Jackie Robinson. Heath Bell. Frank Shellenback. Griffey Jr & Sr. Gehrig & DiMaggio.
1946. Jackie Robinson during his time with the Montreal Royals, who were an affiliate of the Brooklyn Dodgers from 1939 to 1960.
On a related note: If you have not heard, there are plans for a Jackie Robinson bio-pic starring Chadwick Boseman as Robinson and Harrison Ford as Branch Rickey. With “MoneyBall” having come out earlier this year and both “Invisible Men” and “Have Glove, Will Travel” going into production soon, it is a good time for Baseball movies. Click HERE for some info on the Jackie movie.
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As a San Diego Padres fan, I must admit that not seeing Heath Bell give Nick Hundley his trademark game ending high-five and chest bump after a save is going to be kind of a bummer. Losing star players is not anything new for small market teams such as San Diego but it’s never an easy pill to swallow. I wish him the greatest of luck in Miami and hope he is able to get a World Series ring before his career is up.
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Frank Shellenback preparing his trademark spitball. Shellenback was in the White Sox minor league system when the spitball was outlawed after the 1919 season. He left Major League affiliated ball to play in the Pacific Coast League where he could legally throw the spitball. He spent 19 years in the PCL while becoming the all-time wins leader with 295. At the end of Shellenback’s years as a player he spent time in the PCL and Majors as a Manager, Coach, and Scout.
2 cool facts about Shellenback: 1) He was the first Manager of the San Diego Padres and therefore the first Manager that Ted Williams had in professional Baseball. 2) In 1943 he was elected Pacific Coast League Hall of Fame.
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2006 World Baseball Classic. Ken Griffey Jr crushed opposing pitching while Ken Griffey Sr was Team USA’s first base coach. Junior was awesome during the tournament as he placed in the top 5 in hits (11), homeruns (3), RBIs (10), total bases (22), batting average (.524), OBP (.583), and slugging (1.048). Junior was voted to the all-tourney team and I think it’s safe to say that Griffey Sr was once again a proud Dad.
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The Iron Horse and Yankee Clipper: Legends.
ninety feet of perfection. 
The picture of the Montreal Royals is really neat. I wonder why Jackie Robinson is in a Road uniform?
Also, the bench and fence makes it look like a rec league.
Ed,
I get the feeling that this photo may have been from spring training? I could be wrong though.
Wow, I’ve never seen that photo of Jackie before. Fantastic. Doesn’t it look like there is another black player at the extreme left? Who could that be?
Aaron,
I have wondered for some time who that may also? Maybe a Cuban player or something? In any case, I am going to look over the ’46 Royals roster and see if I can figure it out. Let me know if you find out.