Brooklyn Dodgers A Short History Lesson

I would like to thank my good friend JB for a wonderful book she gave me that is the 140 year history of the Dodgers, my most beloved team in all of sports!
I have totally enjoyed this book and even though I thought I knew EVERYTHING about the Dodgers, I learned so much more that I did not know. I love the Brooklyn Dodgers, although I bleed Dodger Blue, Los Angeles just isn't the same.
So, for your Winter Blues cure, a little Dodger Blue history!

First in the late 1880's to 1900 or so there was the Brooklyn Atlantics. They actually won what was then called the World's Series, which wasn't anything like today, but they did win it in 1890, 1893 and 1900.

Then they were called the Brooklyn Grays, the Brooklyn Bridegrooms, the Brooklyn Superbas, the Brooklyn Robins, The Brooklyn Trolley Dodgers and finally the just went by the Brooklyn Dodgers.
They played in Washington Park and then eventually moved to Ebbet's Field.
I have found some pictures of some of my favorite old time Dodgers as well as some of the hats and Ebbet's Field in Brooklyn.


















The above hats are from the 1902-1913 era, home and away. The hat on the left below is from the 1939 season and the one on the right below is from the 1937 season, believe it or not, the Dodgers one season wore green and white!



















Zach Wheat was one of the greatest Dodgers ever, playing in the very early days of the 20th Century. Another of my favorites, on the right, is a Hall of Fame pitcher for the early Dodgers, Rube Marquard.



















Here are two more greats: the legendary Casey Stengel on the left, before the Yankees, he was a DODGER!
On the right is the great Dazzy Vance, the leader of the "Daffiness Boys" of the 1930's.




















Later came the "Duke of Flatbush" the Greatest Dodger of all time: Duke Snider! Part of the only World Champions of Brooklyn, the 1955 team.


Finally Ebbet's Field in Brooklyn, in 1955 and in 2008, or what's left of it. It is an apartment complex built in 1962 after the Dodgers went to Los Angeles. Below was the culmination of my life long "search" for Ebbet's Field. I was with my friends JB and RB and they patiently waited while I searched most of Brooklyn for the spot. JB took the pictures of me and the plaque that shows where home plate once was. This is my tribute and story of my beloved Dodgers, as the original "Boys of Summer", the Brooklyn Dodgers!

Baseball is Here, All is Well! President Bush Booed!!

Thank you Lord for Baseball! Yes, I mean that. I love baseball, I live baseball, I hate the dark time between baseball seasons. The grass smells so sweet, the crack of the bat, the roar of the crowds, the knowledge that EVERY team is 0-0 and has a chance to win the World Series, it's all so awesome!
Last night I watched the opening game which featured the Washington Nationals versus the Atlanta Braves. It was a blast and a great game with a walk off home run.
Now, those of you not baseball fans, here is the other part.

President George W. Bush threw out the ceremonial first pitch and it was a great high fastball! He looked great and smiled great and I was very proud to watch him, knowing that no matter what goes on in the world, Baseball continues.

What bothered me was as the president was introduced, and all throughout his time on the mound, the crowd was about 50/50 cheers and boos. That is very disturbing. It shows a complete and utter lack of respect. I may not like this president, I may not like any of them, but that doesn't lessen my respect for the POSITION!!

He is the PRESIDENT OF THE UNITED STATES OF AMERICA FOR CRYING OUT LOUD!!!

We are a very disrespectful nation aren't we? Besides all the political stuff, heck, it's a BASEBALL game! How about just a cheer for a nice man who loves baseball and is throwing out the first pitch?

It really made me sick to watch.

No matter, BASEBALL goes on and my Beloved Dodgers start today, so GO DODGERS!!!!

The End Is .........HERE

Yes friends, the end is here.

As the biggest Dodger fan in the world, I was saddened when I first heard that the Dodgers would be moving from Vero Beach, Florida (better known as Dodgertown) to Glendale, Arizona. Now it is done.

Ok so this isn't some big political news, but one of my life long dreams was to sit in the stands at Holman Field and watch my beloved Dodgers during Spring Training and now alas, it will never happen. Of course being closer now, in Arizona, I may see them more but this is tradition!

All of my Dodger life, I knew that the Original Boys of Summer, the Dodgers would be in Dodgertown if I could ever get there.

So, even though I do pray to the Big Dodger in the Sky (you do know of course He is a Dodger fan right?), they moved anyway.

So, life goes on.

Found a great story on the move today to explain it better:

It was perhaps decades overdue, and it's hardly as painful as the Dodgers' move from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. But Monday marked, in all probability, the Dodgers' exit from their spring complex in Vero Beach, Fla., a.k.a. Dodgertown.
"It was kind of a blue feeling," Tommy Lasorda told the New York Times, "to know I'm going to leave this place behind, leave the people here, leave the church I went to."
Lasorda, who first arrived as a 19-year-old pitching prospect, leaves as an 80-year-old guest of honor. The Dodgers expect to move next season to Glendale, Ariz., ending a run that began in 1948. Sights and sounds of the send-off:
• Lasorda got a military-style salute of sorts, exiting under the crossed bats of current players.
• The Los Angeles Times noted that one radio reporter was moved to tears when former Dodgers pitcher Carl Erskine played the national anthem on a harmonica. Erskine, 81, was the starting pitcher in the first game at Holman Stadium in 1953.
• Dodgers owner Frank McCourt said the street signs and light posts topped with baseballs will be moved to Arizona or put on display at Dodger Stadium.