The NASA/ESA Hubble Space Telescope has given us a keyhole view towards the heart of our Milky Way Galaxy, where a dazzling array of stars reside. Most of the view of our galaxy is obscured by dust. Hubble peered into the Sagittarius Star Cloud, a narrow, dust-free region, providing this spectacular glimpse of a treasure chest full of stars. Some of these gems are among the oldest inhabitants of our…
Edmundo Amoros Isasi was born on January 30th, 1930 in La Habana, Cuba. He was the youngest of six children born to Guillermo Amoros and Caridi Isasi. Guillermo, who labored in the sugar fields, died when his little boy was only 3. Caridi supported her family by working in a textile mill. Young Edmundo attended school for 8 years, but he too went to work in the mill when he…
Charles Lenard Neal was born in Longview Texas on January 30th, 1931. After WWII the Dodger system churned out infield prospects like weeds. Many went to other teams, Chico Carrasquel, Bobby Morgan, Bob Lillis, Chico Fernandez and Billy Hunter to name a few. Robinson, Reese, and Gilliam were impossible to dislodge. But Neal was a keeper. His game was speed. But he was the invisible Dodger, overshadowed by a roster…
With little real news, I return to writing about what I love most about the Dodgers. Their history. Everyone knows the story, 1955 was a magical year for Brooklyn. And the Boys of Summer finally full filled all of the promise they had shown for years. For the record, the Dodgers went 98-55-1 finishing first in the 8 team National League. Managed by second-year manager, Walter Alston. Alston had replaced…
Today’s post is about the longest tenured Dodger manager. Walter Emmons Alston. Smokey to his friends. Alston was the manager when the team moved from Brooklyn. He was just 3 years removed from guiding them to their only World Championship in their long history. His team was a mixture of old Brooklyn stars, Reese, Hodges, Snider, Furillo, Erskine, and some new blood just beginning to make some noise on the…
Outside the National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum in Cooperstown, New York, a statue depicting southpaw Johnny Podres after a pitch release stands 60 feet, six inches from a statue of catcher Roy Campanella. They commemorate the Brooklyn Dodgers winning the 1955 World Series over the New York Yankees, one of the most iconic moments in Dodger history! The photo of the elated Podres leaping into the arms of Roy Campanella, with Don…
Every true baseball fan knows about Kershaw and nearly everybody on the planet knows about Koufax, but only the truest of true Dodger fans know that there was yet a third outstanding left-handed “K” who once pitched for the Dodgers – Karl Spooner. Karl Benjamin Spooner was born on June 23, 1931 in Oriskany Falls, a village in upstate New York about 20 minutes south of Utica. He grew up…
Yesterday Evan gave us a great read on Ralph Branca – the man – not the unfairly maligned baseball player. With his reference to Jackie Robinson and “shot” it brought me back to another historic moment in time and an article I had written eight years ago about one more little known Dodger who too was a better man. George Shuba – now there’s a name that I suspect doesn’t…
I am slacking it a bit today as we have had our family with us for the better part of four days and will be away most of tomorrow and Thursday. So, I pulled up an article from exactly four years ago ( January 2, 2016). They say you never forget your first love. At least that’s what I’ve been told. As much affection as I have always had, and…