On A Bender

I hadn't added anything to my Charles Bender collection in months when I got a Twitter tip from Nick Vossbrink who writes a great card/photography blog and opines on Twitter using @vossbrink.

He pointed me towards this 4x5 Type 1 contact print produced by William Jacobellis who photographed many sports and entertainment figures over a long career that stretched into the 70s. He shot for the New York Journal-American and was responsible for many pictures used on Topps cards in the 50s. PSA's site has a lot of info on how these pics would up on Topps products. It's a link worth following.

The pic above was taken during Chief Bender's last baseball gig, pitching coach for the Philadelphia A's in the early 1950s. Bobby Shantz won the MVP in 1952 while under Bender's tutelage. Chief died of cancer and other health issues in 1954 at the age of 70.

I'm planning to be in the Philadelphia area in late February or early March and hope to find a chance to visit his grave just north of the city if I can squeeze in some time.

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).

Orioles Wire Photos

While looking for something else I came across a seller on eBay with a bunch of reasonably priced wire service photos and among them were some Orioles-related ones. I bought what I thought was the best of the bunch.

Since I'm such a sucker for the early '60s Orioles jerseys I had to pick this one of Robin Roberts and Manager Billy Hitchcock. The fact that it's a shot of Roberts is a nice bonus. Even I tend to forget that he did some good things while a member of the Orioles. He was a double-digit winner in each of the three full seasons he played there. I saw him pitch at least a couple of times. He beat the Twins in a game I attended in 1963 during our annual 'late in the summer' trip to Charm City. I also saw him in Yankee Stadium but I can't recall or figure out when exactly. All I remember is that it was a night game.

The photo's caption relates to Roberts' debut with the O's in May of 1962. He had signed with the Yankees after the '61 World Series but never made an appearance with them early in 1962 before he was cut and signed with the Orioles.

Roberts stars in this next photo as well. This picture comes from this game later in that same season.

The caption states that the Orioles swept a five-game series from the Yanks. That was five games in three days. Good times. Of course, the Yanks had the last laugh, they won the pennant and my Birds finished 7th.

No action in this third and final photo. It shows Frank Robinson as he signed to manage in the Puerto Rican Winter League in 1968. The team was called the Cangrejeros (or Crabbers). It was a big deal at the time since the majors had still not had a black manager and Robby was a big star. This is really what set in motion his eventual hiring in Cleveland.

Frank's Hall of Fame bio recounts his days as a manager in Santurce. And has some cool pics as a bonus.

I picked up a handful of other photos in the purchase including a couple of Billy Pierce shots. I'll get those posted in the new year.