Tuesday, July 17, 2012

Hake's Auctions- Some Dodgers Negro League Rarities

Last week I featured a vintage Willard Mullin Brooklyn "Bum" drawing available through Hake's Auctions.  This time around, I focus on some vintage Dodgers to share. All of these items look back at these players careers in the Negro League or Cuban Leagues. 

Below is Acme Newspictures press photograph of Roy Campanella.  He is in  a familiar pose- in full catcher's gear looking up to catch a ball. It is dated to August 1942.  Campy was a member of the Baltimore Elite Giants in the photo.
(Auction Link)

The next two auction items were a part of the collection of Negro League collector Richard Merkin.  Merkin was a American painter and illustrator who taught his craft for over 40 years at the Rhode Island School of Design. His own works reside in the Museum of Modern Art and the Smithsonian Institution. He also wrote for Vanity Fair and illustrated the book "Leagues Apart: The Men and Times of the Negro Leagues."

Below, is a very young Chuck Dressen.  He was the Dodgers skipper from 1951 to 1953.  This is 1924-25 Aguilitas Baseball card that features Dressen as a player in the Cuban Professional League.  It was not uncommon for American ballplayers to play in Cuba; especially during the off-season. 
(Auction Link)

This photo is phenomenal.  Here is soon-to-be Dodger hurler Joe Black wearing a homemade "Champion Pitcher" crown shortly after the end of the 1951-1952 Cuban League season.  He finished the year leading the league in wins and strike outs, no doubt proving to the Dodgers that he was ready for the show.  That upcoming Spring he would join the Brooklyn squad for his rookie season. 
(Auction Link)

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