Sunday Dodger Videos

Clayton Kershaw speaks with Kevin Millar and Chris Rose on MLB's "Intentional Talk" while in Milwaukee. He talks about longtime friend and NHL quarterback Matt Stafford, home plate celebrations and his summer trip to Africa.

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Dodgers sign first round draft pick Chris Reed.

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Duke Snider Night.

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I'm sure you've seen this already, but here it is again. Patty cake with Kershaw and Barajas.

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Daily Conlon: 208 through 216

Here are today's Daily Conlon cards numbered 208 through 216. Be sure to click on any of the pics to embiggen. It features longtime Dodger catcher Zach Taylor on the top row, far right.

He came up with the Dodgers in 1920 and stuck around in Brooklyn til 1925. He would then return to the borough in 1935 for his very last Major League season. From there, he would enter into a new part of his Baseball career as coach and manager and become tangentially connected to some of Baseball's wackiest events.

For 4 seasons he would man the St. Louis Browns under the guidance of master promoter Bill Veeck. It would be during this time he would become tied to Baseball folklore. In 1951 he sent up a 3 feet and 7 inch pinch hitter Eddie Gaedel up to the plate against Bob Cain of the Detroit Tigers. As the description of the back of the card says, "batting in a low crouch, Eddie walked on 4 pitches."

Then, seven days after the Gaedel fiasco Taylor willingly participated in another Veeck gimmick. The Browns passed around placards to the crowd with various game instructions printed on them like, swing, take, bunt, etc. -to allow fans to make managerial decisions for the afternoon. A poll would be taken and Zach Taylor dutifully follow suit. The Browns would win that game.

Look at Who Had a Party at Dodger Stadium

That spread looks mighty delicious. In fact, I would give by right arm for that giant cupcake on the left. Yum!

This little party was a baby shower for Baby Bugliari- otherwise known as Alyssa Milano future child. Check out her story and a bunch of photos here at her blog.

As the Dodgers win became apparent, and in a moment of appreciation for the afternoon, Alyssa’s visiting cousin turned to the baby’s grandfather, Mr. Milano, and said, “Now all we need is a foul ball hit into our suite.” And then…moments later…a ball came soaring into the suits and was caught by a neighboring fan. Looks like Baby Bugliari is good luck for the team, we can’t wait to meet him!

Awesome.

Daily Conlon: 199 through 207

Back in the saddle again.

After a brief respite from scanning and posting about the Conlon set, I am back (hopefully) with a fervor. Check out todays Daily Conlon cards numbered 199 through 207. To see my past entries featuring this set go here. 8 of the cards shown takes a look at early Baseball history by focusing on the unassisted triple play. And as you can imagine, a Dodger would have to be a part of this history lesson.

On the middle row, far left is former Dodger Clarence Mitchell. He hit into a unassisted triple play on October 10, 1920. Yes, that was during the 1920 World Series, the only time that has ever occurred. It happened during Game 5 of the Fall Classic against the Cleveland Indians. The play was performed by Bill Wamby (Wambsganss) whose own card about the event is on the top row at center. Wamby describes it as such:

"Well, Jim Bagby was pitching for us, as he served up a fast ball that Mitchell smacked on a rising liner toward center field... I made an instinctive running leap for the ball, and just barely managed to jump high enough to catch it in my glove hand. One out... as I continued to second I saw Pete Kilduff still running towards third... so I kept right on going and touched second with my toe (two out) and looked to my left. Well, Otto Miller, from first base, was just standing there, with his mouth open, no more than a few feet away from me. I simply took a step or two over and touched him lightly on the right shoulder, and that was it. Three out. And I started running in to the dugout."

Click any pic to embiggen.

Blog Kiosk: 8/19/2011

Thank you Miss Rossi for being True Blue. (Pic via twitpic@thebrettrossi)

• Check out the first class of the ESPN Los Angeles Hall of Fame, here.
  
• Sinatra family, as a season ticket holder, seeks to be represented in the Dodger BK, via Bloomberg.
  
• LFP always finds a way to make pictures out of words. This one hits it right on the head.
  
• Has anyone seen this yet? Former Dodger Jerry Reuss has a bunch of photos up on flickr. Check them out here.
  
• With the season quickly coming to a close Topps starts to focus on their 2012 card offerings by unveiling their design for next years base set. See it below.
• Foul Bunt shares some of his photos of World Series pins taken during his trip to Cooperstown.
  
• What's better than finding out that the Angels have a oxygen tank in their clubhouse? Finding out that Torii Hunter got trapped in it. Via Deadspin.
  
• Us geeky collectors strive to be hip, via Cardboard Junkie.

A Last Look at the National

Unfortunately, I wasn't able to attend the National Sports Collectors Convention this year, and probably won't be able to attend one in the future unless it comes back out west. Fortunately, the wonder of the internet allows me to enjoy the show like I was there. Still, most of what I had seen in photos so far was lacking. Sure, I liked seeing some of the give-aways and modern cards available in Chicago, but how about the vintage stuff. Does anyone have pics of the really old stuff?

Yes, after a couple of weeks those photos are starting to crop up and they truly show why the National is a must for serious collectors and sports history buffs.

First, check out this story from Bill Simmons as he puts together a nice 16 part photo gallery essay about the show, here. I suggest taking a look at all 16 pages.

Then, you have to check out Carlton Hendricks of Sports Antiques.com for his spread of 444 photos focused primarily on sports memorabilia from the National. Go here now. You won't regret it. To wet your whistle check out a couple of photos below.The above press photos come from the Sporting News Archives collection. Below is a case filled with the kind of stuff I like to see. Here are some late 19th century/ early 20th century Baseball artifacts. I believe on the top left are some postcards made of leather (circa 1910's) and on the bottom left are some 1880's Victorian Baseball themed trade cards. Of special note are the very scarce Sporting News issue with the yellow bottoms. I really love those cards and regret not buying a large lot of them several years ago in a Lew Lipset Auction.