Hi gang! I thought I would lighten the mood around the morgue and talk about a subject I know a little about. Beards. As I was looking through my baseball cards, I noticed the obvious. There is a lot more facial hair in the game today than when I first started watching the game.
Clean faces were the thing. Back in the 1800’s, a lot of players favored wearing a moustache. In fact in a team photo of the 1890 Brooklyn team, they all have them.
Not sure when the trend changed, but after the turn of the century they seemed to die out. Most cards of the era show players with clean shaven faces. This continues into the late 60’s when Finley’s A’s started to bring back the hair.
I do not recall having a single baseball card that showed any player with any kind of facial hair whatsoever. Most teams had dress codes. Suits and ties when traveling and no facial hair. I know Sparky Anderson was pretty vocal about that when he was with the Reds.
The only Reds player I remember with facial hair from those times was George Foster. And he was allowed that because he had a serious skin condition that would not allow him to shave.
Today, it is totally different. I cannot think of a single team, except the Yankees, who do not allow facial hair at all, who does not have some bearded up or mustachioed player. Some are quite extravagant with their beards. The flowing handlebar moustache that Rollie Fingers had was one of a kind.
But today’s players sport thin, or bushy, or maybe a goatee type, and some might even go the Van Dyke route. The Dodgers have several. Of course Turner, who’s is the most impressive and full, and since it is red, it stands out a lot. Kershaw looks like he just rolled out of bed and decided not to shave for a while.
May’s is shorter than Turners, but no less red. Gonsolin had a full beard, but somewhere along the way removed most of it. Smith has peach fuzz. Cody’s also looks scraggly. Jansen seems like he spends a lot of time at his barber’s, same with Price. Max’s is well maintained and trimmed neatly.
Kike’s attempt at a moustache this last season was rather pitiful. Pollock cannot seem to decide if he wants one or not. Most of the kids are clean shaven though.
I have tried to imagine players like Mays, Ruth, Gehrig, and Musial with facial hair. Just does not compute. If my memory is good, I do not think I have seen a manager with so much as a moustache. I could be wrong, but I think most coaching staff and managers are clean shaven.
Then of course, back in the day there was the House of David. A Jewish team that toured and played other teams for many years, and were featured in Red Skelton’s movie, Whistling in Brooklyn.
It will be interesting to see how long the trend continues. Beards in the summer are itchy and hard to maintain. Moustaches are easier. Of course these guys can afford to go to a barber as often as they like. Some might even have their own hairdressers.
Matt Kemp when he was with the Dodgers kept his trimmed neatly. Last season in Colorado, exactly the opposite was true. It looked very unkempt. If Turner goes elsewhere, we will not only be losing a talented player, we will be losing one of the better beards in the majors.
Bear now that’s a beard Santa would be jealous of! Not just the players of old but I always get a kick out of how dressed up the fans were. Ties and jackets with a nice hat! Different times today!
Thanks Cassidy. That was taken in 2013. My sis and I went on the train that takes a 2 hour trip through the Royal Gorge. It is a lot shorter now for many reasons. The drink is a bacon bloody Mary. They use bacon flavored tomato juice. Quite tasty, and addictive. Yes, even in the early days at the coliseum people still dressed up more. In the 63 World Series Pepitone claimed he lost the throw from Boyer in the white shirted background. Would not have happened with all the blue shirts in the crowd these days.
I opened the blog this morning and immediately went down to check the fireplace to see if Santa Bear was coming down the chimney… or is it Bear Claus?
Bear Claws,,,,,
😉
Podres, Snider, Erskine, Zimmer.
That’s Bob sitting behind them.
Not sure when it was taken, but Podres looks like he is sick.
I was sure who the last three were, but did not recognize Johnny Podres. He does look sick.
Compare him to the photo below with Don Drysdale, Pete Richert, Stan Williams, and Sandy Koufax . Podres is on the rear right.
It turned out he was sick. The picture Bear posted was taken six months before his death.
Thanks Mark. It did not show a date on the photo. Had to be sometime after he quit coaching.
Williams and Koufax must have traded gloves as a joke….
They did. Most likely that picture is from the 1962 season. Only year Richert and Williams were on the roster at the same time. Williams was traded to the Yankees for Moose Skowron after his melt down in the last game of the 62 playoffs.
Fun fact: Davante Adams wasn’t the best WR on his high school team. The other receiver, Joc Pederson, had better stats!
https://www.sportscasting.com/packers-star-davante-adams-was-the-second-best-wide-receiver-on-his-high-school-team-behind-a-guy-who-just-won-a-world-series/
As a 57 year fan of the Pack, I am more than fine to have the second best WR on that HS school team. Wearing my Aaron Rodgers jersey proudly today. Rodgers now gets a NFC Championship game at Lambeau. A win there and then Super Bowl win #5 for the Pack.
I am rooting for the Packers.
Let me join the others in complementing the beard Bear.
Don’t want to ruin your day but I just saw on Twitter that Mark is working a deal with the Yankees to trade you over to their blog. Will you shave the beard or retire?
Join the Evil Empire? Never! Beard stays…….cute post on Facebook the other day. There was a picture of an elevator door. And the caption said, Darth Vader’s seldom seen wife…..Ella Vader……I know, it is pretty lame, but it just struck me funny. Today is Don Zimmer’s birthday.
Smith has peach fuzz
Very funny Bear
I am good with what we have
Assuming we get JT back which I believe we will.
I just had no other way to describe that baby face of his.
Bear, I have to admit, when I was putting this together for you, I knew I had to find a special place for your picture with that beard. What better place than at the top. That is a very impressive beard. Good fun article as well. We need more of these when all we generally do is pontificate about roster construction. BTW, which is also fun.
Thanks Jeff, That photo was taken about 2 days after my son’s wedding. My sis came up from California for it and she wanted to visit various sites in the area. The train through the Gorge originates right here in Canon City. It is a pleasant little two hour jaunt through the Gorge. We also went to Colorado Springs and rode the Cog Train to the top of Pikes Peak. Air is pretty thin up there, so they only let you stay about 30 minutes, but the view is unreal. They have donuts they make up there without yeast. It has been shut down for quite a while, but is reopening in March. We got a notice here in our building that we can get the Covid vaccine on Friday. Found out you also need a booster shot.
Reportedly, Toronto has offered a five year deal over $100MM for Springer. The Mets are within $27MM of the threshold. Are they willing to go more than $20MM-$21MM for Springer? I am guessing that they may find a better deal for Jackie Bradley Jr. or trade for Kiermaier. JBJ and Brad Hand will probably be better for NYM than just Springer. The problem with both of those guys is that they are LH hitters. With Conforto and Nimmo, they could use a RH batter. I still say they should look at Kike’ in CF. He is a big defensive upgrade over Nimmo, and with their offense, they could deal with Kike’s weak attack against LH pitching. Against a tough lefty pitcher, they could always move Guillorme to 2nd and McNeil in the OF. And they could still improve their pen even more with Hand and stay under the threshold. How much fun with Lindor and Kike’ would that dugout be?
I am not sure that Springer is going to get a better offer. Toronto with Springer and Bauer? If they can get Springer for $20MM AAV, that sets them up for a Bauer offer that no other team will be able to match. It is all starting to come together now that the players are realizing that there opportunities are not as wide as they thought.
FWIW – Per Buster Olney – “Because Cody Bellinger had shoulder surgery after the World Series, he hasn’t yet had a chance to work on the swing that gave him trouble for a lot of the 60-game season.” Some have taken that comment and said that Belli has not swung a bat since the end of the WS. That is not what Olney wrote.
I just saw that Cody Bellinger was ranked the #2 CF’er in baseball. That smells fishy to me… like Trout!
Top Five Players in Baseball in WAR for 2019 season and 2020 partial season:
1. Trout – 11.2
2. Rendon – 9.7
3. Betts – 9.6
4. Bregman – 9.4
5. Bellinger – 9.0
FYI – Max Muncy and Corey Seager are tied for #37 at 5.2
Snow in the forecast for the next two days. Cmon spring training!
This will be a telling year for Belly. Is he a good player or a superstar! We need him to be the latter! How much longer before we sign Turner. No one is giving him 4 years or 20mil/yr and he’s not leaving the Dodgers for a couple extra mil. AF will make it happen. Two years 26 mil with a mutual 3rd year option or a deal like DJLM. 4 years 35 mil because he can dh.Opening day he’s our third baseman!
Outstanding beard Bear… You could pass as my brother from a different mother… In the late 60’s Admiral Elmo Zumwalt Jr. relaxed beard bans and the rest was history… I was in an Anti-Sub Warfare group stationed out of Los Alamitos, Ca… With the exception of the old timers (lifers), this was a magical day…
It’s a gut feeling, but well land JT on a 2+1 contract.
I really hope Belli works on his swing, becuz it’s a swing waiting for a DL stint…
Thanks peterj. I had a mustache while in the army. Not all of the time, but while I was in Germany. Started wearing a beard when I was out maybe a couple of years. I am thinking they will probably sign Turner. I do not think they are worried about going over the tax threshold for a year, so a 2plus one for JT makes a lot of sense. There was a video on Twitter of JT at a facility taking some swings. I have no doubt Belli is going to be working hard on his swing. He and the coaching staff know where the holes are.
Former Dodger and A, Dave Stewart has placed a 120 million dollar bid to buy the City of Oakland’s half of the coliseum. The A’s own the other half. A’s have plans to build a new stadium 7 miles to the north. Stewart has plans on developing the area where the coliseum now sits.
Please do not consider this a negative or insensitive question, Bear. I just wondered if children thought you might be Santa Claus at some time in your life. I am sure you would be a great one with that beard and your jolly personality.
I worked as Santa Claus twice many years ago. I actually worked at the Del Amo Mall for a while. It was a lot of fun. Weird thing happened though. I had a kid sit on my lap, probably about 11 or 12, but he was over weight, I was trying to get him positioned on my lap, and he started sliding off. The pants were a really slippery material, and when I went to grab him to keep him from falling off of the sleigh they used, I strained my back really bad. I could not sit for any length of time. I finished that stint, but then I could not do it the rest of the season, about 3 days, so I lost the bonus they gave out. Lots of college girls in the area would come an get their picture taken. I surprised a high school choir that was singing carols while I was on my lunch break and sat in with them. That was a lot of fun. In normal every day life, my beard is not white enough for them to mistake me as the big man in red.