Florida Bound!

I am in the midst of my final preparations for my vacation to Vero Beach next week. (I really need the time off.) So posting will be light until i leave, but I suspect that I will post fairly frequently while in Florida- with pics included.

In the meantime, watch Tommy showing some kids around Dodger town.



YouTube Link: rbcobb:

Or how about the soothing sounds of Spring Batting Practice.



YouTube Link: rbcobb:

Huggins & Scott Auctions: Dodger Rarities

Huggins & Scott recently concluded their most recent auction that included several scarce Dodger items. To the right is the 1925 Universal Toy & Novelty W504 Brooklyn Dodgers uncut sheet. I've seen many of the cards individually (hand-cut from the sheets) available for sale, but a complete sheet is fairly rare. In the past 5 years I've seen complete sheets for sale only a handful of times.

The key players in the sets are Burleigh Grimes, Dazzy Vance and Zach Wheat. Here is the auction link.
Below is a street banner celebrating the 1955 Brooklyn Dodgers National League pennant. It's a bit soiled and beat up, but would look great on the wall. Both the Brooklyn Bridge and Ebbitts Field are prominently displayed. Auction link here.

Below is an incredibly rare and unusual item. It's a giant photograph of the 1952 Brooklyn Dodgers that measures 9.5 feet by 5.5 feet. This piece did not sell in the auction so if you have room in your den go ahead and give them a call.

It was "display(ed) for many years at Tex's Pizzeria, a popular restaurant just off Eastern Parkway in Brooklyn, NY. Tex was a close friend of Carl Furillo and is, in fact, mentioned in the book New York City Baseball by Harry Frommer (pg 66). Many of the great Dodgers of that era, namely Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Pee Wee Reese, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges and Furillo, to name a few, are prominently displayed in front of their large Championship banner. Images of this piece have been shown to former Brooklyn Dodger players appearing at shows in the NY and NJ area, some of whom have vague memories of it. Probably the most vivid recollection of the item was from Mrs. Gil Hodges who remembers the exact location of it at the restaurant and also added she knew Tex's wife, who helped prepare Italian specialties served at this establishment that closed in the early 1970's."

Auction Link Here:

eBay: Dodgers Oddball Find

Yesterday, a unusual Dodger item came up for bid on eBay. It's a Dodger team uniform for the Johnny Hero doll.

Johnny Hero was a 13 inch figure made by Rosko Industries for Sears in 1965 as an alternative to GI Joe. He disappeared a few years after as apparently an alternative was not required. He was repackaged briefly (probably to dump unsold stock) as an Olympic Hero.

I love seeing this oddball stuff. Better yet, I'd love to add it to my collection. Unfortunately, it got a bit too rich for my blood- even at an affordable $30+ bucks.

eBay Link:

Quote Link: BigRedToyBox:

Research: Paper of Record

A complete and searchable historical archive of The Sporting News newspaper is available for free. The website "Paper of Record" is an ambitious project to digitize the human word in a easy and free database.

Imagine the world's daily history presented for the past 500 years in a single, freely accessible database.

It started in Canada and is slowly spreading to include newspapers throughout the world. This is the kind of thing that makes the Internet special.

Paper of Record Link:

Hat Tip: VBCF: Silver King:

Godless Presidential Dollar

Most of you have probably heard of the Topps Derek Jeter card with Mantle and President Bush in the background (btw, it's not an error card. so please stop paying crazy prices for them on eBay) , but have you heard about the recently discovered "Godless" Presidental Dollars?Vintage coin graders PCGS tells us all about them. This is the first error coin to be missing the mint mark, date and phrase "In God We Trust."

Some people think the "Godless" dollars were made on purpose and that they are part of a deliberate plan to remove "IN GOD WE TRUST" from our coins. We do not believe that to be the case. Actually, we're rather impressed that the Mint can turn out such huge quantities of coins on a regular basis yet still make so few mistakes.

I thought I'd try to nip that in the butt before I hear about a grand anti-God conspiracy on Fox News.

Photo Link: eBay Auction:

YouTube Video: Dead Ball Era

Below is a video collage paying homage to early 20th century Baseball and the photographers who allow us to remember, reflect and get excited all over again.



YouTube: joeya2006:

Hat Tip: Beckett Forum: Greymouse: