Joseph Floyd Vaughn: Born March 9th, 1912, in the town of Clifty, Arkansas. His parents, Robert and Laura Vaughn, moved the family to Mendocino, California, when Vaughn was about 7 months old. They would later move to Fullerton, where his father found work in the oilfields. His friends began calling him Arky when they learned of his birthplace, and for the rest of his life, he was called Arky. At…
Well, 2023 Spring Training is almost ready to start. Pitchers and catchers report to Camelback Ranch in nine days on the 16th of February. The first full-squad workout is on February 20th. This spring will be different as there will also be the World Baseball Classic. Nine Dodgers are scheduled to play for different teams. Kershaw, Smith, Betts, and coach Dino Ebel will be with the American team. Austin Barnes…
I got to thinking about this the other day when I was researching another story. The unbreakable records. How many even have a chance of being broken? Well in today’s game, one most unlikely to fall is Ripken’s consecutive games played streak. Players today no longer play every day. And that includes the stars. Freeman missed three games last season, and Trea Turner missed two. Only two other players appeared…
Time stops for no one. And as the Dodgers get ready to enter their 65th season in Los Angeles, they approach the 67 years the Dodgers were part of the Major Leagues in Brooklyn. The National League as we know it, was formed in 1890. The Dodgers won their first title that season. Their roots in Brooklyn as a professional team go back a little further. And they also have…
Getting information on player movement has always been rather irritating to me. Some trades and signings come as a complete surprise, and others do not. The internet has made instant notification a lot more prevalent than back in the day. There was no Yardbarker or MLBTR, with reports from baseball insiders linking teams to different players. I think one of the reasons so many Dodger fans were totally frustrated with…
The election for the Hall of Fame was held last week. Scott Rolen was the only player getting the requisite 75 or more percent of the vote. Todd Helton, former Rockies’ first baseman, fell short by 11 votes. There were some who questioned Rolen’s Hall worthiness. Today’s voters value players much differently than in the past. Had he played in the 1960s, Fred McGriff most likely would have gone in…
Many fans are more than a little bit disgruntled with the lack of action by the Dodgers this offseason. Most felt they would make a move to retain at least one of their own top free agents besides Kershaw. But it did not happen. And fans are left to wonder why. Especially since there was no real explanation coming from Andrew Friedman and Company. We were told that they were…
Knothole gangs came about long before Happy Felton formed his in Brooklyn. The term came from a time when baseball fields had wooden fences. Kids who could not afford the price of a ticket found they could watch the game for free when knots in the fence fell out, creating a knothole. Naturally, gangs of kids would gather around these to watch the games. The first actual knothole gang came…
The Forgotten Man Before Justin Turner, the Dodgers had another redhead. He played 1st and the outfield and spent 12 years of his 21-year MLB career as a Dodger. And in the overall scheme of things, he is somewhat of a forgotten man. Ronald Ray Fairly was born on July 12, 1938, in Macon, Georgia. He was the son of Carl and Marjorie Fairly. Ron’s dad had a 10-year career…
I would like to introduce you all to a very colorful character, Frenchy Bordagaray. Frenchy played 11 years in the majors, six of them with the Brooklyn Dodgers. He was born Stanley George Bordagaray in Coalinga, California, on January 3rd, 1910. He was one of seven children born to Dominique and Louise Bordagaray, who were among the original settlers of the San Juaquin Valley. His father was a hotel owner…