Orioles Kangaroo Court Pic

This Topps Frank Robinson card that I posted a bit ago led to a question from Joe Shlabotnik about the picture. The shot comes from the Orioles' glory days (sigh) when they were having fun and winning pennants.

Frank had a 'kangaroo court' where he levied fines for various team infractions like leaving the bases loaded, getting caught stealing, etc.

EDIT, EDIT, OH DAMN, READ THIS!!

I went looking for other pics and saw this one for sale. I thought it would be a nice addition to my Frank Robinson collection.

IIRC they took the money at the end of the year and donated it to charity rather than the postseason party as the photo caption states.

The photo library tag is pretty much wrong. Dave Johnson does NOT call the court to order, FRobby does.

My other recent Frank Robinson-related purchase is the memorial patch the O's are wearing this year.

My wife promised to stitch it to my new 'lucky' shirt. I wore this to the only Orioles win in Houston this year. A rare occurrence (the win, not my wearing a shirt).

'58 All Star Program

I thought that the 1958 All Star Game program I bought at the recent TriStar show was worth a closer look. I'm just going to post some highlights rather than very page. I don't want anyone nodding off while I indulge my love for old publications!

As with so many of these types of vintage items the cover is the best thing about it. I have a hunch that the player/ump illustration was based on a photo. I tried to find the original picture via Google and Getty Images with no luck. Of course it likely wasn't originally a shot of an Oriole player sliding to tracking it down was a dead end from the start.

The covers shown were scanned but the inside pages are pics I took. I learned the hard way that pressing these vintage paper pieces onto a scanner platen is a mistake. 

Commish Ford Frick welcomes us to the '58 ASG with an inspirational message. I hadn't realized that this was the 25th annual game. There was no ASG in 1945. '58 was the last of the 'one game' All Star breaks for awhile. From 1959 thru 1961 they played two each year.

The old ads in these can be a hoot. Check out the one for Alan Ameche's place. I could go for a Powerhouse burger myself right about now.

The longest feature on the book was this article on the first ASG.

Cameos of the managers. They had faced off in the '57 World Series and would do so again that fall.

Bob Maisel was a legend in Baltimore baseball writing. His father Fritz was a player for the Yankees and Browns.

Unlike modern programs the ones back in the day were published locally and very close to the game. That meant you would find the actual elected squads pictured. The AL lineup had a local guy, Gus Triandos.

The original owner of the program kept score! It wasn't as hard to score an ASG back them. Managers didn't feel the need to sub in every player available.  It's hard to see in the pic but the scorer listed Al Kaline as entering the game for the NL(!) in the 9th. I thought it was just his/her quirky way of noting subs but you can see that Lee Walls was entered correctly.

BTW...if you check the entry for this game on Baseball Reference you'll see that Haney only used three position players from his bench.

This NL starting group was pretty stout! In all there were 9 future Hall of Famers in the starting lineups.

All the reserves got a photo included on a page similar to this one. Hey, I spy Billy Pierce!

This is a nice way to fill a page. "Hall of Fame Candidates" indeed!

Some of the NL reserves. Spahnie got the start making him the 9th Hall guy.

Old fashioned line scores and batteries from the previous 24 ASGs bring up the rear of the program.

Check out the Rolex featured in the Stieff Company ad. Only $125 for a Rolie! Plus the band of course. I'm from Baltimore but I don't remember the Stieff Company being a big thing. Seems it was.

And finally the back cover presented by Gunther Beer! Now Gunther I remember. Their ad was on top of the old scoreboard at Memorial Stadium. The company is long gone but the brewery was made into a fancy apartment building.

Ernie Harwell was in his fifth year as an Orioles broadcaster. He moved on to the Tigers after the 1959 season. Herb Carnel was in his second season as Harwell's partner. He stayed through the beginning of Chuck Thompson's time as lead man in the Orioles booth.

In addition to this '58 program I picked up yhe '93 issue. I may post that soon. Much bigger and fancier but it can't compare to the '58 in nostalgic charm.

It's Good To Have Friends

Mike McKay from Chicago is a regular reader and frequent contributor to my collection. His latest package came in a couple of weeks ago. As usual he sent me a spare signed card from one of his latest TTM successes. Hall of Famer and Baltimore Colt star Ray Berry has had a reputation of being very fan friendly. Mike sent me a Swell Gum Berry that I didn't have in my collection. It finds a good home in my Colts binder.

Thinking about how good Ray Berry has been with fan requests reminds me of how lucky I was to be a Colts fan. They were such a community oriented club back in the day and players like Berry, Gino Marchetti, Lenny Moore and John Mackey all valued their relationship with the fans. When my Uncle in Baltimore talked to me about the Colts I always got the impression he was talking about family. That was cool.

Next up we have one of two custom cards that Mike sent of the legendary Steve Dalkowski. If you've never heard of Dalkowski I can only urge you to read this Hardball Times article about the Orioles' prospect (suspect) who is acknowledged by many to be the hardest (and wildest) thrower in the history of the game. Trust me it's a wonderful read even if you are familiar with the Dalkowski story. The article contains a blurb from Pat Jordan's Suitors of Spring that's worth the click, trust me.

For more amusement check out his Baseball Reference page. And note his first season as a professional. With Kingsport of the Appalachian League (D level Orioles club) he pitched 62 innings, struck out 121 hitters, walked 128 and compiled an ERA of 8.13 and had a WHIP of 2.43 while uncorking 29 wild pitches. He only gave up one homer which likely confirms the fact that it's hard to hit the ball deep when take your stance with your ass still in the on deck circle.

Here is a 2015 Topps Series Two of Cal Ripken. He recently accepted a job as adviser to the Commissioner on Youth Baseball. It's hard to believe Cal is now 55 years old. 

The best of the other things Mike included was this Memorial Stadium postcard. I can never get enough of the grand old place. Lots of memories there. This was the scene of my first 'blind date'. I'll have to tell that story sometime. It never came to anything but we've been friends and I'm still in touch with her from time to time. So much for that off the wall tangent.

Thanks again Mike. You generosity is very much appreciated. Keep your calendar open for June and maybe I can buy you a brew when I get up there to Chicago.

I Miss This Place

Don't get me wrong, Camden Yards is a fabulous stadium. I really enjoyed my visit there some years ago. But Memorial Stadium is where my love for the Orioles was cemented. From my first game there in 1962 (Boog Powell hit one over the centerfield hedges!) to the 1983 World Series and beyond I've always felt this place was 'home'.

I guess living most of my life outside the area (we moved from Baltimore when I was two) I came to treasure and appreciate my trips there more and more. I wasn't a guy rooting for a visiting team when I was there like I was at Yankee Stadium and later in Arlington Stadium. In Memorial I was with 'my people'. Hey, I had my first 'blind date' there when I was set up with a girl my aunt knew and we went to the first game of the '69 Playoffs.

Back when I was collecting everything and anything Orioles-related I bought a cache of postcards of Memorial. The idea was to send them to various player who played on Orioles' championship teams and have them signed.

That idea never really took off for me. I gave up my hobby room for kids bedroom space and most of my collection went into storage. I pulled some out over the weekend and figured I'd post them. With Opening Day around the corner I thought it would be a good time.

The backs of the first three are almost identical. Only the typeface and size changed.

This one is pretty old-school, the Schaefer Beer ad on the scoreboard dates this one to the second half of the 60s.

This one is actually the same shot as the one at the top but it has a different border. The scoreboard over in left field means it was shot sometime after the late summer of 1970.

This last one is actually a notecard with a wide border that my scanner insisted on cropping out. I thought about writing players with these and asking them to sign the front and a baseball card I'd enclose. That idea passed without me doing anything about it. I still have a box of these cards somewhere.

The reverse dates this one to 1980. I like the last sentence..."Orioles baseball is more than just a game, it is a total experience".

Indeed.

Art Donovan, One Of A Kind

NFL Hall of Famer Artie Donovan died Sunday. He was a member of the Baltimore Colts' Championship teams of 1958 and 1959. The Baltimore Sun, in their obit piece, said that Donovan spent 12 seasons in the NFL and the rest of his life telling everybody about it. I was about 10 when he retired so I don't have many memories of him playing specifically but I was a huge Baltimore Colts fan and I can remember the glory days of that wonderful franchise. I used to spend fall Sunday mornings in church praying for my Baltimore Colts.

Here is a really nice piece that ran in the Sun following his death. Some really funny stuff there. But then again Art Donovan was a really funny guy. And I can't fail to note that he was a member of the United States Marines and saw duty in the Pacific as an antiaircraft gunner on the U.S. San Jacinto.

Donovan was always called 'Fatso' and that was the name of his autobiography. He probably garnered more attention as a guest on the late night talk shows in his retirement than he did as an active player. I got to meet him once after his retirement back when the Baltimore Colts trained at Goucher College in Towson near Baltimore, probably around 1981 or 1982. I always made it a point to watch a practice when I was in town for my summer trip.

There was a little rope fence that separated the fans and the field and one day Donovan came down the line slapping backs, shaking hands and telling stories. I didn't get him to sign anything that day but a few years ago I picked up this commemorative Baltimore Colts mini helmet signed by six players from those great teams including four Hall of Famers, Donovan, Raymond Berry, Gino Marchetti and Lenny Moore.

A couple other Donovan items from my Baltimore Colts collection:

1961 Fleer Art Donovan. One of my only regrets is that I never saw a regular season Baltimore Colts game in Memorial Stadium. Just looking at that card drives that home. What a place it was.

40 Years (and ten days) Ago

edit: I meant to post this back on the 4th of July but you know how that goes.

On the 4th of July in 1973 a kid went to see the Orioles play the Brewers at Memorial Stadium. His father bought him a program and the young fan scored it. Turned out to be a pretty interesting game. The Brewers cuffed Mike Cuellar around and led 5-0 going into the bottom of the sixth. The Orioles rallied and scored 3 in the sixth and four in the seventh (including a two run homer by Earl Williams) to take a two run lead into the eighth.

'Closer By Committee' members Eddie Watt and Bob Reynolds proceeded to give the lead away and the game was tied going to the bottom of the eighth when the Orioles' suddenly awakened bats continued their onslaught and they scored three more to go up 10-7. The inning was highlighted by a Paul Blair single driving in two. Reynolds managed to hold that lead and got the win.

The fan (and you can tell it's a kid by the handwriting) scored the game using a rather rudimentary system consisting of 'O', 'S', 'D', 'HR', 'SF' and 'SO'. Not very elaborate but I can follow the game with it. I remember using a similar 'system' when I was first scoring games at the ballpark.

The program is 36 pages long including the covers. That's pretty good for .25 even in 1973 terms. There was one feature story, that being the "American League Innovation..." Of course they are referring to the DH. The rule itself is explained on the second page of the feature and a photo layout of potential DHers.

Some thoughts on that photo montage..... I never think of Frank Howard as a Tiger, ever....I love the picture of Frank Robinson in his Orioles duds though he's listed for his new team, the Angels...... the heading above the picture claims that these are "six former NL slugging super-stars who seem ideally suited for the role..." and it goes on to name four as regular DHers and points to Robby and Dick Allen as guys who will DH in the second game of doubleheaders. (For you kids that is when you got to see teams play two games in a day for the price of one ticket.) If i had the time and energy I'd like to scour the BR boxscores to see if and when those two actually fulfilled that role.

The rest of the program is typical of the era (and today as well for the most part). there is a shot of Earl Weaver in his usual pose, pointing out the error of the umpire's ways. And individual shots of what had to have been his always bemused coaches.

Orioles roster page....

A feature on Brooks Robinson above which is an ad for the Purdy Steak Company. The ad trumpets Purdy as the "National Champion of processed portion meat products." That may be the single worst marketing slogan of all time and may explain why the company is long gone.

Not a bad starting rotation:

Food and souvenir prices were listed on one page. Crab cakes went for half a buck. I figure I ate about $100 worth of those babies in my visits to Memorial.

And what would an Orioles' publication be without a Natty Boh ad on the back cover?

"Give that fan a contract!"

Brooklyn Dodger righty Rex Barney smiles towards the heavens from the front of his 1951 Bowman. This is one of my favorite vintage cards. It's damn near perfect. Great portrait set against a blue sky with the stadium lights in the background. The whole thing tells me that this is a guy who enjoys being a major leaguer in 1951.

Rex pitched six seasons for the Brooklyn Dodgers, just five full ones. He broke through for 15 wins in 1948 and pitched a no hitter against the Giants on September 9th of that year (there ya go Night Owl). His 3.10 ERA that year was by far the best of his career.

Rex struggled with control throughout his career (1948 seems to be his baseball 'Harmonic Convergence') and was hampered by a leg injury which led to a shortened career. But while he was through with active baseball duty after 1952, he wasn't through with the game.

He worked as a broadcaster and then in 1974 came to Baltimore as the public address announcer at Memorial Stadium and then at Camden Yards. He became well known for two expressions. "Give that fan a contract." was heard when a fan made a nice play on a ball hit into the stands, and his post-game 'Thank Youuuuuu' always meant that you were free to go fight your way out of the horrendously gridlocked Memorial Stadium parking lots. Rex worked for the O's until his death in 1997. By the time he passed he was an iconic figure in a town where he had never thrown a pitch.

My scanner cut off the bottom border of this one and turned what is a slight printing hic-up into what looks like a crease across Barney's right cheek. The corners and colors are almost as they were when they came out of the wrapper. Only a couple of stains and a chip on the reverse spoil it.

Big Boog

I think every Orioles fan of a certain vintage holds a special place in his heart for John "Boog" Powell. I know I do. He was just that kind of guy, powerful, jovial, larger than life. The '67 Topps Boog Powell is one of my favorites. The close-up photo really conveys his size, and oddly, his temperament  At least it does to me. He looks calm and satisfied with how his life has gone.

Like all of the 1000's of cards from the late 50's and 60's that were shot at Yankee Stadium I always feel like 'Hey, maybe I was there that day!'. Probably not.

But the card does reference a day I WAS at the ballpark, in this case Memorial Stadium. The write up mentions the fact that Boog was the first man to homer over the hedge row beyond the centerfield fence there. That was June 22, 1962 and it was my first ever time to see the O's in Baltimore. It was a twilight doubleheader against the Red Sox on a Friday. The Sox won the first game 2-1 in 10 innings with the loss going to Hoyt Wilhelm. Ike Delock and Milt Pappas had gone pitch for pitch for most of the game.

Don Schwall was pitching the second game for Boston. In the seventh Powell launched his monster blast out over the hedges towards these houses:

It was impressive. I remember my uncle who was, unlike my Dad, a serious Orioles fan, saying he'd love to have been out there to see it coming. The shot tied the game at 2-2 and Hobie Landruth, of all people, won it in the ninth for the Birds with a walk-off homer. Future Hall of Famer had gone all the way for the Orioles. I believe that was the only time I ever saw him pitch.

Here's to you, Boog!!