From 1950 to 1998 there was one constant with the Dodgers. Ownership. Walter Francis O’Malley took control of the team as it’s primary stockholder and owner in 1950. Branch Rickey’s contract was expiring in October of that year. He had purchased a 25% ownership of the team in 1944. Rickey and John L. Smith were also part owners as were the heirs of McKeever who had owned the team with…
Today my topic is Johnny Roseboro. One of the things I often wished was that I had been able to see Campy play when he was at his peak. Even one year in LA would have been nice, but it was not to be. So for my formative years watching the game, our catcher most of the time was John Junior Roseboro. He was born in Ashland, Ohio on May…
Well I am back. Hope you are all basking in the glow of the Dodgers World Series win. I know for me it will always be a great memory. So, my tale today is about the men who umpire our great game. Specifically 5 of the 10 men who are in the hall. The second half will be in the next installment. Think about that. Over 130 years of professional…
I have been redoing all my music on my computer. I could not download files onto my MP-3 player because they were corrupted. So I deleted them all and am re ripping them to the computer. While doing so, I was listening to a tune by Little Texas. You guessed it, the title is ” What Might Have Been “. And I took that to apply to ball players whose careers…
Harold Peter Henry Reese was born on July 23rd 1918 in Ekron, Kentucky. He lived there until he was almost 8 when his family then moved to Louisville. He got his nickname, Pee Wee, playing marbles. A Pee Wee is a small marble. Reese was so small that he did not play baseball until his senior year in high school. At that time he only weighed 120 pounds and played…
I never saw him play. He died 2 months and 2 days after I was born. But from the time I first knew about his exploits on a ballfield, he was who I wanted to be like. In many ways we had the same type of youth. I was put in foster care at 10. He went to a home at age 7. Only difference was he was considered incorrigible,…
I’m going to come right out and say that I believe that Gil Hodges should be in the Hall of Fame. Much has been written about the subject and nothing that I offer here is unique or original to me. I will just say this, if a player can be voted in for being a tremendous person, then Gill Hodges would be a unanimous first ballot selection. I was too…
Growing up, Pete Reiser excelled at any sport he tried. Besides baseball, he earned $50 a game playing soccer against professional players and was a talented football player with a dream of becoming a star player with Notre Dame. He was a skillful bowler and proficient at ice skating. Perhaps his greatest strength was that he was truly ambidextrous.
A Word from Mark Timmons: Dodger Fans need a break from all the scandals, charlatans and cheating. Evan Blade is the man with a plan. Enjoy! In 1976, upon hearing that the Japanese Pacific League Saitama Seibu Lions had hired Leo Durocher to manage their ball club, the reserved Vin Scully who rarely said anything negative about anyone said it best. “It took the U.S. 35 years to get revenge…
It has been widely published that the Dodgers are 31 years between World Series Championships. All Dodger fans want to forget that, but what if…I know it sounds like the Kratt Brothers. For those with small children or grandchildren you probably know Wild Kratts. Brooklyn was nine World Series and lost their first seven: 1916 and 1920 (as The Robins – managed by Wilbert Robinson) and did not return for…