postcard with the hopes of returning to the auction when it was nearing completion. My hope was that it would be missed by deeper pocket bidders. Unfortunately, as you can see, the deeper pockets showed up. Wow!

Once in awhile you can find some bargains on eBay- especially if an item is poorly labeled or listed poorly. For instance, this item was placed solely in the postcard categories. This could have been disastrous for the Seller. He should have also placed it in the Baseball card category for pre-1930's vintage Baseball cards. The seller may have gotten even more for the postcard. Fortunately, the seller still made out pretty good.
A important item to note when trying to date real photo postcards is the pay close attention to the stamp box on the back of the card. Check out the photo above for the back of the Black Baseball team postcard. Unfortunately, the photo is a little hazy. The design on the top right of the back of the postcard will provide a unique design to the postcard maker. If you check closely on the auction you will see a very typical AZO stamp back with triangles pointed upwards on all 4 corners. This is a dead give away for postcards made from 1904-1918. Check here for a database of real photo postcard stamp boxes.