In the early days of Dodger Baseball on television you would sit down in front of the tube a half hour before game time to watch a pregame show featuring Happy Felton and his Knot-Hole Gang on WOR-TV, channel 9. As I had written previously:
Happy Felton would host a group of 3 little league ballplayers of the same age, same position and from 3 different Baseball programs and have them work out with a Dodger player. They would go through drills the pro's do. Then, the Dodger would pick one of the kids who did the best. That kid's prize would be to have an opportunity to meet the player of his choice the next game and hang out in the dugout with the team.It was an opportunity for kids to watch their favorite players up-close.
Today, this show has largely been forgotten and I do not believe there are any recordings available for us to view. (If I'm wrong about this please let me know. I'd love to watch an episode.) So, all we have are various memorabilia items to remind us of this past.
Recently, I came across a group of Happy Felton/Brooklyn Dodger collectibles on eBay, and I wanted to make note of them. See those items below.
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The item above is a Happy Felton business card. It sold for $24.05.
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This next item is a cardboard advertising pin featuring Happy Felton. On the reverse it says, "you can always bank on a good sport", and is sponsored by Bank of the Manhattan Company. I wonder if they were the main sponsor for his TV show. This unusually mint pin sold for $68.55.
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| (eBay Auction Link) |
The Baseball scorer below is my favorite of all the Happy Felton items I ran into. According to the seller it dates to 1953. As you can see, it is a mint condition Baseball scorer with little dials denoting balls, strikes and outs. Vintage scorers like this are very desirable and highly collected. It sold on eBay for $140.27.
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| (eBay Auction Link) |
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Pic at the very top of Happy Felton via Snider's Photo Album.
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ReplyDeleteI was one of the boys appearing on Happy Felton's show in 1950. After winning the first step, I was allowed to appear again with a chosen player (Duke Snider) whom I was to ask a question. My question to Snider, if I remember correctly, was about the possibility of hitting four homers in the same game. My memory is not too good, but I believe this took place in May of 1950 (1951?). One fact I do know is that my appearance on the show was reported in New York’s Amsterdam News (the next day, I believe) with a picture of me that I never kept. I have no clear idea of the newspapers date. Maybe one of the guys I was on the show with me is still around to help clarify some dates. Wouldn’t anybody in the press with experience in tracking down past events be able to search Amsterdam News files for information?
God bless baseball.
Lester
My Info:
Lester Estremera
113 Lablanc Way NW
Atlanta, Georgia 30327
Cellphone: 706-969-8120
Email: LesterTradUSA@windstream.net
In 1950, I was living on 124th Street in New York.
I am 81 years old. I may have been a year older than the other kids on the show. I had just started attending Central Commercial High School that used to be near the Daly News Building on 42nd Street between Lexington and Third.
Lester, I'll ask around and see if one of the researchers in the SABR (Society for American Baseball Research) community has access to the Amsterdam News files via a university library or something. Perhaps someone can turn something up.
DeleteThank you Cecilia,
DeleteI would really be thrilled if somebody could turn up something about this moment of my youth. Would a trip to NY and the Amsterdam News offices be the way to go? I would not hesitate to go. In fact, I'll start by phoning them. Since I'm not able to pinpoint the dates I was on Happy Felton, it may take additional perusing but the info I have should help.
Thanks again.
I was on the Knot Hole Gang TV show in August of 1956. Junior Gilliam picked me as the winner, and I came back the following night and asked Pee Wee a question or two on the air. I then went to the Dodger dugout with Felton and met the Dodger players, who all signed the ball I won. It was a huge thrill, and after 62 years I still have that Dodger autographed ball. I was a 12 year old Yankee fan from Jersey, but that night I cheeed for the Dodgers!
ReplyDelete