Miss Vero?

I was fortunate to have had several opportunities to go to Florida to watch the Dodgers play at Dodgertown in Vero Beach several years ago. I kinda miss the place.

Check out a recent view of Holman Stadium below.

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RIP: Willie Davis

via SOSG, former Dodger outfielder, Willie "Three Dog" Davis has been found dead in his Burbank home. LA Times Story.

PS. Do you know how his nickname "Three Dog" came about?
per Wikipedia: It

"was given to him by his teammates when they went to the dog races and the dogs in the number three starting box consistently won. The label fit because of his greyhound-like speed and the fact that he wore the number 3 on his uniform."

Below is a scene from Mr. Ed. Willie Davis, along with Sandy Koufax, Moose Skowron, and Johnny Roseboro, guest appeared.

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Here is a Roosevelt High School Foundation Hall of Fame Celebration that honored Willie Davis in 2006.

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UPDATE: A Statement from Frank McCourt.

“Willie Davis went from a local talent at Roosevelt High School to a World Champion center fielder for the Dodgers in just a few years and many of his records still stand today. He was beloved by generations of Dodger fans and remains one of the most talented players ever to wear the Dodger uniform. Having spent time with him over the past six years, I know how proud he was to have been a Dodger. He will surely be missed and our sincere thoughts are with his children during this difficult time.”

eBay: A Smok'n Bum

Here is another one of those 1950's Gibbs-Conners porcelain Brooklyn Bum bank statues. It shows a very happy Dodger with a bat in hand. He sports a dark 5 o'clock shadow as he stands on home plate. On top of that, he happens to have a lit cigar hanging on the right side of his mouth. You know you can never get away with something like this today. You would be publicly vilified throughout the nation in the name of political correctness.

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B&L Auctions: Brooklyn's First Major League Ballgame

This is one of the more historically significant Dodger related collectibles you'll ever run into. Below is a vintage 1884 scorecard from the very first professional ballgame on May 5, 1884 at old Washington Park, the former home of the Brooklyn Baseball club. As you may know, the team started as a minor league team in 1883, moved to the American Association (becoming a major league club) a year later in 1884, then the National League in 1890.

Anyway, it is for a game between the Brooklyn Atlantics and Washington Statesman. The Dodgers won this game 11 to 3, but would finish ninth that year. What's even better is that it originally comes from the estate of Henry Chadwick, the father of Baseball. He is a Hall of Famer noted for creating the box score and scoring methods used by fans then and today. It is written in his own hand and includes numerous notes about the game.

See the auction item here at Brockelman and Luckey's current Auction.

(click to enlarge)
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More Spring Sights and Sounds

I'm loving these videos from Tigerstripephoto.

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A Dodger Parade at a Giants Spring Training Game?

I had never heard of this. In the video below you can see a parade of Dodger fans making their presence known at the home of the Giants during Spring Training at Scottsdale Stadium. Apparently, this has been an annual event for quite some time. I guess the rivalry starts during the Spring. Does anybody know anything about this?

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