Dodger Correspondence: Babe Phelps

In last night's game Vin Scully mentioned Babe Phelps. If I remember correctly the Dodgers had him catch a grapefruit from a tall building. Anyway, below is a letter written by Babe to a fan.

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"The years that I played Baseball was very enjoyable and had some wonderful guys to play with. Was voted to (the) All Star game 1938-39-40. Was very pleased to have the opportunity to be a All Star team. Had a life time batting average of .310. Which I am very proud of. Had some real good managers- Casey Stengel and Leo Durocher. They were the best. Really knew their Baseball..."

BTW, he got his nickname "Babe" because of his resemblance to the Yankee slugger Babe Ruth. It is also worthy to note that he became fast friends with Ruth when he joined the Dodgers as a coach. Go to SABR's biography of Babe Phelps for a comprehensive history of his career. He was quite a character.

(click pic to enlarge)

eBay Auction Link: Phelps Letter: