Sunday, March 28, 2010

Films: Campanella's Story- It's Good to be Alive

I've just discovered that Hulu has some great vintage films. Below is a 1974 television drama about Roy Campanella adjusting to life with a wheelchair after his 1959 car accident.

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Video: Everybody Hates Chris

There really isn't anything special about the videos below, except for the fact that the Dodgers are mixed in.

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Doubling down on the bet.

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Losing the series.

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eBay Auction: La Cucaracha

Here is fun press photo found on eBay of Ron Fairly and Al Ferrara.
"Ron Fairly, the hitting hero of the Dodger victory over the St. Louis Cardinals, 9/26, is given a Mexican-Style bear hug by teammate Al Ferrara in the dressing room after the game. Fairly's homer helped the Dodgers reduce their "Magic Number" to 3 with the 2-0 win."
The Dodgers would eventually win the National League, but lose to Baltimore in the World Series.

Blog Kiosk: 3/28/2010

All Dodgers, All of the time.
  • You must read Chris and Alex Volk's story, of Dodgerfan.net fame, about official Dodger photographer Jon SooHoo, here and here.
  • LA Dodger Talk tours Minor League camp at Camelback Ranch, Part 1. Part 2.
  • Sunshine, who is an ardent Dodger fan, writes all about her visit to Padres Fan Fest.
  • I totally endorse this post and photo from The Left Field Pavilion.
  • This makes me want to puke. (Hat Tip: It's Time for Dodger BaseBlog)
  • Here is a great write up about Sandy Koufax's evening at the Nokia Theater with Joe Torre from Behind Blue Eyes.
  • Dodger Sims simulates the entire 2010 season and concludes that the Dodger will win the division. Hooray! Playoffs here we come!
  • Alyssa Milano unveils her 2010 Spring collection and, I think, I just fell in love with her again. Ooh-La-La!
  • Brian Akin, a Dodger farmhand and writer of the Dear (Tommy) John Letters blog, has been released. Good luck on your future. I hope you catch on with another team and continue writing your blog.
  • GCRL gets a Chan Ho Park auto through the mail.

Saturday, March 27, 2010

Hunt Auctions: The Kay 'O

I was never much of a model maker. I tried, believe me I tried, but I just didn't had the patience to do it right. It's one of those things I could never do. Anyway, I was checking out Hunt Auctions recent offerings and came across a nice vintage 1962 Revell Lockheed Electra II Dodger model airplane kit, HD-255. See it below.

It is an exact replica, minus the artistic accouterments that you must add yourself (ugh!), of the plane that shuttled the Dodger squad from 1962 to 1970. This particular model is very rare and was only available from the Dodgers marketing arm.

The real plane was purchase by Walter O'Malley in 1961 and was dubbed the "Kay 'O" in honor of his wife, Kay. It was the best there was for traveling nationwide. It was roomy and fast- even allowing them to fly from New York to Vero Beach twice in one day. Piloted by Capt. Harry R. "Bump" Holman, son of Bud Holman who convinced the Dodgers to spend their Springs in Vero Beach, it would soon be retired in 1970 when the Dodgers upgraded to a 720-B Fan Jet. That plane was called the "Kay 'O II." Below is a picture of the real "Kay 'O" from O'Malley's website.

I had seen the model once before during a card show several years ago at the hotel in Hollywood Park. It was a small show with not much to really look at, besides the typical stacks of commonly seen Baseball cards. I was disappointed. Then, as the show was coming to a close, I came across a table with only a handful of photos, cards and unopened boxes on a table and shelf unit. On the top shelf behind the seller was a box, like the one above. Suddenly I became elated as a unique collectible was in my sights. I asked to take a look and closely inspected the box and its contents. It looked perfect. My heart raced as I thought about putting it together- to try my hand at building like a child all over again. Then my memories of my past failures came to mind and I put the model down and passed on the purchase. I walked around some more and soon came to regret that decision. As folks were packing up to go home I walked back to that table only to find the seller had already left. My chance at conquering my model making deficiency had passed.
(Pic Link: WalterO'Malley.com)

UPDATE: Here are some pics of the contents that I found on eBay.

Friday, March 26, 2010

2010 Topps Tribute Jackie Preview

Via Beckett, Topps unveils some preview pics from their upcoming high-end card product called Topps Tribute. These are truly some super shiny cards that can blind a pilot from a couple of thousand miles away. Really, they are that shiny.

Anyway, above is a preview of a Jackie Robinson cut signature card that a lucky collector will pull. The range of autos is fairly strong, as expected, with one truly mystical Yankee auto-book card out there to try to snag. Go to the Beckett site to see more pics. Below is what the base card will look like.