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Major
League Ballparks we have visited:
- Pittsburgh Pirates (Three Rivers Stadium, PNC
Park)
- Cleveland Indians (Municipal Stadium, Jacobs
Field)
- Chicago Cubs (Wrigley Field)
- Boston Red Sox (Fenway Park)
- Cincinnati Reds (Riverfront Stadium)
- Detroit Tigers (Tiger Stadium, Comerica Park)
- St. Louis Cardinals (Busch Stadium)
- Kansas City Royals (Kauffman Stadium)
- Milwaukee Brewers (Miller Park)
- San Francisco Giants (Candlestick Park)
- Los Angeles/California/Anaheim/Los Angeles
Angels (Anaheim Stadium)
- New York Mets (Shea Stadium)
- Philadelphia Phillies (Veterans Stadium)
- Montreal Expos (Olympic Stadium)
- Toronto Blue Jays (Exhibition Stadium, SkyDome)
Minor League Ballparks we
have visited:
- Buffalo Bisons (Pirates, Indians)
- Batavia Muckdogs (Phillies)
- Erie Seawolves (Pirates, Angels, Tigers)
- Lake County Captains (Indians)
- Toledo Mud Hens (Tigers)
- Rochester Red Wings (Orioles, Twins)
- Auburn Doubledays (Blue Jays)
- Syracuse SkyChiefs (Blue Jays)
- Binghamton Mets (Mets)
- Scranton/Wilkes-Barre Red Barons (Phillies)
- Reading Phillies (Phillies)
- Altoona Curve (Pirates)
- Beloit Snappers (Brewers)
- Kane County Cougars (A's)
- Charleston Alley Cats (Royals)
- Salem Avalanche (Rockies)
- Akron Aeros (Indians)
- Mahoning Valley Scrappers (Indians)
- Carolina Mudcats (Marlins)
- Hagerstown Suns (Mets)
- Jamestown Jammers (Tigers/Braves/Marlins)
- Knoxville Smokies (Blue Jays)
- Wilmington Blue Rocks (Royals)
( ) Affiliations when visited
My Tribute to the Brooklyn Dodgers &
Ebbets Field
The Brooklyn team was known as the "Trolley
Dodgers" to reference pedestrians who "dodged" the maze of streetcar lines crossing Brooklyn. Some other team names used
over the years were:
- Brooklyn Dodgers (1911-1912), (1932-1957)
- Brooklyn Robins (1914-1931) Also referred as "Trolley Dodgers"
1911-1931
- Brooklyn Superbas (1899-1910), (1913)
- Brooklyn Grooms (1891-1895)
- Brooklyn Bridegrooms (1888-1890), (1896-1898)
- Brooklyn Grays (1885-1887)
- Brooklyn Atlantics (1872-1875), (1884)
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| Ebbets Field (Brooklyn, NY) |
Ticket prices
in 1955 were box seats $3.00 and $2.50, reserved grandstand $2.00, general admission $1.25 and bleachers $0.75. Ebbets Field's
seating capacity was 31,902. There were 5,562 box seats, 14,326 reserved grandstand seats, 9,597 general admission seats and
2,417 bleacher seats. The left field fence was 348 feet, center field was 393 feet and right field was 297 feet (with a 40
foot wall).
| Dodgers 5 - Yankees 3 |
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| 1955 World Series - Game #5 (October 2) at Ebbets Field |
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| Ebbets Field (Brooklyn, NY) circa 1955 |
On April 4, 1955 the Dodgers and Braves played an
exhibition game in Nashville before 5,117 fans. The Dodgers won the game 10-8. Sand Amoros hit two home runs. Don Newcombe,
Johnny Podres, Don Bessent and Tommy LaSorda pitched.
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| Duke Snider (Brooklyn Dodgers) mid-1950's |
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| Carl Furillo playing a ball off the wall |
1955 Baseball Season
On October 12, 1954, American League owners approved the sale of the Philadelphia Athletics to Chicago businessman
Arnold Johnson, who moved the team to Kansas City for the 1955 season. After a big civic parade, the Athletics opened their
first season in Kansas City with a win over the Detroit Tigers 6-2, before a crowd of 32,844 at Municipal Stadium on
April 12, 1955.
"I see great things in baseball. It's our game - the American game."
Walt Whitman
| Life Magazines (1938, 1940, 1946) |
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Since the premier
issue of Life Magazine (November 23, 1936), baseball has been featured on many covers throughout the years. These
issues make nice collectibles!
| Classic Sports Illustrated (1956-1960) |
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The Sports Illustrated premier issue
arrived August 16, 1954. The early years saw a good deal of coverage to track and field, hunting, fishing and other
recreational activities. However, baseball was often center stage creating many memorable covers, thus making the older issues
highly collectible.
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| 1964 Topps "Giant" Set (1-60) |
My baseball card collection dates back to
the mid 1960's, when childhood summers consisted of playing baseball and collecting baseball cards. The only cards of choice
were Topps.
A pack of five Topps cards with gum cost $.05
(or 6 packs/$.25). Sometimes, the pack included a bonus game card, poster or sticker.
Over the years, I have filled the gaps
in my collection, plus, added new cards from earlier years (including Bowman cards from 1948 - 1955). Bowman's last set
was 1955 after Topps purchased the company.
Starting in 1981, Donruss and Fleer re-entered
the card market. Score and Upper Deck followed in the late 1980's.
Today, there are dozens of card companies
marketing their "high-tech" image. Gone is the "rock-hard" bubble gum that came in every pack and the innocent days when card
collecting was a boy's dream.
Hope you enjoyed our website.
Proud to be, own and buy . . . AMERICAN!
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