Vintage Dodger Snapshot: Jim Gilliam

Here are a large group of fan taken photo snapshots of Dodger Jim Gilliam. His #19 was retired by the Dodgers in 1978 two days after his untimely death just prior to the start of the World Series. His number remains the only number retired by the team of a player who is not a Hall of Famer.

(eBay Auction Link)

(eBay Auction Link)

(eBay Auction Link)

(eBay Auction Link)(eBay Auction Link)

Drysdale Legendary Cut

Even the big auction houses sell modern day Baseball cards. Below is a 2006 Upper Deck SP Legendary Cuts card featuring autos of Hall of Famers Don Drysdale and Walter Johnson on the same card. This "1 of 1" card is on auction at Mile High Card Company.

(Auction Link)

Happy Memorial Day

2010 Topps Series 2: Other Dodger Inserts

Here are some more pics from the newly released 2010 Topps Series 2 Baseball set. See my previous post of other inserts from series 2 here.

Below is a "History of the World Series" insert card that celebrates the magic of Johnny Podres helping the Dodgers win their first World Series.

Here a couple of "Legendary Lineage" cards.

The Kemp/ Murphy lineage card even has a variation with a game-used jersey and bat included.

Here is a Turkey Red insert of Chad Billingsley.

Below is a "Peak Performance" card of Andre Ethier and Matt Kemp with pieces of game-used jersey parts.

This is one of the more fascinating insert cards from series 2. Topps looks to the future and creates a 3D card set design. It has only 20 cards and includes players expected to still be playing in 10 years. Below are the cards for Ethier, Kemp and Kershaw.

Vintage Spokeman: Don Drysdale

Dodger hurler and vitamin pitchman, Don Drysdale, offers some good advise to kids.

"In Baseball, championships are won by team, not individuals."

From August 1959.

(eBay Auction Link)

I love those groovy pants.

(eBay Auction Link)

Vintage Dodger Snapshot: Doug Camilli

Here are a couple of fan taken vintage photo snapshots of Doug Camilli.

(eBay Auction Link)


(eBay Auction Link)

Blog Kiosk: 5/30/2010

• Evan, from New Mexico Fan, gets a special tour of the Albuquerque Isotopes ballpark from its GM, Part 1. Part 2.
• The Dodgers official photographer, Jon SooHoo, has started his own blog called the Dodgers Photog Blog. Check it out.
  
• Ely Mania has not abated. Check out this awesome Ely SI Cover made by PA_Dodger on Twitter.
• GCRL finds some old Dodger Police cards of his from the 80's and rediscovers that he got a few signed as a kid. Go and check them out.
• Then check out GCRL homemade Goose Joak 2010 card of Jose Lima. If you don't already have GCRL on your bookmarks then do it now. He is a huge Dodger card collector and puts up daily post of his favorite Dodger cards.
  
• Dodgers sue Hollywood.
  
• Yes, celebrating our collective geekdom, SOSG shares some pics from Empire Strikes Back Night.
  
• What Oil? See more pics of the Gulf Oil mess as it slowly reaches American soil, via Boston.com.
• Stanley Cup fever has hit Chicago as the lions in front of the Art Institute of Chicago get re-crowned, via Battle of California.
• Ozzie Guillen really hates Cleveland.
• John Fogerty's "Centerfield" will play a special part in this years Hall of Fame Induction ceremony.

YouTube Link:

2010 Topps Series 2 Dodgers Inserts

Series 2 of Topps 2010 Baseball is out and it's filled with some great Dodger goodness. Check out some of the limited insert cards below. I'll follow up with more pic over the next few days.

Here are Dodger cards from the Vintage Legends Collection which features Hall of Famers on card designs from well past their playing days.

Jackie Robinson on a 1976 Topps card

Roy Campanella on a 1979 Topps card

Pee Wee Reese on a 1993 Topps card

Here are a couple of short printed variation cards of Roy Campanella.

Pee Wee Reese

These are a group of manufactured patch cards of Manny Ramirez, Duke Snider, Matt Kemp and Jon Broxton.

These are Peak Performance autographed cards of Andre Ethier and Chad Billingsley.

Vintage Dodger Snapshot: Johnny Roseboro

Here is a great fan taken snapshot of former Dodger catcher Johnny Roseboro, via eBay.

(eBay Auction Link)

T206 Brooklyn Dodgers: Happy Smith

Henry Joseph "Happy" Smith was on his way up. He was born in a small coastal town called Coquille, Oregon where timber and steamboats ruled the land. Soon he traveled a little bit south to San Jose, California where he made a name for himself with the independent California League San Jose Prune Pickers. In this farm town Happy ruled the Baseball landscape and became a fan favorite. In 1908 he batted .333 and followed that up with a .342 average the next year. Of special note, a young "Prince" Hal Chase, a would-be Hall of Famer if not for his corrupt ways, was a teammate of his there.

Somewhere along the way he signed with the Chicago Cubs, but was subsequently traded to the Brooklyn Superbas before he could lace it up on the northside. In 1910 Happy made his debut, but failed to impress on a team that didn't impress many. He batted .237 with no power. Even though his average was higher than the teams collective .229 he would only get into 35 games. That was all she wrote for Happy Smith in Blue.

By one account he was injured, but to no avail. He returned home to San Jose later in 1910 and played a few games in front of a friendly crowd. In 1911 and 1912 he played in Montgomery, Alabama, and came back home to play with the San Jose Bears in 1913. That season he lead the California State League in batting with a .323 average.

In researching Happy Smith I found a song written by Peter Kay called "The Ballad of Happy Smith." Check it out here. It's pretty good.

Topps Original Card Art: Matt Kemp

Topps 2010 National Chicle has been one of the more talked about vintage themes card sets this year. Some of the art has been panned, but much of it is excellent. Check out the Matt Kemp painting below. This original card art was commissioned by Topps, and it was drawn by Jason Davies. It is being sold directly from ToppsVault.

(eBay Auction Link)

Vintage Dodger Snapshot: Jeff Torborg

(eBay Auction Link)

Here are a series of 3 different fan taken snapshots of long time Dodger catcher Jeff Torborg.

(eBay Auction Link)

(eBay Auction Link)

Have a Cold One

Considering yesterdays game where Kershaw pitched 8 6 fantastic innings only to lose because of 3 unearned runs, I think it's a good time to consider having a drink- just like the lady above. Here is a 1955 Schaefer beer die-cut advertising sign with an attractive Dodger fan hoping for better times.

(Legendary Auctions Link)

Strasburg Mania is Here

This has been all over the collector blog community and last night it hit national news on Yahoo. This is crazy, just crazy. The Stephen Strasburg 2010 Topps Bowman Chrome Superfractor "1 of 1" is currently on eBay and has over 80 bids. It is currently at a price that could buy you a decently shaped Mickey Mantle rookie card or a new Chrysler PT Cruiser. I'm not kidding! As of this writing it is already at $15,900.00.

A kid who has yet to throw a pitch in the Majors has a rookie card selling for thousands of dollars.

It remains to be seen if his performance on the field will equal the prices of his cards, but I think it is safe to say that Strasburgmania is in full swing.

A Shoe Box Find

This isn't a find of a thousand dollar card, but it is a great story about a look at one child's pastime.

Story Link:
Hat Tip: Sports Collectors Daily:

Card of the Week: Bat Follows Ball

Sometimes the bat and ball are inseparable. Above is Roberto Alomar's 1993 Leaf card, as this weeks "Card of the Week," which proves the point.

Vintage Spokesman: Roy Campanella

This is a nice ad that extols the virtues of Campy.

Try to steal on Roy Campanella and chances were you'd be out by feet. Try to pitch on past him chances were he'd belt it out of the park. A slick fielder, a smart handler of pitchers- Campy was also fear by many as Baseball's greatest hitting catcher.

In a single season with the Brooklyn Dodgers; he smacked out 41 homers and knocked in 142 runs, a feat no other catcher had ever equaled. Three times named the National League Most Valuable Player, Roy Campanella recently received the highest honor Baseball can bestow- election to the Hall of Fame.

Maybe your son won't become a Baseball great like Roy Campanella. Not many children do become sports stars. But every youngster- including yours- can be as physically fit as the most talented athlete. It will help him get more fun- more of everything- out of life.

Equitable knows how important good health is- and urges you to encourage physical fitnes at home, at school, in your community. When you do, every one comes out ahead. Your country, your family- and most of all, you.

(eBay Auction Link)

Vintage Dodger Snapshot: Manny Mota

Here is a young and sprightly Manny Mota, via eBay. This is a fan taken photo snapshot. Circa early 1970's.

(eBay Auction Link)

T206 Brooklyn Dodgers: Jim Pastorius

Jim Pastorius started playing professional ball in 1902 in the New York State League for the Albany Senators. He was a left handed hurler who went by the nickname of Sunny Jim. Considering he would play for a Dodger team that couldn't hit worth a lick he certainly needed to be an optimistic man.

In 1906 he became a starting pitcher for Brooklyn and did pretty well as a number 5 guy. Pastorius went 10-14 with an ERA of 3.61. The next year he improved a great deal by going 16-12 with a 2.35 ERA. It looked like he may become a mainstay on the Superbas staff. Unfortunately, 1908 brought about a decline for Jim. He went 4-20 with an ERA of 2.44, but issued 74 walks while only striking out 54. He also had the dubious distinction of establishing a franchise record 14 straight loses that year. On a positive note, Pastorius helped start a triple play on September 3, 1908 against the Philadelphia Phillies.

In 1909 Jim's season started poorly as he went 1-9 with a 5.76 ERA. On top of that, his walk to strikeout ratio got worse. He walked 58 while only striking out 23. Soon he would be released from the team and never played professional Baseball again. Sunny Jim's was no more.

Vintage Dodger Snapshot: Willie Davis

Willie Davis is warming up in this fan taken photo snapshot. By the looks of the stadium, it was most likely taken during a Spring Training game. Found on eBay.

(eBay Auction Link)

eBay: Vintage Sax & Fernando T-Shirt

Admit it. How many of you had this Steve Sax T-shirt?

(eBay Auction Link)

Or, how about this Fernando Valenzuela T-shirt.

(eBay Auction Link)

How Hu Broke His Nose

What I find so weird about the Hu's broken nose is the lack of info about how it happened. So, this is one way to imagine it.

Having a little bit of fun with the Batman & Robin Comic Generator.