ninety feet of perfection.

A very cool photo from 1944 of the one and only Satchel Paige in Los Angeles. I am curious if this was a barnstorming trip which took him out to California? I assume so but the Monarchs cap makes me wonder if it was during his short time as a member of the Monarchs “B” team while dealing with his dead-arm and trying to get back into the Negro Leagues? I need to re-read his book “Maybe I’ll Pitch Forever” and figure this out.

(Thanks to It’s a Long Season for sharing this gem via New Amsterdam Lemonade)

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1948. A pretty neat photo of Baseball legend Babe Ruth as he meets with future President of the United States and Yale Baseball player George Bush Sr.

While I don’t agree with both Bush Jr & Sr in regards to politics, I do admit that I give them props for having a love for the game of Baseball. Nothing more, nothing less.

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(NOTE: CLICK ON PHOTO FOR CLOSE UP. YOU WON’T REGRET IT)

July 24th, 1911. The above photo is from the Addie Joss benefit game which was held to raise money for his widow. Joss was a Hall of Fame Pitcher for the Cleveland Naps’ who died a few months prior due to tubercular meningitis. The game was held between the Naps and a group of American League “All-Stars.”

This game is recognized as the first Major League “All-Star” game and was played even after American League President Ban Johnson threatened to punish any players who partook. Ty Cobb, Cy Young and Joe Jackson all played for the Cleveland Naps that day but the All-Star team still managed to beat them to a score of 5 to 3.

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Leo Durocher and Gil Hodges participate in some Spring Training drills down in Vero Beach. How awesome would have it been to partake in Spring Training at Dodgertown in the 1950s? It’s an absolute travesty that the Dodgers no longer have Spring Training at Dodgertown. Some things in Baseball should never change and this was one of them.

Also, I’m convinced that in my former life I was a member of the Brooklyn Dodgers during the 1950’s. I played with Jackie, The Duke, Roy, Gil, Pee Wee and all the guys at Ebbets Field. We all got along great but for some reason we all thought Don Zimmer looked like a gerbil. With that being said, we didn’t invite him to hang out after games.

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Nothing to see here, it’s just Roy Campanella in action as Willie Mays crosses home plate behind him. Campy looks so awesome with his arm cocked back ready to fire the ball to First Base. I am assuming this was a uncaught 3rd strike and therefore Campanella is ready to nail the guy out at at First for the 3rd out of the inning. Hence this is why Willie is crossing home plate without notice or care from the Dodgers’ Catcher or Umpire. I very well could be wrong but it makes sense in my head when looking at this photo.

The fact that I can make this assumption and visualize the entire play in my head is one of the many reasons why Baseball rules. You’d be hard pressed to make accurate assumptions like this based on an action shots of most other sports.

~ by duaneharris19 on August 23, 2011.

Posted in Baseball
Tags: Addie Joss, Addie Joss Benefit Game, babe ruth, Ban Johnson, baseball, brooklyn dodgers, Cleveland Naps, cy young, Dodgertown, George Bush Senior Yale Baseball, gil hodges, kansas city monarchs, Leo Durocher, MLB, negro leagues, new york giants, new york yankees, pacific coast league, PCL, roy campanella, san diego padres, satchel paige, shoeless joe jackson, ty cobb, willie mays