Thursday, January 12, 2012

MHCC: Some Nice Vintage Stuff

Mile High Card Company is running their first premium auction of 2012 and it is filled with some very nice stuff. Here are a couple of items I thought would be fun to share. Tomorrow, I'll put up a couple of Dodger related collectibles from their auction.

You've all seen "Field of Dreams," right? Well, as you may know Archibald "Moonlight" Graham, the character who Costner helped get an at-bat against a ghostly pro, was a real player. At least, the book/movie character was based on him. Anyway, below are the good doctors real eyeglasses.

I had briefly written about Spaldings World Tour of 1888 that lead a bunch of Victorian Era ballplayers to Egypt in past. See it here. Well, apparently, there were subsequent tours of Africa (and the world) that lead to the below photograph being taken. It features members of the New York Giants and Chicago White Sox at the foot of the Sphinx in 1914.

Good Guy Kershaw Named Sportsman of the Year

Kershaw ain't faking it. He's got kindness seeping out of those pores. Underneath that bushy hairdo and menacing fastball is a heart of gold. In recognition, Clayton has been named the 2011 Sportsman of the Year by LA Sports Council. Here is a bit from a press release:
The Sportsman award is given to the local male athlete whose performance and character best exemplified the ideals of sportsmanship during the calendar year.

In just his fourth Major League season, Kershaw emerged as one of the game's most dominant pitchers. The 23-year-old All-Star led the Majors with a 2.28 ERA, tied for the National League lead with 21 wins and ranked first in the league with 248 strikeouts en route to winning league's top individual pitching award.

The Texas native was also the Dodgers' nominee for the Roberto Clemente Award in recognition of his charitable endeavors off the field. Kershaw and his wife, Ellen, just returned from their second trip to Zambia and this past season started the Kershaw's Challenge program to donate $100 for each of his league-leading 248 strikeouts to Arise Africa, an organization that helps to build orphanages in the African nation. The couple recently released a book, Arise, about their life and charity work together in Africa.
In his honor, I made this.Am I doing this right?