I was watching “The Pride of the Yankees the other day. Outside of the star, Gary Cooper, there were small parts in the movie played by the real ballplayers themselves. Of course, the most recognizable player was Babe Ruth. Babe had several scenes with Cooper in the movie. Maybe the most memorable was when teammates egged Gehrig on to take a bite out of the Babes’ new hat. Babe was…
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…
Fred ” Dixie ” Walker won a batting title, played in two world series, and won an RBI title, and yet he is most remembered by fans for being charged as the man who tried to keep Jackie Robinson off of the Dodgers. He was born in Villa Rica, Georgia, on September 24th, 1910. He was the firstborn son of Ewart and Flossie Walker. Villa Rica is a small factory…
Max Muncy’s year has been about as nightmarish as one that a player of his caliber can experience. We can all speculate on the cause of it, but I’ll peg it on the severe season-ending injury from last year. That elbow dislocation injury was gruesome and as ugly as any injury I can remember. With all the rule changes that will be incorporated into 2023, I am surprised that MLB didn’t…
Mickey Owen was a very good defensive catcher. In his best season, 1941, he made four errors. Three during the regular season and one in the World Series that labeled him a GOAT for the rest of his days. Mickey Owen was born Arnold Malcolm Owen on April 4, 1916, in Nixa, Missouri. Mickey’s parents divorced when he was seven. Because of that, his mom moved to Southern California. While…
Jerry Reuss was born in St. Louis, Missouri, on June 19, 1949. His father worked for RC Cola and drove a truck. His mom worked in real estate and also as an interior decorator. The big baseball fan in the family was his grandfather on his mom’s side, Alfred Hellwig. He would ride a streetcar to Sportsman’s Park to watch the Cardinals and the Browns almost every day. Jerry was…
It is time to go down the list of Dodger managers over the years and see how they stack up against each other. We will start in the 1900’s since none of the managers before then were with the team for extended periods of time. First up is Hall of Famer, Wilbert Robinson. Wilbert Robinson Wilbert Robinson started his baseball life in 1886 with the Philadelphia franchise of the American…
The 27th of July was the birthday of one of the most successful Dodger managers. Leo the Lip Durocher. Leo Ernest Durocher was born on July 27th, 1905 in West Springfield Massachusetts. His parents had immigrated to the US from Quebec Canada. His mother was a hotel maid and his father worked as a railroad engineer. He died not long after Durocher was born. His family only spoke French, so…
In the 9th, Edwards flew out to left, but Furillo drew the 9th walk. Gionfriddo ran for Furillo and Jorgensen fouled out. Reiser was pinch hitting for Casey, and Gionfriddo stole second. That changed Mngr Bucky Harris’s strategy and even though Reiser was injured, he decided to walk him. Eddie Miksis went in to run for Reiser, and Lavegetto, a 34 year old veteran was sent up to hit for Eddie Stanky.
Born in the small town of Washington Maine on November 30. 1901, Clyde Leroy Sukeforth, or Sukey as he was known in baseball circles, was a typical small town boy. He began playing when he was young and grew as youngsters did in those days to love the game. Over his career he would catch, coach, manage and scout for major league teams. He is forever tied to the Dodgers…