A 1976 Jim Beam's Bicentennial Bourbon / Norman Rockwell Decanter

This ranks as one of my favorite Brooklyn Dodgers related memorabilia items in my collection.  Shown here is a 1976 decanter of Jim Beam's Bourbon.  It is a Bicentennial glass bottle featuring a classic Normal Rockwell painting that many of you may be familiar with.  It is commonly named "Game Called Because of Rain".  It has also been called "The Three Umpires", "Tough Call" and "Bottom of the Sixth".

The reverse of the bottle has the following description:

This cover picture by Norman Rockwell depicts the old Ebbets Field, then the home of the Brooklyn Dodgers.  Here, the Dodgers are trailing the Pittsburgh Pirates 1-0 in the sixth inning.  If the arbiters call the game because of rain, the score will stand as is and Pittsburgh will win.  This irks the Brooklynites, who dislike having other teams win.  In the picture, a Brooklyn coach could well be saying, "You may be all wet, but it ain't raining a drop!"  The huddled Pittsburgh Pirates manager is doubtless retorting, "For the love of Abner Doubleday, how can we play ball in this cloudburst?"

This decanter can easily be found on eBay for about $10, and would look phenomenal in any collectors showcase.

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Some Vintage Brooklyn Dodgers Photographic Negatives at Hunt Auctions

Hunt is currently running their monthly internet auction and it includes some original acetate negatives from noted sports photographer Dennis Brearley.  He is a Pulitzer Prize winning photo journalist once employed by a Boston area newspaper and as the team photographer for the Boston Red Sox.

Since 1978 he has been selling original prints from his own collection of photos taken over his career.  Now, fans and collectors alike can enjoy owning the original negatives.  Via the Brearly website:

"Since 1978 the Brearley family has thoroughly enjoyed presenting our unique photographs to our customers. The decision to sell our collection of collectibles and original negatives was not an easy one." remarked the Brearley Family. "However, we have had wonderful experiences and met some great people; it has been a great ride! We hope the future owners of this unique collection enjoy it as much as we have."

Check out some of the Brooklyn Dodger photos I came across below. Of note, there was a great photograph of Babe Ruth in Dodger Blue.  He was standing in the dugout with a megaphone held up to his mouth.  No doubt, Ruth was scream encouraging words.  Unfortunately, that item has since been pulled, and I was unable to grab the pic before it disappeared.

Now, on to the Dodger photos.

(Auction Link)

Above is a great, circa 1950's era, photo negative of Pee Wee Reese.  It sold for $143.00.  Below is Duke Snider.  It sold for $81.00.

(Auction Link)

Here is a lot of two negatives featuring Don Drysdale, circa 1950's.  It sold for a very affordable $35.00.  Don looks so young in these.

(Auction Link)

This next lot consist of 15 different negatives, but only 4 are shown.  They sold for $35.00.  I can make out Ralph Branca on the top right, Leo Durocher in the center and Duke Snider on the bottom.

(Auction Link)

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2013 Panini Cooperstown Baseball - The Dodgers Colgan's Chip Disk

This might be the best insert set of the 2013 Baseball season.

Shown here are the 2013 Panini Cooperstown Baseball Colgan's Chip Disk of Dodger players.  These little cards copy a vintage set originally put out from 1909-1913 called Colgan’s Chips.  They are round and feature black & white photos; much like its vintage cousin.

Back in 2007 a large find of over 150 original vintage Colgan's Chip cards were uncovered.  It was dubbed "The Skydash Find" and was valued at over $1 Million.  See my original story about this find here.  It's a great story about how a family inherited the cards - not knowing what they had.  A family member shared their cards on a popular vintage card message board to find out their worth and were immediately harangued with questions.  Most knowledgeable collectors couldn't believe what they were reading, so they demanded photos.  Soon, those photos came to light and the hobby world swooned. 

The best part about "The Skydash Find" story is how they almost got thrown in the trash.  Heck, only two boxes of cards survived the trash heap while another two boxes of memorabilia disappeared.  It is thought by the family that an original Babe Ruth signed jersey was tossed away.

You receive 1 disk in each pack of Cooperstown cards, and there are 165 total cards in the complete set.  So, sit back and enjoy the wonder of these modern cards below.

Colgan's Chips Disks

#38 Dazzy Vance                               #41 Zack Wheat

#44 Jackie Robinson                          #54 Roy Campanella

#80 Duke Snider                                   #88 Pee Wee Reese

#119 Tommy Lasorda                              #121 Don Sutton

#152 Walter O'Malley

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Blog Kiosk: 9/5/2013 - Dodgers Links - Ryu's Next Start Delayed

Dodger players getting prepared for last nights game - the mile high stretch.  BTW, the Dodgers are off tonight.  Their magic number sits at 12.  Pic above via @Dodgers on twitter.

• "M. Ellis and wife helping make baseball safer," via Ken Gurnick at MLB.com.
• "Report: Dodger Stadium has nearly $4 million worth of liens against it," via Mike Oz at Big League Stew.  This sounds like a case of irrational screaming by the best gossip hounds in the business (TMZ) for the sake of getting hits.  I'm not worried about the Dodger finances, and I suspect this issue is just a little disagreement between the team and some contractors on the final bill.
• "Koufax on "Mister Ed," Big D with Greg Brady, and Hollywood's Love Affair with the Dodgers," via Howard Cole at LA Weekly.  He put together a great list of vintage Dodger players who have appeared on television.  It's a mighty long list.
• Hyun-Jin Ryu's next start has been pushed back.  Via @Dodgers & @KenGurnick on twitter:

Chris Capuano will start on Friday. RT @kengurnick: Ryu has a middle back stiffness after last start.
— Los Angeles Dodgers (@Dodgers) September 4, 2013

• Take a listen to Joe McDonnell's podcast with GM Ned Colletti, here.
• Gellman at Sports Cards Uncensored writes about the various Yasiel Puig autographed cards showing up on eBay.
• David Pinto at Baseball Musings explores the "Dodgers Turnaround".

In the second half, the hitters maintained their overall averages, while the pitchers simply shutdown the opposition with runners in scoring position. Due to their situational stats, the Dodgers looked worse through June 21st than their talent level, and they’ve looked better than their talent level since. This has to be one of the greatest examples of luck turning around in a short time frame that I’ve seen.

• Here's a cat... awwww!

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