Category Archives: Baseball

Seeing A Baseball Game At The Polo Grounds c. 1909

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A Fan Takes Some Snaphots Of The New York Giants At The Polo Grounds c. 1909

The San Francisco Giants opened the 2026 baseball season playing the New York Yankees.

There was no interleague play between American and National League teams until 1997.

But had the Giants played the Yankees 117 years ago neither team would have had to travel as their home ballparks were both in upper Manhattan. The Yankees playing their games at Hilltop Park at 168th St. and Broadway, while the Giants home field was at The Polo Grounds,155th Street and 8th Avenue. Continue reading →

Brooklyn Dodger Star Roy Campanella & Sons At Spring Training 1951

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Roy Campanella Shows His Sons The Tools Of The Trade

Dodgers Have A Family Act
Miami, Fla – If the boys turn out to be chips off the old block, the Dodgers will be all set in the catching department, if, and when, catcher Roy Campanella hangs up his mask and gloves. Here is Campanella with his sons, David, 7, and Roy, Jr., 2, as he puts them through their paces at Miami Stadium. The Dodgers won their first game yesterday in the Grapefruit League by shading the Boston Braves, 10-9 in an error-spangled game. photo: Herb Scharfman International News,  March 12 1951

Roy Campanella, because of the color barrier with an Italian father and Black mother, did not enter the major leagues until 1948 when he was 26. He played 10 sterling seasons, all for the Dodgers, and would win three Most Valuable Player Awards. Baseball legend Ty Cobb was impressed enough to say “Campanella will be remembered longer than any catcher in baseball history.”

Campanella’s career came to a tragic end Continue reading →

Mickey Mantle At Yankees Spring Training 1971

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Mickey Mantle Gives Advice To Prospects Rick Bladt and Joe Pactwa

Besides “hustle, play hard and be your best” what could Mickey Mantle say to young Yankee prospects? After all, they’re not Mickey Mantle.

As the news slug says:

March 8, 1971 -Ft. Lauderdale, FLA: Former Yankee great Mickey Mantle (L), a special instructor with the team at their spring training camp, gives some pointers to rookie outfield hopefuls Rich Bladt (C) and Joe Pactwa recently. Bladt played at Syracuse last season and Pactwa played at Manchester, N.H.. UPI Telephoto

RIck Bladt did get to play in the majors. Continue reading →

What Did The Rear Entrance To Ebbets Field Look Like?

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The Less Than Iconic Rear Facade Of Ebbets Field

The Dodgers left Brooklyn after the 1957 season, breaking many Dodgers fans hearts. The Dodgers home park Ebbets Field was razed in 1960. A housing project is now on its site.

But the memories of what the ballpark looked like is etched in anyone’s mind who ever visited Ebbets Field. If you do remember visiting you are at least 70 years-old. The reality is, few people are still around who actually saw the place.

It’s really photographs of the ballpark, especially the front entrance, that baseball fans are familiar with.

The main entrance was at the corner of Sullivan Place and McKeever Place. McKeever Place was originally Cedar Street, but renamed in 1932 after one of the contractors who built Ebbets Field.

This is what the front  looked like.

Ebbets Field 1940s

The exterior of the front of the New York Mets home Continue reading →

Christy Mathewson Memorial Tablet Unveiled 1926

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What Happened To A Bronze Memorial Plaque To Christy Mathewson?

It’s an historical artifact that seems quite self-explanatory.

Yet, when I first encountered this photograph there was no slug on the back explaining the setting or other identifiers.

A general internet search did not provide any clues. And proving once again that AI is worthless on millions of situations, Google was only able to transcribe words on the memorial which did not need transcribing as they are quite legible.

My assumption was that this bronze memorial plaque was once located at Christy Mathewson’s home field: The Polo Grounds of the New York Giants. If so what became of this memorial? Surely it would be preserved somewhere after the demolition of the Polo Grounds in 1964.

This is why you can never assume. I was completely wrong. Continue reading →

Bob Turley Pushes The 1957 World Series To Game 7

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Bob Turley Comes Through In The Clutch

Pitching Prowess
New York: Bullet Bob Turley limited the Milwaukee Braves to four hits in the sixth game of the World Series here, October 9, winning the tilt for the Yanks, 3-2, and thereby knotting the series at three games all. In this combo, Turley, without benefit of a windup, gets set to fire a pitch plateward. credit: United Press 10-9-1957

Turley pitched magnificently although he did give up solo homers to Frank Torre in the fifth and Henry Aaron in the seventh. But besides Continue reading →

Yankees Catcher Bill Dickey -1938

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Bill Dickey Is Ready For World Series

These two news press photographs of the Yankees star catcher Bill Dickey were released one day apart in late September 1938. The photos were almost certainly taken the same day.

The stadium appears to be Chicago’s Comiskey Park where the Yankees played the White Sox the previous week, September 20-22.

The first news Continue reading →

At The First Baseball Hall Of Fame Ceremonies 1939

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Celebrating 100 Years Of Baseball At The Hall Of Fame – 1939

This weekend the National Baseball Hall of Fame will honor this year’s inductees; Dick Allen, Dave Parker, CC Sabathia, Ichiro Suzuki and Billy Wagner.

The Baseball Hall of Fame began in 1936, but  the first ceremony inducting former greats wasn’t until the museum first opened its doors on June 12, 1939. Continue reading →

How To Properly Televise A Baseball Game – 1972

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Pure Baseball As Televised July 8, 1972

What is wrong with baseball telecasts today?

Just about everything.

Before cable television, baseball was usually televised only in your local broadcast area, if there was a major league team within your market. Otherwise you could tune into only one nationally broadcast game on Saturday, aptly named the “Game of the Week.” Continue reading →

Johnny Vander Meer’s Consecutive No Hitters -1938

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Johnny Vander Meer Throws Back To Back No Hitters

Johnny Vander Meer c. 1939

It’s debatable what baseball records will never be broken. I don’t bet on things that I have no control over. But I would be willing to gamble that no pitcher will ever pitch back to back no hitters like Johnny Vander Meer did.

On June 11, 1938 the 23-year-old Cincinnati Reds lefty threw a ho-hitter over the Boston Bees in a 3-0 victory. In Vander Meer’s next start on  June 15, 1938, at the first night game at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, Vander Meer repeated his no hit performance in a 6-0 triumph over the Dodgers.

In the second no hitter, Vander Meer was wild walking eight Dodgers. Continue reading →