Nice Win!

Two wins in a row on two great pitching performances by Billingsley and Kuroda. I'm lovin' how this team is competing. After a game where the Keystone Cops ruled the day, the Dodgers show some fight. They can win this thing, and they know it. They just needed a little wake up call. Maybe Kershaw's message pitch and the ensuing ejections and mayhem has lit a fire under this team?

On a side note, Beto Duran shares a interesting photo on twitter.

"Manny Ramirez has started leaving his autograph in dugouts around the league including the Dodgers."

(pic link: YFrog Image: DuranLA)

The Aura of the Brooklyn Dodger Collectible Market

As a Southern California based Dodger fan in my late 30's, my only experiences with the team has been on the West Coast. I am far too young to have been a Brooklyn fan and have never personally ventured out there in my soon to be 40 years. Yet, I find myself having a strong connection to those "Boys of Summer." As a collector, this means that I have naturally gravitated towards Brooklyn collectibles, and the marketplace reflects that I may not be the only one.

Collectors Weekly explores this and wonders aloud why it is that Brooklyn memorabilia remains strong even after it left the borough over 50 years ago.

So why is Brooklyn Dodgers memorabilia so collectible? After all, Walter O’Malley turned his back on the city after the 1957 season and left for sunny Southern California, where there was less market competition and warmer weather but lukewarm fans, who, even today, routinely show up for games in the fourth inning. While the team played in Brooklyn, they won exactly one World Series Championship. Since their departure, they have won five in Los Angeles, yet the West Coast version of the team garners far less attention among collectors than “Dem Bums,” as they were affectionately known, from Brooklyn.

I do have a little bone to pick about the statement "lukewarm fans", nevertheless, it is an interesting question. Will Brooklyn material remain strong as former Brooklynites die, or will we see an inevitable decline in values over time? Read the story for their insight.

My thoughts are that LA based fans will probably pick up the slack. The history and majesty of the Brooklyn team has transfered to the West Coast as a part of our legacy. As I had written in my "About Me" section,

"The history of the team, that binds us all together, is vast and storied. It was born out of the Victorian Era, resided in an immigrant culture emblematic of our past and traveled across great lands westward like the settlers of old. When you watch the Dodgers it’s easy to see them as ourselves."

The mystic of the Brooklyn Dodgers, I don't believe, will ever die.

Vintage Spokesman: Campy Exalts LIFE

Roy Campanella writes about the wonders of life in Life Magazine, circa 1954.

I have more reasons than most people for liking LIFE.

As a ball player, as a parent, and as a businessman... I like LIFE.

For one thing, I was lucky enough to have my picture on the cover last year, and I have never received so many letter in my life. One man in Westchester- I think he was an auto dealer- bought a lot of copies and sent them to me to autograph, I made it my business to sign them after the Christmas holidays as I did many of the other requests. It was surprising how many forwarded the actual picture in LIFE for the autograph.

Click on the pic below to read more from Campy.

(click pic to enlarge)
(eBay Auction Link)

Collection: N28 More Billiards

Here are some more vintage Allen & Ginter N28's from my set. These are the remaining 6 billiards & pool players that I have. Click on them to enlarge. They had all been graded by SGC when I purchased them as a lot on eBay some 5 to 6 years ago. I remember it being a pretty good deal at the time. (I usually could care less about card grading, but If I had to use those services then SGC is always my first choice for vintage cards.)

Funny thing, though, is that now that I review my set I find that I am missing 1 billiards player, named J. Schaefer. I had originally thought I had all the non-Baseball players in my set, but, alas, this apparently is not true. Fortunately, it shouldn't be very costly to pick one up in decent shape. So, this leaves my current set just 8 cards short of total completion.

Jackie on the Dirt

Here is an interesting 1951 press photo showing Jackie Robinson laying prone on the infield dirt. Monte Irvin of the New York Giants looks over his right shoulder towards Jackie as he heads onto second base. I'm not sure if Robinson snagged the ball, or dove and missed. All I know is that my imagination is running wild. Maybe Irvin hit a liner to the gap for a double and Jackie is snagging an errant throw from right fielder Carl Furillo. Who knows? This great photo was found on eBay.

(eBay Auction Link)