A Vintage Dodger Pennant for the Collection - First Annual Dodger Dinner 1958

As I've said many times, I'm not much of a pennant collector. So I rarely focus on adding them to my collection. In this case though, it couldn't be helped.

Several weeks back I won a vintage memorabilia lot of both Brooklyn and Los Angeles Dodgers collectibles, and among the litter of goodies was the above 18 inch pennant from the teams first week in Los Angeles. It commemorates the First Annual Dodger Dinner sponsored by the Baseball Writers Association of America, Los Angeles Chapter held on Thursday, April 17, 1958. Per a mention at Walter O'Malley.com:

Jackie Robinson 1949 Dodgers Contract Sold for Big Bucks at REA

This sold at a huge price. Far more than I ever expected.

As you may know, REA recently concluded their Spring 2017 auction and it included a somewhat historically important document - a Jackie Robinson signed MLB contract with the Dodgers from 1949. It sold for the princely sum of $276,000.00 (auction link here).

Blog Kiosk: 5/2/2017 - Dodgers Links - Some Odds and Ends

Clayton was not his usual self yesterday evening. Instead, he was rather human on the mound. In his six inning stint against the Giants he struggled through 104 pitches, giving up eight hits, two of which were homers, struck out five and allowed three earned runs to take his second loss of the season. Per Chris Haft and Austin Laymance at MLB.com:

"They had a good game plan combined with Clayton's slider not as sharp," Dodgers manager Dave Roberts said. "I think that's just the story of the game."

It's not only the story of the game, but also the story of Clayton's year so far. His slider has been far from Kershaw-like -- it's been flat and hittable. Nevertheless, it's still early in the season, and I suspect he'll get it figured out soon.

Photo above via Jon SooHoo/LA Dodgers 2017. Go here to check out more pics by Jon from yesterdays game. Below are more links to check out:

• This Day in Dodgers History: In 1928 Giants manager John McGraw does the unusual. In that afternoons game against the Dodgers he calls for an intentional walk with the bases loaded and two outs to drive in a run in the ninth inning to make the score 2-1. Giants starter Larry Benton then struck out the next batter, Harry Rinconda, to get the victory. In 1975 the Dodgers traded Geoff Zahn and Eddie Solomon to the Cubs for starting pitcher Burt Hooton. In 1995 Hideo Nomo made his first major league start. He would pitch five innings of one-hit ball against the Giants in a no-decision. The Dodgers would eventually lose the game in the 15th inning, 4-3. 
• Happy Birthday, Larry Cheney!