Today’s profile is former Dodger first baseman Norm Larker. Norman Howard John Larker was born on December 27, 1930, in Beaver Meadows Pennsylvania. A small mining community. His father, Lewis Larker, worked in the mines. His mom was Susan Zalaznock. He was of Slovak-German descent. His dad played second base and pitched in the county semi-pro leagues. His brother, Melvin, was a year older than he, and Lewis was born…
This is a series I have been thinking about doing for a while. I want to profile players who played for the Dodgers in both Brooklyn and Los Angeles, who were not huge stars, but players who contributed to the team while they were members. The first spotlight is on third baseman Billy Cox. William Richard Cox was born on August 29, 1919, in Newport Pennsylvania. His father Fred worked…
Located in a small town in New York, the Hall of Fame has been a destination for baseball fans since its opening in 1939. It was established by Stephen Carlton Clark, an heir to the Singer Sewing Machine fortune. Clark’s aim was to bring tourists to a city devastated by the depression and prohibition, which had damaged the local hops industry. Clark constructed the Hall of Fame building and it…
Another story idea from SpokaneBob. The game had its start at Dodger Stadium in 1967. It was a softball game between celebrities and MLB baseball players. The Managers were Leo Durocher for the Stars and Milton Berle for the big league players. The MLB players included Wills, who was with the Pirates, Brooks Robinson, Clemente, Mays, Frank Howard, Killebrew, McCovey. Jim Garner started for the celebs and after giving up…
Players are sitting, Furillo, Koufax, Pafko, Gilliam, Neal, Erskine, Carey and Babe Herman Second row. Campy, umpire Al Passarella, Ump, Jocko Conlon, Ump, Beans Reardon, Shuba, Wills, Larker, Tracewski, Roseboro, Stengel, Moon, Craig, Demeter, Skowron, Dixie Walker, Roebuck. Back row. Pignatano, Hodges, Ump Pat Orr, Lavagetto, Maglie, Podres, Newcombe, Hermanski, Sherry, Reese, Drysdale, Burright, Essegian, Black, Snider, Branca. Those were the first oldtimers to get together and play a game…
Earlier this year there was a ceremony in Georgia at the birthplace of Jackie Robinson. The plaque showing where his birthplace was had been vandalized. MLB felt it should be replaced and donated 40,000 dollars for a new plaque to be placed there, and in another location near the center of Cairo, Georgia, where he was born. I watched the ceremony on MLB.TV. But that also got me thinking about…
Some might ask what I mean by that. Simply said, either financially or emotionally, the fans always pay the price for their love of sports. Be it baseball, basketball, football, hockey, or any of the major sports, fans pay for it no matter how high or ridiculous the cost. A team builds a new stadium, fans pay for it whether they know it or not. Bonds, increased taxes, the city…
No, that is not the year I graduated from high school. I was already in the Army in June of 1968. Just turning 20 years old and recently returned from a trip to Virginia and North Carolina testing new Hawk Missile systems equipment by doing load tests on trains, planes, and ships. No, this is about the Dodgers draft class in June of 1968. Some say it is the best…
When the old-timer’s committee announced the results of their meeting and Gil Hodges became the latest Dodger to be enshrined at Cooperstown, I was elated. I had always felt Gil belonged. He was the best first baseman of his era. Although he did not garner enough writer support I felt they had made a mistake. The Veteran’s committee finally got it right. He is not entering alone, but he is…
Well for the first time in six weeks, the MLBPA and MLB met in a zoom type meeting where MLB brought its latest proposals to the table. The MLBPA was not impressed according to Jeff Passan and the chances spring training is delayed just escalated. Of course, we do not know at this point what proposal’s the players will submit. These were just base financial issues brought up today. The…