Vintage Spokeman: Don Drysdale

Dodger hurler and vitamin pitchman, Don Drysdale, offers some good advise to kids.

"In Baseball, championships are won by team, not individuals."

From August 1959.

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I love those groovy pants.

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Vintage Dodger Snapshot: Doug Camilli

Here are a couple of fan taken vintage photo snapshots of Doug Camilli.

(eBay Auction Link)


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Blog Kiosk: 5/30/2010

• Evan, from New Mexico Fan, gets a special tour of the Albuquerque Isotopes ballpark from its GM, Part 1. Part 2.
• The Dodgers official photographer, Jon SooHoo, has started his own blog called the Dodgers Photog Blog. Check it out.
  
• Ely Mania has not abated. Check out this awesome Ely SI Cover made by PA_Dodger on Twitter.
• GCRL finds some old Dodger Police cards of his from the 80's and rediscovers that he got a few signed as a kid. Go and check them out.
• Then check out GCRL homemade Goose Joak 2010 card of Jose Lima. If you don't already have GCRL on your bookmarks then do it now. He is a huge Dodger card collector and puts up daily post of his favorite Dodger cards.
  
• Dodgers sue Hollywood.
  
• Yes, celebrating our collective geekdom, SOSG shares some pics from Empire Strikes Back Night.
  
• What Oil? See more pics of the Gulf Oil mess as it slowly reaches American soil, via Boston.com.
• Stanley Cup fever has hit Chicago as the lions in front of the Art Institute of Chicago get re-crowned, via Battle of California.
• Ozzie Guillen really hates Cleveland.
• John Fogerty's "Centerfield" will play a special part in this years Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.

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2010 Topps Series 2 Dodgers Inserts

Series 2 of Topps 2010 Baseball is out and it's filled with some great Dodger goodness. Check out some of the limited insert cards below. I'll follow up with more pic over the next few days.

Here are Dodger cards from the Vintage Legends Collection which features Hall of Famers on card designs from well past their playing days.

Jackie Robinson on a 1976 Topps card

Roy Campanella on a 1979 Topps card

Pee Wee Reese on a 1993 Topps card

Here are a couple of short printed variation cards of Roy Campanella.

Pee Wee Reese

These are a group of manufactured patch cards of Manny Ramirez, Duke Snider, Matt Kemp and Jon Broxton.

These are Peak Performance autographed cards of Andre Ethier and Chad Billingsley.

Vintage Dodger Snapshot: Johnny Roseboro

Here is a great fan taken snapshot of former Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro, via eBay.

(eBay Auction Link)

T206 Brooklyn Dodgers: Happy Smith

Henry Joseph "Happy" Smith was on his way up. He was born in a small coastal town called Coquille, Oregon where timber and steamboats ruled the land. Soon he traveled a little bit south to San Jose, California where he made a name for himself with the independent California League San Jose Prune Pickers. In this farm town Happy ruled the Baseball landscape and became a fan favorite. In 1908 he batted .333 and followed that up with a .342 average the next year. Of special note, a young "Prince" Hal Chase, a would-be Hall of Famer if not for his corrupt ways, was a teammate of his there.

Somewhere along the way he signed with the Chicago Cubs, but was subsequently traded to the Brooklyn Superbas before he could lace it up on the northside. In 1910 Happy made his debut, but failed to impress on a team that didn't impress many. He batted .237 with no power. Even though his average was higher than the teams collective .229 he would only get into 35 games. That was all she wrote for Happy Smith in Blue.

By one account he was injured, but to no avail. He returned home to San Jose later in 1910 and played a few games in front of a friendly crowd. In 1911 and 1912 he played in Montgomery, Alabama, and came back home to play with the San Jose Bears in 1913. That season he lead the California State League in batting with a .323 average.

In researching Happy Smith I found a song written by Peter Kay called "The Ballad of Happy Smith." Check it out here. It's pretty good.