Publications are my first collecting love, Orioles publications more than any others. I like pulling out a few programs from time to time. This 1965 game 'score book' is a perfect example of why I enjoy them. I'm sure I got this one in one of my many 'blind' buys of Oriole publications I used to do. People advertised in the old hobby magazines and when I found a guy dumping a pile of oriole publications I'd jump on it. That's how I've ended up with twelve 1966 scorecards and four 1984 yearbooks.
Big Boog on the cover of this one. The O's wore that fairly plain home uni before returning to a more ornate set in 1966. I always thought they were too much like the Giants' unis. The program itself was used to score the May 17th 1965 Orioles-Yankees game at Memorial Stadium. The date of the game is written in pencil above Boog's back shoulder but it's nearly impossible to read.
The ads are always fun and a whole bunch of the 26 pages are ads. Check out the Buick spread in the page above. They used 'floating heads' of opposing players in the ad. I can't imagine that a local car dealer was paying those guys for their endorsement. The Oriole 'floating heads' in the ad for the pizza place below on this next page are not actually part of the ad itself. The team stuck these wherever there was an open spot in the scorecard.
The team was still celebrating the MVP season that Brooks Robinson enjoyed in 1964. They ran a nice feature on him. After all he was the team's first ever MVP winner! There were several other smaller player bios scattered around the program, one for manager Hank Bauer, too.
The centerfold, like most every scorecard/program ever published, contained the score sheets, rosters and an ump roster for the game. This one was scored VERY neatly in pencil by someone.
As for the game itself, Milt Pappas out pitched Whitey Ford and the O's won 9-2. Boog batted 7th in the lineup. Brooks Robinson was still 10 days or so away from returning from a broken knuckle he had suffered early in May. Bob Johnson took advantage of his start at third and had four hits in five trips. The 'heart' of the Oriole order that night, Jackie Brandt, Johnson and John Orsino had ten hits among them.
Check out the 1965 concession and souvenir prices on the page below. Esskay Red Hots were 30 cents. You could get a 'jumbo' for an extra dime. Brews went for 40 cents. You could order a fitted twill O's cap for a buck, A fitted wool one went for 2 dollars. But my favorite Memorial Stadium treat was a Brill's Crab Cake. I thought they were delicious. And only 40 cents. I'll take two! And with a 15 cent Coke I could have a nice ballpark meal for under a buck.
And of course no Orioles publication would be complete without the back page Natty Boh ad!
That's pretty nice! We have a ton of old National Geographics and I think the ads are more fun than the stories. :)
ReplyDeleteI picked up a Maple Leafs baseball program from 1948 but haven't had a chance to really go through it. Now I see why I should.
I'd love to see that old Toronto program. I have just one from that era. It's and old Orioles program from their AAA days.
ReplyDeleteYou're right. The ads are the best part.