Ernie Raimondi. Bo Jackson. Ted Williams. Curt Flood. Thurman Munson.
1936. Dick Gyselman of the Seattle Indians follows Ernie Raimondi of the San Francisco Seals back to third base. I enjoy this photo for two reasons: 1) It’s a great action photo from the old Pacific Coast League and 2) It features Raimondi, who was a local Bay Area ball player in the late 30s/early 40s who came from a family in which him and 3 of his brothers all spent notable time in the PCL playing with the Oakland Oaks among other teams.
Unfortunately Ernie’s legacy is often associated with the fact that he was killed in action during World War II, just a handful of years after hanging up his spikes and retiring from Baseball. To read a good write up on Ernie Raimondi and his life, click HERE.
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I came across this photo of Bo Jackson recently and I instantly became nostalgic. I think I speak for most kids who loved the game of Baseball in the late 80’s/early 90’s when I say that guys like Bo Jackson were like real-life super heroes to me. I remember playing Baseball with my friends and brothers and Bo Jackson was always one of the guys we would try to emulate while diving for balls.
The hours of my childhood spent trying to swing a bat or catch a ball in the way that Bo Jackson, Tony Gwynn, Rickey Henderson, Andy Van Slyke, and Will Clark all did are some of my fondest memories from that time of my life. When I see photos like the one above, they always bring back feelings and memories of a time when life was more simple and fun. While the 80’s/early 90’s was far from the Golden Age of Baseball, you can’t deny the greatness of many of those players.
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September 23rd, 1950. Ted Williams and Jerry Coleman both watch the throw to first base during an attempted double play. Both Coleman and Williams are two of my favorite players of all time due to their West Coast connections, so I was delighted to come across this gem of a photo.
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Curt Flood at-bat and in color. The stirrups, flapless batting helmet, old school cleats and lack of batting gloves all make this an awesome photo worth sharing. Flood is one of those players in Baseball history that I am fascinated with, but not so much for his association with challenging of the reserve clause but for the fact that he was a Bay Area native (Oakland) who had one hell of a career before having it derailed.
On a related note, if you have never seen the HBO special entitled “The Curious Case of Curt Flood,” I strongly suggest checking it out.
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1974.Yankee Catcher Thurman Munson tags out Oscar Gamble at home plate during a game against the Indians. Besides the fact that this photo has two of my favorite players from the 1970’s, I feel it is worth sharing simply due to the amount of awesome hair going on in it.
ninety feet of perfection. 