Blog Kiosk: 9/16/2011

Here's Fernando Valenzuela, this morning, at City Hall being honored during Latino Heritage Month, via Los Angeles Dodgers Twitter Lockerz.

• Longtime Dodger fan Larry King is canceling his season tickets due to McCourt, via Farther Off the Wall.
  
• Dodgers ask whether ownership is affecting season-ticket renewal, via Bill Shaikin of LA Times.
  
• Bob Lemke recalls what happened to some of the relics from Ebbets Field.
  

  The TSN article did have other specifics, though. It was mentioned that $2,300 was realized in the auction. By far the biggest bid was for the cornerstone, purchased for $600 by then-president of the National League, Warren Giles.
  
  The Ebbets Field cornerstone was described as about 3' by 4' by 1', cut from red-brown Connecticut Granite. After considerable effort, the stone was busted open and a copper box extracted.

• Panini enters the Baseball card market. They will be releasing Baseball cards, licensed by MLBPA, later this year.
  
• Jesse at Los Angeles Inspiration was a big winner during the Dodgers #SocialSeptember. Congrats!
  
• In LA Kings news, standout franchise defenseman is now officially a holdout. Damn you Drew! Read the interview with Kings GM about this situation at LA Kings Insider. In my opinion, a 7 year deal at $6.8mil is more than fair- way more than fair!
  
• Nick Diunte puts up Part 5 of his interview with Carl Erskine. And watch the video below.

Video Link:

Daily Conlon: 325 through 333

Here are todays Daily Conlon cards numbered 325 through 333. It features not only Charles Conlon himself (located on the top row, far right) but also Dodger hurler Nap Rucker (bottom row, far right). As you know by now, Charles Conlon is arguably the most famous of all Baseball photographers. He worked the field for nearly 4 decades, and as is credited with capturing the Ty Cobb "sliding into base" photograph that every fan has seen. Strangely, photography started out only as a hobby for Conlon (then in his mid-30's) until a sports editor for The Spalding Base Ball Guide encouraged him to take it on full time. He subsequently dominated the field throughout the 20's and 30's.

The Rucker card celebrates his no-hitter on September 5, 1908 against the Boston Braves. As stated on the reverse:

Nap Rucker, a career .500 pitcher, was struck with a hapless Brooklyn team in 1908 that finished 46 games out of first. But on September 5, the crafty Georgia southpaw was overpowering. He walked no one and fanned 14, striking out the side in the fourth inning. Three Brooklyn errors deprived him of a perfect game.

That figures. The Brooklyn Bums ruined his chance at perfection.