OUR Ebbets Field History!

[DODGER DEB]

At the excellent suggestion of Former, zman, I am adding a thread on OUR Ebbets Field History, which I will sticky.

Please feel free to add photos of OUR Ebbets Field to the collection, dating back to Opening Day in 1913.

Please remember to add the source of your photos, or articles.


http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55554/ebbetsfield001.jpg


From an eBay listing.

c.

[EbtsFldGuy]

Not a photo, but a story.

On Thursday night my wife and I dined in Brooklyn with a couple who grew up near Ebbets Field. The woman lived on Franklin and went to a Catholic girls high school nearby. She started in the fall of 1957 and graduated in 1961 - almost the exact time when EF was vacant (Dodgers left after 1957 season; the demolition of the park began on February 23, 1960). The man graduated form Erasmus Hall High School in Barbra Streisand's class. His family stayed in the area until the 1970s. He, too, said there was a massive population displacement.

Then last night I met a guy who was an NYPD cop assigned to the 71 Precinct (the Ebbets Field pct) beginning in 1968.

I spoke with all three people at length about the area. What they said is that the area changed first in the late 1950s (the woman told me that it no longer was OK to walk home without several people with you from school and dances), and that by the mid 1960s safety had become a major factor, and whole apt buildings had been emptied of long time residents who fled to safer places.

The ex cop told me that while there were no momentos of EF in the 71 Pct station house, many "old timers" regaled the younger cops with EF stories and of how good the Dodgers were to the cops when the team played there.
He went on in detail about changes in the area that he noted (he grew up there) and said that Freddie Fitzsimmons bowling alley lasted for a few years after 1957, before it changed hands and then closed.

It would be interesting to hear the perspective of others who lived or visited the area where our favorite park was in the years before and after its demise.

Happy long weekend, fellow Brooks fans!

[zman]

http://www.photonewyork.com/prod_images_blowup/Trollebbetspdl.jpg
(Photonewyork.com)


Lot's of great Ebbetts Field photos are already on this site but it sure would be nice to see them all gathered together in one thread devoted to that grand old ballpark. She deserves it.

[zman]

http://i7.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/89/3e/dd_1_b.JPG
(Photo originaly posted by Dodger Deb from ebay listing)

Nobody we knew owned a car, so we went there on foot from where I lived, walking across the hills and meadows of Prospect Park. By the time we reached Flatbush Avenue, there was a convergence of all the tribes of Brooklyn: the Jews and the Irish and the Italians, immigrants and their American children; oldtimers who had moved from the waterfront neighborhoods to the higher slopes to be near the great ballpark; tough lean men who had survived Iwo Jima and Anzio and the Hurtgen Forest, places where they had lost the hyphenated prefixes of origin and had become Americans; and of course, all those black Americans, including men with gray hair who had waited for too many decades to see Jack Roosevelt Robinson walk on big league grass.

All of us were going to Ebbets Field.

(Pete Hamill on Ebbets Field)

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FEBBETSGAS%20REDUCED.jpg


(Photo from the cover of Ebbets Field: Brooklyn's Baseball Shrine by Joseph McCauley)
Thanks to Brooklyn14 for helping get this posted

[kramer_47]

http://www.photonewyork.com/prod_images_blowup/Trollebbetspdl.jpg
(Photonewyork.com)

Remember what it felt like approaching the park?

Lot's of great Ebbetts Field photos are already on this site but it sure would be nice to have them all gathered together in a thread devoted to that grand old ballpark. She deserves it.

Great pic Iman of the area around Ebbets field, and look at the kids hitching a ride on back of bus.

[zman]

http://mall.ballparks.com/images/AEFbg.jpg
(Litho from mallballparks.com)

[zman]

http://www.mapsites.net/gotham/webpages/justinspiegel/ebbetsfield1.jpg
(Mapsites.net)

[DODGER DEB]

http://i7.ebayimg.com/01/i/02/89/3e/dd_1_b.JPG
(Photo originaly posted by Dodger Deb from ebay listing)

Nobody we knew owned a car, so we went there on foot from where I lived, walking across the hills and meadows of Prospect Park. By the time we reached Flatbush Avenue, there was a convergence of all the tribes of Brooklyn: the Jews and the Irish and the Italians, immigrants and their American children; oldtimers who had moved from the waterfront neighborhoods to the higher slopes to be near the great ballpark; tough lean men who had survived Iwo Jima and Anzio and the Hurtgen Forest, places where they had lost the hyphenated prefixes of origin and had become Americans; and of course, all those black Americans, including men with gray hair who had waited for too many decades to see Jack Roosevelt Robinson walk on big league grass.

All of us were going to Ebbets Field.(Pete Hamill on Ebbets Field)


THAT is one of my favorite PETE pieces!

Pete was one of US, so everything he wrote about OUR DODGERS touched US!

c.

[zman]

http://i8.ebayimg.com/04/i/05/5b/9f/14_1.JPG

Rarely seen shot of the rear of Ebbets Field, this one on the corner of Bedford Avenue and Montgomery Street...



(Originally posted by Dodger Deb from an Ebay listing)

[zman]

Here is a ticket stub from a night game at OUR Ebbets Field on Friday, April 22, 1955. For those who have never seen a ticket which was stamped (as this one is) and actually sold "with a restricted view" (most likely behind a post), take note. WE played the NY Giants and lost this game 5-4.

http://i14.ebayimg.com/04/i/06/1f/57/fa_1_b.JPG


(Text and photo originally posted by Dodger Deb. Photo from ebay)

[zman]

Here is an incredible RELIC from OUR EBBETS FIELD......

http://photos.liveauctioneers.com/houses/geppismemorabiliaroadshow/2944/0563_1_lg.jpg

How many of you remember passing through it?

From an eBay listing. It sold for $22,500! To US, of course, it is PRICELESS!



(Originally posted by Dodger Deb)

[zman]

http://www.mapsites.net/gotham/webpages/justinspiegel/ebbetsfield2.jpg

(Litho from Mapsites.net)

[zman]

http://iii.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/articles/11234475.8841/1.JPEG
(Photo from brooklyn publiclibrary.org)

[zman]

http://www.posterunlimited.com/imagebase/TEL/jpgs/5271.jpg

(Photo from postersunlimited.com)

[zman]

http://www.africanamericans.com/images2/JackieRobinson_OpeningDay.jpg

Jackie Robinson (fourth from left) joins his teammates for introductions on Opening Day at Ebbets Field on April 18, 1952. The Dodgers defeated the New York Giants, 7-6, that day.

(Photo and text from africanamericans.com)

[zman]

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/ebbets900.jpg

(Photo from ballparksofbaseball.com)

[zman]

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/ebbets5.jpg

Johnny Podres delivers the pitch as Johnny Logan watches from the on deck circle.


(Originally posted by Shotgun Shuba. Photo from ballparksofbaseball.com)

[zman]

http://library.thinkquest.org/10480/media/ostadium.gif
(Photo from Librarythinkquest.org)

[zman]

THIS is a great shot of CARL FURILLO playing a ball off the scoreboard in rightfield at OUR Ebbets Field. From reading the scoreboard, I believe this was Game 5 of OUR 1955 World Series....

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/08/03/dodgers.1955/dodgers8.jpg





(Original post by Dodger Deb. Photo from S.I.com)

[zman]

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/08/03/dodgers.1955/ddogers1.jpg
(Photo from si.com)

1 October 1955
This panorama view shows most of the more than 36,000 fans watching the fourth game of the World Series at Ebbets Field in Brooklyn, N.Y.

[Paulmcall]

Notre Dame played at Ebbets Field in 1923.

[zman]

Notre Dame played at Ebbets Field in 1923.

Now that's an Ebbets Field photo you won't find just anywhere! :clapping

[Robb Schwartz]

These pictures are sweet.

LA baseball needs Ebbets Field...Ebbets West?

[Paulmcall]

If you liked that Notre Dame photo, I have at least ten other color photos of Ebbets Field in my book Ebbets Field: Brooklyn's Baseball Shrine. You can get it at Authorhouse.com for $20 or so.
I also have picture of Marilyn Monroe at Ebbets and a few that were contributed by some Brooklyn faithful from here as well.
I heard that the book is reviewed in the March issue of Sports Collectors Digest.

[Brownie31]

Notre Dame played at Ebbets Field in 1923.
This is a wonderful photo! A little background: This was the 1923 Notre Dame-Army game won by Knute Rockne's Fightning Irish 13-0 on Saturday, October 13, 1923. The Irish backfield was: Stuhldreher, Miller, Crowley & Layden-The Four Horsemen! Brownie31

[Paulmcall]

They were going to play the game at the Polo Grounds but the Yanks and Giants were in the World Series together.
There was also a Notre Dame alum with the Dodgers management and he got the game set up at Ebbets Field.
They had to turn away about 10,000 people who wanted to see the game.

[zman]

I don't think you can sense the flavor of Ebbets Field without it's fans.

http://www.walteromalley.com/images/biog_ss/ss_hildachester.jpg


http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FBrooklyn%2520Dodgers%2520Sym%2Dphony.jp g

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FDODG%5F0014.jpg

http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/slideshows/dodgers/lg_img/DODG_0003.jpg


http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/slideshows/dodgers/lg_img/DODG_0010.jpg








(1rst 2 photos ebay? and originally posted by Dodger Deb and Kramer 47. Last 3 Brooklyn Public Library)

[zman]

http://www.bookrags.com/images/sjpc/sjpc_02_img0377.jpg
(bookrags.com)

[zman]

http://www.davesdougout.com/photos/49Ebbets.jpg
(photo from davesdougout.com)

[tonypug]

Don Newcombe pitching to Tommy Henrich in game 1 of the 1949 World Series.
http://www.davesdougout.com/photos/49Ebbets.jpg
(photo from davesdougout.com)
Games one and two of the 1949 World Series were played in Yankee Stadium.

[zman]

Games one and two of the 1949 World Series were played in Yankee Stadium.

You're right. Thanks for that correction, Tonypug. I took the info from the caption on the website which is obviously in error. :o

After my initial error I thought it must be game 5 of the 49 Series because that was the first time Newcombe pitched in a a World Series game at Ebbetts Field. Since then I've been told by someone more knowlegable than myself that the photo is from earlier than that. Can anybody here clear this up? I'd sure like to get it right.

[zman]

http://www.mapsites.net/gotham/webpages/justinspiegel/charlesebbets.jpg
"I've made more money than I have expected to, but I am putting all of it, and more, too, into the new plant for the Brooklyn fans. Of course, it's one thing to have a fine ball club and win a pennant, but to my mind, there is something more important than that about a ball club. I believe the fan should be taken care of. A club should find a suitable home for its patrons. This home should be in a location that is healthy, should be safe, and it should be convenient."

Dodger's owner Charles Ebbets


(Photo and quote from mapsites.net)

[zman]

It's a world of opposites. Much has been written about how the greed of Walter O'Malley led to the removal of the Dodgers franchise from Brooklyn. Less has been said about how Charles Ebbets incurred a huge personal debt to purchase the club and keep them in Brooklyn when a move to Baltimore loomed as a possibility and once again to erect a state-of-the-art ballpark for the fans of Brooklyn. Here's a link to an interesting SABR biography of Charles Hercules Ebbets.

http://bioproj.sabr.org/bioproj.cfm?a=v&v=a&bid=877&pid=3973

[Brownie31]

Of course, Ebbets Field is renowned for baseball history and has a fine gridiron history also (witness the 1923 Notre Dame-Army game). However, Ebbets Field also has an important place in US soccer history. In November, 1925 Ebbets Field was the site of the first ever international soccer match on US soil when the USA defeated Canada 6-1. One website gave the date of November 9th while another said November 28th. If anyone knows the actual date please say so. Brownie31

[zman]

Of course, Ebbets Field is renowned for baseball history and has a fine gridiron history also (witness the 1923 Notre Dame-Army game). However, Ebbets Field also has an important place in US soccer history. In November, 1925 Ebbets Field was the site of the first ever international soccer match on US soil when the USA defeated Canada 6-1. One website gave the date of November 9th while another said November 28th. If anyone knows the actual date please say so. Brownie31

Great post, Brownie 31. Good timing too. I'm beginning to feel funny about hogging this thread considering I'm among those who know the least about the subject. The Brooklyn faithful have already seen most all of the photos I've posted here but I think if we can gather them into a single thread along with articles and remembrances about Ebbets Field, it makes it convenient for others who want to immerse themselves in the subject. I hope posts like yours and PaulMcCall's will encourage everyone to contribute.

[DODGER DEB]

Great post, Brownie 31. Good timing too. I'm beginning to feel funny about hogging this thread considering I'm among those who know the least about the subject. The Brooklyn faithful have already seen most all of the photos I've posted here but I think if we can gather them into a single thread along with articles and remembrances about Ebbets Field, it makes it convenient for others who want to immerse themselves in the subject. I hope posts like yours and PaulMcCall's will encourage everyone to contribute.

No problem, zman! You keep posting all those wonderful photos and stories about OUR Ebbets Field.

That's what this thread is for....to have them all in one place for anyone to see and read about.

c.

[runningshoes]

Some of you may have already seen this but I thought those who haven't might like to read it. It on Ebbet's closing in 1960 in The Sporting News.

http://http://www.ajclay.com/BBF_PDF/ebett.pdf (http://www.ajclay.com/BBF_PDF/ebett.pdf)

http://http://www.ajclay.com/BBF_PDF/ebbett2.pdf (http://www.ajclay.com/BBF_PDF/ebbett2.pdf)

[zman]

No problem, zman! You keep posting all those wonderful photos and stories about OUR Ebbets Field.

That's what this thread is for....to have them all in one place for anyone to see and read about.

c.

Thank you, Dodger Deb. I get a lot of pleasure out of doing it.

[Brownie31]

Great post, Brownie 31. Good timing too. I'm beginning to feel funny about hogging this thread considering I'm among those who know the least about the subject. The Brooklyn faithful have already seen most all of the photos I've posted here but I think if we can gather them into a single thread along with articles and remembrances about Ebbets Field, it makes it convenient for others who want to immerse themselves in the subject. I hope posts like yours and PaulMcCall's will encourage everyone to contribute.
zman: Thanks very much. This is by far my favorite part of baseball-fever. All of you are great! Brownie31

[runningshoes]

April 5, 1913

http://www.ajclay.com/PTC/pictures/236.jpg

Apil 6, 1913
http://www.ajclay.com/PTC/pictures/237.jpg

[zman]

Wow! That's great stuff, runningshoes53. I especially like that photo of Bill Dahlen with the stands in the background.

[DODGER DEB]

Are WE to assume that the pinstripers (though they got the larger space) didn't have a ballpark back then and simply played in the streets of Da Bronx? ;) :laugh

c.

[Brownie31]

Are WE to assume that the pinstripers (though they got the larger space) didn't have a ballpark back then and simply played in the streets of Da Bronx? ;) :laugh

c.
The Yanks were the lowly tenants of the Giants at the Polo Grounds. Definitely the low man on the Gotham baseball scene! Brownie31

[zman]

http://pix.auctiva.com/pix/04/79/75/Ebbets_Field_opens_2.JPG
(ebay)

[zman]

Can anyone confirm if this is Ray Caldwell and the inaugural exhibition game against the Yankees of April 5, 1913? It was quite an opener. Nap Rucker beat the newly named Yankees, 3–2 and the first home run was hit by Casey Stengel, who legged out an inside-the-park homer. An appropriate thriller of a game to open Ebbets Field when you consider the many thrills to come.

http://pics2.spoonfeeder.com/AieFTPFiles/AIEUser/8GJ9C3V8FY8R/9Q3JQGKD55HF.jpg

(ebay)

[zman]

Ebbets Field 1913
http://www.thedeadballera.com/Stadiums/StadiumsEbbetsField_photo12.jpg
(deadballera.com)

[DODGER DEB]

Ebbets Field 1913
http://www.thedeadballera.com/Stadiums/StadiumsEbbetsField_photo12.jpg
(deadballera.com)

THAT is Bedford Avenue at Montgomery Street.

c.

[zman]

Ebbets Field as seen from the vicinity of Empire Blvd & Flatbush Avenue.

http://www.ebbets-field.com/EbbetsField/Rotunda/rooftop.jpg

I heartily recommend visiting the website at EbbetsField.com to anyone who wants to see great photos of Ebbets Field.

[Chef Bill]

Runningshoes --

Can you provide a link to the Times' pages? I would love to be able to read the full text of the articles.

Great images. Thanks!

[runningshoes]

Runningshoes --

Can you provide a link to the Times' pages? I would love to be able to read the full text of the articles.

Great images. Thanks!

I'm in the process of making them available.

Check back in a few hours. :)

[zman]

At Ebbets Field before each game, the fans would line up along the railing, and the players would walk along and shake hands with everybody and sign autographs and chat about that afternoon's game. For many of the fans, the Dodgers became part of their family...
http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/31976-670.jpg
And every once in a while, the Dodgers made a fan part of theirs. (Peter Golenbock)
http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-200.jpg
(photos from mastronet.com originally posted here by prof93)

[zman]

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-197.jpg
(mastronet.com originally posted by prof93)

[runningshoes]

I'll post the links to some of those atricles soon folks...just have a bit of problem...nothing I can't solve..keep checking back.

[zman]

The press box wasn't built until 1929. It was the perch from which 2 Hall of Fame broadcasters painted mental pictures for their listeners and described the players "tearin' up the pea patch." If you couldn't make it out to the game they'd bring it into your home. Red Barber used an hourglass 3 minute egg timer to remind himself to give the score often enough for the sake of listeners who had just tuned in.
http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-198.jpg
(photo from mastronet.com originally posted by prof93)

[zman]

I'll post the links to some of those atricles soon folks...just have a bit of problem...nothing I can't solve..keep checking back.

I need an emoticon of someone impatiently glancing down at their wrist watch and tapping their foot.:D
Seriously...I'm looking forward to the articles and I appreciate the effort it takes to format them so that everybody can enjoy them. It's going to be one heckuva good read and well worth the wait.

[runningshoes]

From the Times

http://www.ajclay.com/BBF_PDF/ebbets%20opening%201913.pdf

[zman]

From the Times

http://www.ajclay.com/BBF_PDF/ebbets%20opening%201913.pdf

Fantastic! Thank you so very much for making this available to us.

[Chef Bill]

Thanks 'Shoes. Great post!

[DODGER DEB]

The press box wasn't built until 1929. It was the perch from which 2 Hall of Fame broadcasters painted mental pictures for their listeners and described the players "tearin' up the pea patch." If you couldn't make it out to the game they'd bring it into your home. Red Barber used an hourglass 3 minute egg timer to remind himself to give the score often enough for the sake of listeners who had just tuned in.
http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-198.jpg
(photo from mastronet.com originally posted by prof93)



Great shot, zman!

That is a very young VIN SCULLY (atop the "G") sitting next to CONNIE DESMOND (atop the "M").

c.

[zman]

From the Times

http://www.ajclay.com/BBF_PDF/ebbets%20opening%201913.pdf

The girls of Brooklyn never turned out to a ball game like this before, and it's too bad they never did, because from now on they will always be considered a big feature of a ball game at the new park

In the book Creating the National Pastime, the author, G. Edward White, talks about how Ebbets purposely transformed the baseball audience by creating a safer and more family friendly environment than had existed in the club's previous home, Washington Park.

Here's a link to the 1rst chapter of White's book. The first part is about the Polo Grounds. The part about Ebbets Field is about half way down the page and a very informative read.
http://www.pupress.princeton.edu/chapters/s5786.html

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2F1913LeftFieldBleachers.jpg
1913

[zman]

3 photos of the left field bleachers
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FEbbets%20Field%201920.jpg
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FLeftfieldBleachers.jpg
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FBleachers.jpg
(1rst photo also from ebbetsfield .com)

[zman]

Opening day 1914
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2F1914%20flag%20raising.jpg
(markruebengallery.com)


Opening day 1914 at Ebbets Field; Postmaster Kelly throws out the ceremonial first pitch.
http://www.bionikmedia.com/images/sports013.jpg
(bionikmedia.com)

[zman]

Opening Day 1939 Brooklyn Dodgers vs. New York Giants
http://www.markreubengallery.com/stadiums/stadium_images/0090big.jpg
(markreubengallery.com)

[zman]

Phillies stand for the national anthem prior to a 1957 game.
http://i18.ebayimg.com/04/i/06/98/e3/77_1.JPG
(ebay)

[zman]

This photo is from a game against the Cardinals and dated August 11, 1942.
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2F1143495954428%5FEBBETSSTADIUM.jpg
(ebay)

[zman]

1956 World Series
http://i18.ebayimg.com/01/i/06/98/f2/24_1.JPGhttp://i1.ebayimg.com/04/i/06/ba/fc/cd_1.JPG
(photos from ebay)

[zman]

1957
http://i12.ebayimg.com/05/i/06/bd/60/e1_1.JPG
(ebay)

[zman]

1956 World Series. Looks like Alston making a trip to the mound.
http://i11.ebayimg.com/03/i/06/b8/21/d7_1.JPG
(ebay)

[zman]

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FEbbets%20Field%20Center%20and%20Right%2 0Field.jpg
(mastronet.com originally posted by prof93)

[zman]

The sign at the base of the scoreboard read, "Hit Sign Win Suit." Carl Erskine said he couldn't recall anybody ever winning that free suit. Maybe because the sign was guarded by number 6. Carl Furillo was a blue collar type of guy who believed that in America you should work hard and earn your money so you could go out and buy your own suit. He didn't want Ebbets Field to be some sort of welfare state where free suits were just handed out to opposing players. No. And as best as Mr Erskine can recall, they weren't.
http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-179.jpg

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FFurillo.jpg

(top photo from mastronet. Bottom photo from ebbetsfield.com)

Note: Nice catch by Strummer who correctly points out that the fielder in the top photo is actually Andy Pafko and not Carl Furillo.

[zman]

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-121.jpg
(mastronet.com originally posted by prof93)

[zman]

Duke Snider and the wall in right center
http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55554/sniderdukewalljump.jpg
(ebay)

[strummer]

Unfortunately, zman, the picture you posted with your comments regarding Furillo, was a picture of, I believe, Andy Pafko, #48, one of the few times he played right field. The batting order on the Scoreboard indicates Snider in CF, Shuba in LF and Pafko in RF. Picture is either after June 1951 or 1952.
Incidently, your comments, however, are RIGHT ON!!!

[zman]

Unfortunately, zman, the picture you posted with your comments regarding Furillo, was a picture of, I believe, Andy Pafko, #48, one of the few times he played right field. The batting order on the Scoreboard indicates Snider in CF, Shuba in LF and Pafko in RF. Picture is either after June 1951 or 1952.
Incidently, your comments, however, are RIGHT ON!!!

Thanks for helping to keep this thread accurate, Strummer. Funny how I mentioned nothing getting past Furillo. It looks like the same could be said of you. Looks like no free suit for me. :)

[zman]

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-178.jpg
(mastronet.com originally posted by prof93)

[zman]

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-177.jpg
(mastronet.com originally posted by prof93)

[zman]

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-176.jpg
(mastornet.com originally posted by prof93)

[zman]

http://i24.ebayimg.com/05/i/06/c9/8d/2d_1.JPG
(ebay)

[zman]

http://www.brooklynpubliclibrary.org/slideshows/dodgers/lg_img/DODG_0002.jpg
"Fans in Brooklyn were special. They lived and died with the Dodgers. "Dem Bums" was that town's team. The Dodgers were the town. They were more important to the town than anything else, and the town has never been the same since the team left. I don't think any team and town have ever been so close. I heard about it before I got there, but I didn't believe it until I got there. Baseball was a religion there. The Dodgers conducted a kind of church. The fans believed."

John Roseboro


(Photo from Brooklyn Public Library)

[zman]

http://i1.ebayimg.com/04/i/06/ca/85/17_1.JPG
"Those fans had been around. They could accept a physical error, but if you made a mental mistake they booed your butt. And they knew when you made a mental mistake. They knew the game's fine points. If I had any doubt about making a bad play, the fans let me know. You could learn from them and I really loved them. They cheered sometimes and booed sometimes, but they were always loyal."

John Roseboro


(photo from ebay)

[DODGER DEB]

It was 93 years ago today, on April 9, 1913, that OUR Ebbets Field opened. It was a cold day and only 12,000 fans showed up. WE lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0.

c.

[zman]

Opening day
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2F1913OpeningDay.jpg
(ebbetsfield.com)

[Brownie31]

It was 93 years ago today, on April 9, 1913, that OUR Ebbets Field opened. It was a cold day and only 12,000 fans showed up. WE lost to the Philadelphia Phillies 1-0.

c.

DODGER DEB: Thinking long range, is any kind of Centennial being planned for 2013? Brownie31

[DODGER DEB]

DODGER DEB: Thinking long range, is any kind of Centennial being planned for 2013? Brownie31

I wish I could tell you that there was, Brownie31.

In 2003, on the 90th anniversary of OUR Ebbets Field, about six of US showed up to accept a Proclamation issued by the Brooklyn Boro President Marty Markowitz. He presented it to US on this very cold and rainy day. It is now in OUR Brooklyn Dodger Baseball Hall of Fame.

So, for now, I will just say that I will never say never. Being a BROOKLYN DODGER FAN you learn early on to always expect the unexpected. If it was to happen it would have to come from the BROOKLYN FANS......it would sadly never come from the politicans in Brooklyn or NYC.

But, it is something to think about! Thanks for bringing it up.

c.

[Brownie31]

I wish I could tell you that there was, Brownie31.

In 2003, on the 90th anniversary of OUR Ebbets Field, about six of US showed up to accept a Proclamation issued by the Brooklyn Boro President Marty Markowitz. He presented it to US on this very cold and rainy day. It is now in OUR Brooklyn Dodger Baseball Hall of Fame.

So, for now, I will just say that I will never say never. Being a BROOKLYN DODGER FAN you learn early on to always expect the unexpected. If it was to happen it would have to come from the BROOKLYN FANS......it would sadly never come from the politicans in Brooklyn or NYC.

But, it is something to think about! Thanks for bringing it up.

c.

DODGER DEB: You are welcome. Have you tried the Brooklyn Historical Society? Brownie31

[DODGER DEB]

DODGER DEB: You are welcome. Have you tried the Brooklyn Historical Society? Brownie31

WE have worked with the BHS for years, and while they are a terrific group, especially when Jessie Kelly was the President, they really have little "power" in this area.

They did a fantastic job with their exhibit on OUR 1955 World Championship last year. I posted a thread on it. It opened on April 21, 2005, if you are interested in reading about it.

c.

[zman]

The caption on this photo read 1922. I've seen Ebbets Field described as a rickety old ballpark but the architecture is beautiful in my eyes. It looks like a greek palace or something. A palace in pigtown? Charles Ebbets must have been a man of rare vision to imagine the possibility and bring it to life.

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FEbbets%20Field%20Architecture.jpg
(ebay)

Under construction 1913
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2F1913.jpg

[zman]

The Original Knot Hole gang.
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FKnotHoleGang.jpg
I discovered the hole in the wall while hanging out during a game. There was a huge gate there, all metal or part concrete, I'm not sure which, but the reason I say concrete is that part of it near the lower hinge seemed chipped away. The only time I remember it being open was for Holy Name rallies when the men and boys of each Catholic Church paraded into Ebbets Field behind parish banners. They may have opened it for the Cleveland Browns' band when their team came to Brooklyn to crush the Dodgers in football. But, somehow, the gate had a hole near the hinge, and if a kid knelt down, only one at a time and in a very vulnerable position, although I didn't lock my Columbia balloon tire bicycle while I did it, but it was, even then, humbling to kneel and scrounge for a look from dead center field, past Snider; past second base with Pee Wee Reese at short and Jackie Robinson at second, and who on the mound, Newcombe or Roe? , and Roy Campanella, and the ump and Yankee in the batter's box if it was the World Series but you didn't know who was up, except the first time though the lineup when the batter was announced by Tex Rickard on the public address system.

Donald J. Millus

(photo ebbetsfield.com)

[zman]

1916
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2F1916.jpg

1920
http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2F1920.jpg
(both photos ebbetsfield.com)

[Brownie31]

WE have worked with the BHS for years, and while they are a terrific group, especially when Jessie Kelly was the President, they really have little "power" in this area.

They did a fantastic job with their exhibit on OUR 1955 World Championship last year. I posted a thread on it. It opened on April 21, 2005, if you are interested in reading about it.

c.

Excellent thread. Ebbets Field truly a lost national treasure-but the memory will last forever!

[zman]

The columns along the sides remind me of the Parthenon

http://www.alanluber.com/images/ADL30.jpg
(alanluber.com)

[zman]

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-166.jpg
(mastronet.com originally posted here by prof93)

[zman]

The "V" for victory indicates this photo was taken either during or shortly after the war. When it was over soldiers and sailors returned to their families and all the special places they enjoyed before the war. Would anybody like to tell us what it felt like? Oh yeah. And how were the frankfurters? http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2FRotunda%2520Victory.jpg
(ebbetsfield.com)

[zman]

About time for a shot of the inside of the rotunda, doncha think? I've only seen 2 on the web. Anybody have one they'd like to post here?

[DODGER DEB]

About time for a shot of the inside of the rotunda, doncha think? I've only seen 2 on the web. Anybody have one they'd like to post here?

Photos of the interior of OUR Rotunda are rarer than a clean politican, zman!

My sister Debs and I never went to OUR Ebbets Field without a camera..... and WE walked through OUR Rotunda almost every day. For some (stupid) reason, which WE can't explain, WE never took one photo of the interior of OUR Rotunda, and between US WE have a few thousand photos. WE have talked about this, ad nauseam, for years, trying to understand OUR overlooking the obvious, but, WE can't explain it. :o :confused:

The two photos that you refer to, I believe, are the only two in existence, which is very sad because it was such an incredible place to see.

If there are any new members that would like to take on the assignment of seeking out other photos of OUR Rotunda, WE would be eternally grateful.

c.

[DODGER DEB]

http://images.mastronet.com/images/Auction27/photographs/30854-166.jpg
(mastronet.com originally posted here by prof93)


Once again, great photo, zman!

For those who may be interested, this photo shows fans waiting to enter the park along SULLIVAN PLACE, or the firstbase side of OUR Ebbets Field.

c.

[zman]

Just in case somebody visits this site who's never seen it before...

http://www.walteromalley.com/images/biog_ss/ss_rotunda_ebbets.jpg
The rotunda at Ebbets Field was part of Charles Ebbets’ vision for his new ballpark. The rotunda features a marble floor that reads “Ebbets Field” around a large baseball and a signature chandelier, which was comprised of baseball bats and globes with painted stitching to resemble baseballs. In the center of this photo, the 1949 schedule of the Brooklyn--New York Football Yankees of the All-America Football Conference (AAFC) is highlighted.


(photo and caption walteromalley.com)

[zman]

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2Febbets%20Field%20left%20grandstand%20bo x%20seats.jpg
(ebay)

[zman]

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2Fbatting%20practice.jpg
(ebay)

[zman]

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2Febbets%20field.jpg
(deadballera.com)

[zman]

http://www.msnusers.com/gfndkpvo7j6bchb8q4ajip3eu6/Documents/Pictures%2Fpodres%20centerfield%20stands.jpg
(framethegame.com)

[DODGER DEB]

I absolutely LOVE this photo of OUR EBBETS FIELD...and never tire of seeing it.....

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/mipakaco/ebbets.JPG

From an eBay listing.

c.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

I absolutely LOVE this photo of OUR EBBETS FIELD...and never tire of seeing it.....

http://imagehost.vendio.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/mipakaco/ebbets.JPG

From an eBay listing.

c.

It is a great picture indeed. I have said it before, but I wish I could go back in time and see a game at Ebbets Field.

[EbtsFldGuy]

It is a great picture indeed. I have said it before, but I wish I could go back in time and see a game at Ebbets Field.

I agree that this is a memorable picture.

Who can tell us which of the buildings and sites surrounding Ebbets Field are still there?

[bobw357]

Did this rather quickly using Windows Live Local, but whatever is in blue is still there. Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds are in red

[DODGER DEB]

Here is an interesting and rare photo of OUR Ebbets Field, taken in 1920. It is down the third base line and looking towards left field, when there was no wall or enclosed doube deck stands.





c.

[EbtsFldGuy]

Did this rather quickly using Windows Live Local, but whatever is in blue is still there. Kentucky Fried Chicken and McDonalds are in red


Good job, Bobw357.

Always looking to learn, so I ask this basic question. What is Windows Live Local? Is it a source of photos?

Thanks in advance for your help with that one.

EbtsFldGuy

[bobw357]

It is an aerial photo site. The photos may be a few years old.
http://local.live.com/

I typed " 55 Sullivan Place Brooklyn NY" in the address box on top and it sends you to that address.You can see views from the east,west,north or south. I think it is much better than Google Maps.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

This may not be Ebbets Field, but it IS a part of your history.

http://www.digitalballparks.com/International/JerseyCity1.html

Enjoy.

[EbtsFldGuy]

This may not be Ebbets Field, but it IS a part of your history.

http://www.digitalballparks.com/International/JerseyCity1.html

Enjoy.


Yes, it is.

And do I ever remember those trips to J.C. to see the Dodgers there. Felt luck a duck out of water.

[tonypug]

Yes, it is.

And do I ever remember those trips to J.C. to see the Dodgers there. Felt luck a duck out of water.
EFG, how many times did you go there and what are some of your memories? My mom wouldn't let my dadtake me she said I was to young to travel from Brooklyn to Jersey City, go figure.i

[EbtsFldGuy]

EFG, how many times did you go there and what are some of your memories? My mom wouldn't let my dadtake me she said I was to young to travel from Brooklyn to Jersey City, go figure.i

I think my Dad and I went there twice, once in each year they played there.

Roosevelt Stadium was out on sort of an inlet (it seemed), and was a WPA Project, I think from the 1930s. Must have been a fine place in its day. It was home to the JC Giants team until the early 1950s, when they moved to Ottawa.

From a Dodgers fan viewpoint, it was good in that you could get even closer to the action than at EF. We had fine views of the players - which as a kid I enjoyed most. The park was spartan, and, as I recall, the crowds were not capacity (I'm not certain of that, though). Parking was convenient (better than EF) and the safety of the area was OK.

It seemed odd, however, to see the Dodgers wearing home uniforms in a place other than EF.

My Dad and I later returned to Roosevelt for, of all things, a high school all star basketball game one summer - after the Dodgers went to LA.

Roosevelt lingered on for years, home mostly to high school football and maybe an occasional basketball game.

It was demolished, and I don't know what's on the site now.

The use of Roosevelt was purely a message by OM to NYC that he was serious about relocating.

We know the rest.

[tonypug]

I think my Dad and I went there twice, once in each year they played there.

Roosevelt Stadium was out on sort of an inlet (it seemed), and was a WPA Project, I think from the 1930s. Must have been a fine place in its day. It was home to the JC Giants team until the early 1950s, when they moved to Ottawa.

From a Dodgers fan viewpoint, it was good in that you could get even closer to the action than at EF. We had fine views of the players - which as a kid I enjoyed most. The park was spartan, and, as I recall, the crowds were not capacity (I'm not certain of that, though). Parking was convenient (better than EF) and the safety of the area was OK.

It seemed odd, however, to see the Dodgers wearing home uniforms in a place other than EF.

My Dad and I later returned to Roosevelt for, of all things, a high school all star basketball game one summer - after the Dodgers went to LA.

Roosevelt lingered on for years, home mostly to high school football and maybe an occasional basketball game.

It was demolished, and I don't know what's on the site now.

The use of Roosevelt was purely a message by OM to NYC that he was serious about relocating.

We know the rest.
Thanks for your memories. I remember watching the Cincinatti Reds AAA team which was relocated from Havana after the Castro takeover to Jersey City. Channel 13 I believe, televised some of there games.When O'Malley switched some games to Jersey City that was the sign that he was moving out of Brooklyn. It was a signal to LA that he would listen, if they were serious.

[Lprof]

http://www.ballparksofbaseball.com/past/ebbets5.jpg

Johnny Podres delivers the pitch as Johnny Logan watches from the on deck circle.


(Originally posted by Shotgun Shuba. Photo from ballparksofbaseball.com)I have just seen these pictures. I cried uncontrollably, and I hate to tell you my age. They struck a chord inside me I didn't know I still had.

[tonypug]

I have just seen these pictures. I cried uncontrollably, and I hate to tell you my age. They struck a chord inside me I didn't know I still had.
I take it you are an old Brooklyn Dodger fan, welcome.:waving

[musial6]

Roosevelt Stadium, in its day, was magnificent, generally regarded as America's finest minor league park. With its surrounding park, it was actually the largest stadium in the country. I saw Jackie play his first game with Montreal there in April, '46. By the time the Flock arrived, it was on a slippery slope.

[tonypug]

Roosevelt Stadium, in its day, was magnificent, generally regarded as America's finest minor league park. With its surrounding park, it was actually the largest stadium in the country. I saw Jackie play his first game with Montreal there in April, '46. By the time the Flock arrived, it was on a slippery slope.
Any ballpark goes downhill fast when they aren't maintained. Once the Giants moved their farm team, not much was done to the Stadium.

[VIBaseball]

Dear Friends -- I actually finished writing this article over a year ago, but I missed the deadline for last year's SABR annual, The National Pastime. At last this year's edition has come out.

At least a few of you here are SABR members; thanks for your kind words. I'd like to make the story available to the rest of you too. I asked for the editor to send me a PDF, but he hasn't gotten around to it yet...so I made my own, as close as possible to the actual magazine! :)

[DODGER DEB]

Dear Friends -- I actually finished writing this article over a year ago, but I missed the deadline for last year's SABR annual, The National Pastime. At last this year's edition has come out.

At least a few of you here are SABR members; thanks for your kind words. I'd like to make the story available to the rest of you too. I asked for the editor to send me a PDF, but he hasn't gotten around to it yet...so I made my own, as close as possible to the actual magazine! :)

That is one terrific piece of work, VIB. Kudos :clapping to you for all your work in digging up some missing pieces of OUR Ebbets Field's past.

Thanks for sharing it with US.

c.

[DODGER DEB]

Here is a rare photo of the inside of ROOSEVELT STADIUM in Jersey City, where WE played a few of OUR home games in 1956/1957...

http://i23.ebayimg.com/02/i/02/89/49/84_1_b.JPG

From an eBay listing.

c.

[tonypug]

Here is a rare photo of the insider of ROOSEVELT STADIUM in Jersey City, whee WE played a few of OUR home games in 1956/1957...

http://i23.ebayimg.com/02/i/02/89/49/84_1_b.JPG

From an eBay listing.

c.
That is indeed a rare photo. Any idea what year the photo was taken?

[musial6]

Jackie played his first game in "white" baseball there in April. '46. The place was mobbed that day. The overflow stood in foul territory behind ropes. I saw my first minor league game there during WW II. I loved that park. Thanks for the photo.

[DODGER DEB]

That is indeed a rare photo. Any idea what year the photo was taken?

The date was not included on the listing, tony. I will see if I can find out.

c.

[EbtsFldGuy]

Dear Friends -- I actually finished writing this article over a year ago, but I missed the deadline for last year's SABR annual, The National Pastime. At last this year's edition has come out.

At least a few of you here are SABR members; thanks for your kind words. I'd like to make the story available to the rest of you too. I asked for the editor to send me a PDF, but he hasn't gotten around to it yet...so I made my own, as close as possible to the actual magazine! :)


Thank you for that excellent article, which answers several questions that have appeared here over the years.

I attended the 6/23/58 Van Buren v Curtis game. The last time I was at EF. And I STILL taste the sadness of the day.

One other event that was scheduled for EF post 1957 but was scratched. Watching American Bandstand one day, I hear Dick Clark say that his Caravan of Stars would appear in EF that September. Riots at other rock and roll shows caused that to be cancelled, however.

Long live 55 Sullivan Place!

[VIBaseball]

What brought you to the ballpark that day, EbtsFldGuy? Was it the desire to see a game at the old place just one more time, or did you know people from either of the schools or go there?

I saw a quote in Peter Golenbock's "Bums" about the demolition derby and how it saddened one of the old-time fans to see the turf defiled like that.

I have a hunch about the Brooklyn Stars, Campy's team. Marty Adler, Tom Knight, and other people with intimate knowledge of the Brooklyn Dodgers had not heard of them. I believe that club was insider knowledge for the black community (the neighborhood was changing). I still hope to uncover more about them...maybe find people still in the neighborhood from that time. I'd also love to know if any of those old groundskeepers are still alive. The ultimate would have been to ask Campy while he was still with us.

That's a neat bit about the Caravan of Stars. I did a quick Net and newspaper search but didn't see anything. Who knows, there could be a little more there too.

[EbtsFldGuy]

I went to that game because Curtis was a rival to my high school, and I knew many guys on the team.

Dick Clark did run a Cavalcade of Stars around the country but evidently he was smart enough to sense trouble in Brooklyn and never went there.

The area around EF was changing, but my understanding is that the transition hastened after 1960.

The fabled Brooklyn Prep lasted until 1972.

[Dem Bums]

Wow! What a fantastic website with some great photos! I am so glad to have found a place like this where others share the same passions and interests for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Mets, and baseball in general.

I'm looking forward to intereacting with many of the fans on thses boards.

If I've posted this in the wrong thread, then please accept my apologies.


Dem Bums :cool:

[Bklyn Boy since 1936]

Wow! What a fantastic website with some great photos! I am so glad to have found a place like this where others share the same passions and interests for the Brooklyn Dodgers, the New York Mets, and baseball in general.

I'm looking forward to intereacting with many of the fans on thses boards.

If I've posted this in the wrong thread, then please accept my apologies.


Dem Bums :cool:
Welcome Dem Bums to the GREATEST of ALL BROOKLYN DODGERS Forums. Sit back and enjoy the ride and jump in whenever the mood or subject suits you. If you are a BROOKLYN DODGERS Fan you're in the right place.

[EbtsFldGuy]

Welcome Dem Bums to the GREATEST of ALL BROOKLYN DODGERS Forums. Sit back and enjoy the ride and jump in whenever the mood or subject suits you. If you are a BROOKLYN DODGERS Fan you're in the right place.


Amen, and accept my welcome to you, too.

With life's challenges, this is one place where we can retreat and virtually re-enter Ebbets Field and enjoy again all the fun that those trips brought us so long ago.

Long live the Brooklyn of the Dodgers' time there!

[Dem Bums]

Thanks to both of you for the warm welcome.

Although I am not old enough to have been to Ebbets field, being born only a few years after the Dodgers left Brooklyn:( , I grew up hearing my father, my uncles and my grandfather talking about and telling stories about the Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets field. Their stories were so real that I grew up feeling as though I experienced Ebbets field and the Dodgers first hand.

Whenever the L.A. Dodgers were in town to play the Mets, we would always go to the game.

So even though I never experienced the team or the stadium first hand, I grew up learing and hearing about 'Dem Bums' all of my life.

I am a New York Mets fan, but I have a lot of Autographed Brooklyn Dodger memorabilia along with an extensive Baseball Card Collection of original Brooklyn Dodger player cards.

I don't know if anyone here has ever played or heard of Strat - O - Matic Baseball, but I play it with my kids and currently am trying to replay the 1955 Dodgers season.

I just love the whole awe of anything Brooklyn Dodgers/Ebbets field. Campy, The Duke, Pee Wee, Oisk, etc.

I wish that I could have seen these gus play at Ebbets field.



Dem Bums :cool:

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

I think this is quite an unique photograph as well.

What a beauty. Too bad it was abandoned this way.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

Ticket of the first night game at Ebbets Field

[VIBaseball]

I sent Mr. Talese a copy of my article on the twilight years at Ebbets Field, since it mentioned the little nugget he wrote for the Times when he paid the skeleton crew a visit after the 1959 World Series. I thought he'd enjoy it, and he did in fact send me a nice reply, including this graceful passage:

"Recalling that I myself had briefly written about it takes me back in time; and I share with you, though I'm not a resident of Brooklyn, a sense of loss that it's no longer a place of joy and defeat and 'waiting 'till next year'!!"

[DodgerGirl]

Those are some great stories. I'm working on a documentary about the Brooklyn Dodgers and those are the types of stories we're looking for. Do you have any way to reach / find the couple and ex-cop you spoke with? DodgerGirl

[DODGER DEB]

Those are some great stories. I'm working on a documentary about the Brooklyn Dodgers and those are the types of stories we're looking for. Do you have any way to reach / find the couple and ex-cop you spoke with? DodgerGirl


Welcome to OUR little corner of BBF, DodgerGirl!

You are absolutely right, DG, indeed I do have tons of stories. Sorry, but you will have to wait to read all of them in my book!

I will need additional info on the documentary you are working on before encouraging any of OUR members to participate. I am sure you can understand that. In the meantime, I have removed your email address from this post.

You can respond by PM, if you like.

c.

[Brownie31]

New Dodger manager Max Carey and his son greet new Dodger Hack Wilson in 1932. (From Rucker Archives)

Brownie31

[Brownie31]

In October 1931, Ebbets Field played host to Sharkey versus Carnero.
(eBay listing.)

Brownie31

[Brownie31]

Ebbets Field is honored on the editorial pages!

Brownie31

[vortec_cruiser]

I am trying to locate a wallpaper mural (approx. 5' x 8') showing the inside of the park. My son wants put this in his newborn son's room.

[Brad MCdonald]

I'm curious, in 1958 and 1959 there were some events at Ebbets Field(High School baseball etc). Who took care of the facility? Were the Dodgers expected to do the bare minimum to keep it standing? Was it the landlord?I'm sure the field was not MLB standards after the Dodgers left , but was it a hayfield? And when they were open for some events was the facility fully staffed with ushers and concessions open? Ever since reading "Boys of Summer" in the 1970's I've had an interest in The Bums and Ebbets Field. I grew up an Expos fan and The Duke was the colour man on the Expos national TV broadcast in Canada , and Snider would take time to wax nostagically about his Brooklyn memories.I was so interested, I attempted to build a mini Ebbets Field using Lego( I think I was ahead of the curve at 11 years old). .

[Brownie31]

Here is the cover of a 1932 Brooklyn Dodgers program. Notice the elegant ads. (eBay listing)

Brownie31

[VIBaseball]

I'm curious, in 1958 and 1959 there were some events at Ebbets Field(High School baseball etc). Who took care of the facility? Were the Dodgers expected to do the bare minimum to keep it standing? Was it the landlord?I'm sure the field was not MLB standards after the Dodgers left , but was it a hayfield? And when they were open for some events was the facility fully staffed with ushers and concessions open?

See post #118 on page 5, Brad. :lookitup

[Brad MCdonald]

Thank you very much, that was a fascinating read and answered all my questions.

Cheers

Brad

[EbtsFldGuy]

Brad,

The Dodgers held the lease until 12/31/59. There's a photo somewhere on this site of Matt Burns of the Dodgers' staff turning the key to EF that day over to a Kratter Corp employee outside the rotunda, with broken windows in the background.

There was a skeletal maintenance staff left at EF. They were interviewed by Gay Talese of the NY Times on the day LA won the 1959 series. Short, memorable, sad piece, catching the essence of the abandoned EF and environs.

Painful to relate even now.

I can only imagine how those who lived near EF then must have felt to see the old lady in the winter of her life, and the area so deflated of its former glory.

[OCDan]

Just want to say that I have been a long time lurker and just registered. Must also add that as a 39 year old I feel gipped. I am currently reading McGee's "The Greatest Ballpark Ever and can't get through it fast enough. As an avid baseball fan I feel like I missed the golden era of baseball. Everyone on my mom's side were Yankee fans, so my grandfather would regale me with Ruth and Gehrig. My stepdad's side were Giant fans, so I would get Mays and some Dodger stories. Well, I get the Mets, whom I still love, bu Shea is Shea and the 70's were no golden era. Sometimes I just wish I could go back in time.

Took the family to Cooperstown this summer on our cross country vacation and took in a game at the big ballyard in the Bronx. Memories of my childhood all over again. Wife kidded me about crying at the doors of Valhalla in Cooperstown. Anyway, picked up the last 2 DVDs of When It Was a Game and still weep like a baby when I see those gems.

To make a long story short, glad to be on and I love the nostalgia you guys bring. Don't hate me for the family ties, I just wish I could've been part of that era of NY baseball.

[kearns643]

OCDan, I know those feeling all too well. Thanks for sharing them..thanks for posting and welcome aboard.

[DODGER DEB]

A warm welcome to all the new formers who have discovered OUR Forum. It is nice to have you join US. :waving

Listening to all your wonderful stories and/or memories that have drawn you to OUR BROOKLYN DODGERS, I sincerely wish all of you could have been as fortunate as those of US who lived it, day after day, at OUR Ebbets Field. You would have loved it...and WE would have so enjoyed having you with US! Sadly, it was a time that Baseball will never see again.

c.

[OCDan]

Dodger Deb, I couldn't agree more. I know we always back fondly at the past and we often forget the evils of racism and bigotry, etc. However, the 50s were an incredible time for America. In many ways it can be argued that it was height of Pax America. For that and as an historian, I feel gipped for missing it. Don't get me wrong, I love my family and I love life. However, that golden era of sports, esp. Baseball is gone. No longer do the kids, players, owners, etc. regard the games the same way or with the same fervor.

As I read McGee's book, I just feel a sense of sadness that Ebbets Field is gone. One must also remember, and I know most here hate the Giants, that the SCUMBAG also took the Gints with him. If he hadn't moved, it is doubtful that Stoneham would have ever moved. O'Malley singlehandedly changed the landscape of NYC baseball forever. If O'Malley ever gets elected to the HoF, I for one would still go to Cooperstown, but I will lose all respect for the electors, even though I don't have too much for them even know.

[DickZ]

Hi Dodger Deb,

I was just wondering if we are getting any closer to being able to buy your book of Ebbets Field memories?

[DODGER DEB]

Hi Dodger Deb,

I was just wondering if we are getting any closer to being able to buy your book of Ebbets Field memories?

You are so kind to keep asking about my book, DickZ, and I thank you for that.

It is coming along, although, in recent months, some "life situations" have moved ahead of it needing more of my attention.

c.

[Brownie31]

Thursday, April 22, 1943 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: Brooklyn Borough President John Cashmore throws out the first pitch of the season as Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodger President; Mel Ott, New York Giants Manager; and Leo Durocher, Brooklyn Dodger Manager look on. Durocher's Dodgers were triumphant 5-2 en route to an 81-72 third place finish. (Corbis)

Brownie31

[Brownie31]

Tuesday, April 18, 1939 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: Part of the 25,000 plus in attendance at the Brooklyn Dodgers' opening game are shown as they cheer the beginning of the Leo Durocher era. Unfortunately the hated NewYork Giants spoiled Leo's debut 7-3. (Corbis)

Brownie31

[Brownie31]

Thursday, April 13, 1944 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: Dodger Coach Charlie Dressen gets better than a front row seat when Frank Sinatra, idol of the Bobby Soxers, comes to Ebbets Field! (Corbis)

Brownie31

[jaykay]

Thursday, April 13, 1944 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: Dodger Coach Charlie Dressen gets better than a front row seat when Frank Sinatra, idol of the Bobby Soxers, comes to Ebbets Field! (Corbis)

Brownie31


Someone I knew a long time ago showed me this photo (also a long time ago) because he claimed I was in it. That happens to be true (no self-promotion; just straight reporting). My memory of the event flickers from dim to virtually non-existent. I was told that the smiling lass over Frank's left shoulder is Angela Lansbury, and that the somewhat older female near the left border of the picture is Hilda Chester. Also, that it is not Hilda's bra (or someone else's) perched upon her head.

Any opinions on these matters will be welcomed by me. Any further identifications will also be graciously received. I did ask Dressen about this once, but his recollections were almost as bad then as mine are now. Frank was not responsive, aside from telling his retinue to get rid of me.

No questions, please. Just answers.

[DODGER DEB]

Could that be Tommy Brown to Frankie's left and slightly behind him? It looks like him.

I do believe you could be right, jaykay, regarding Angela Lansbury and Hilda. Keep in mind that Angela would have been very young in 1944.

c.

[Brownie31]

My dad was in the U. S. Navy during World War II and he saw Angela Lansbury in a USO show. She also starred in the film version of The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1945. So it could well be her.

Brownie31

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

Someone I knew a long time ago showed me this photo (also a long time ago) because he claimed I was in it. That happens to be true (no self-promotion; just straight reporting). My memory of the event flickers from dim to virtually non-existent. I was told that the smiling lass over Frank's left shoulder is Angela Lansbury, and that the somewhat older female near the left border of the picture is Hilda Chester. Also, that it is not Hilda's bra (or someone else's) perched upon her head.

Any opinions on these matters will be welcomed by me. Any further identifications will also be graciously received. I did ask Dressen about this once, but his recollections were almost as bad then as mine are now. Frank was not responsive, aside from telling his retinue to get rid of me.

No questions, please. Just answers.

So if you were/are in this photo, which person are you?

[Brownie31]

If it helps with IDing people, here is another Corbis photo from the same day.

Brownie31

[Shotgun Shuba]

I think he was the dish in the black skirt. It was a confusing time for everybody.

[Brownie31]

Sunday, April 27, 1930 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: Interesting angled shot of fans thronging into Ebbets Field to watch Uncle Wilbert Robinson'sBrooklyn Robins take on the hate New York Giants of John McGraw. Unfortunately, the Giants would win 10-4, but the Robins would recover to finish 86-68 in fourth place. (Corbis)

Brownie31

[Brownie31]

Friday, April 14, 1950 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: Snow cancels an exhibition game with the New York Yankees-so what to do? Build a snowman of course! Roy Campanella, Pee Wee Reese, Gil Hodges and Jackie Robinson contribute to the masterpiece! (Corbis)

Brownie31

[Lprof]

Those are some great stories. I'm working on a documentary about the Brooklyn Dodgers and those are the types of stories we're looking for. Do you have any way to reach / find the couple and ex-cop you spoke with? DodgerGirlCan you please let us know when your documentary becomes available? I try to collect anything I can about the Dodgers. I spent much of my early life watching their games.

[Lprof]

I'm curious, in 1958 and 1959 there were some events at Ebbets Field(High School baseball etc). Who took care of the facility? Were the Dodgers expected to do the bare minimum to keep it standing? Was it the landlord?I'm sure the field was not MLB standards after the Dodgers left , but was it a hayfield? And when they were open for some events was the facility fully staffed with ushers and concessions open? Ever since reading "Boys of Summer" in the 1970's I've had an interest in The Bums and Ebbets Field. I grew up an Expos fan and The Duke was the colour man on the Expos national TV broadcast in Canada , and Snider would take time to wax nostagically about his Brooklyn memories.I was so interested, I attempted to build a mini Ebbets Field using Lego( I think I was ahead of the curve at 11 years old). .

There are some very powerful reminiscences of post-Dodgers Ebbets Field in Peter Gollenbock's book, "Bums," near the end. I strongly recommend you take a look at it.

[Brownie31]

Friday, May 8, 1942 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: With the Brooklyn Dodgers standing at attention, an impressive flag raising cermony heralds the Navy Relief twilight game between the Dodgers and the New York Giants. Over 42,200 were in attendance with proceeds going to U.S. Navy relief funds. The Dodgers were victorious 7-6. (Corbis)

Brownie31

[Brownie31]

Saturday, August 29, 1953 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: Korean War POWs back home again are driven to their special seats prior to the Dodgers' 10-3 walloping of the Cincinnati Reds. One of the returning heroes threw out the first pitch of the game. (Corbis)

Brownie31

[Shotgun Shuba]

On this gloomy day in New England I post one of my favorites of Ebbets Field in paint.
From Rockwellsite.com

[Brownie31]

On this gloomy day in New England I post one of my favorites of Ebbets Field in paint.
From Rockwellsite.com

Wonderful Americana-Ebbets Field and Norman Rockwell!

Brownie31

[zman]

Wonderful Americana-Ebbets Field and Norman Rockwell!

Brownie31

Not to mention that shot of Sinatra at Ebbets Field. Talk about classic Americana. Good to see your site is still thriving and a happy spring to you all.

[Brownie31]

Not to mention that shot of Sinatra at Ebbets Field. Talk about classic Americana. Good to see your site is still thriving and a happy spring to you all.

Happy spring to you also!

Brownie31

[chashale]

Great photos, Brownie. Maybe you can answer this with a photo, or maybe you just flat out know the answer. When was the left fall wall erected at Ebbets Field? It seems to me, I recall reading or seeing pictures of an earlier time, I'm thinking the twenties, when there was no left field wall at Ebbets.

[Brownie31]

Great photos, Brownie. Maybe you can answer this with a photo, or maybe you just flat out know the answer. When was the left fall wall erected at Ebbets Field? It seems to me, I recall reading or seeing pictures of an earlier time, I'm thinking the twenties, when there was no left field wall at Ebbets.

http://i127.photobucket.com/albums/p123/OswaldTheOsprey/ebbets20series.jpg

Here is a photo of left field on October 5, 1920 just befor game one of the 1920 World Series. Hopes this helps!

Brownie31

[chashale]

Brilliant, Brownie.
They probably put up the fence when the left field grandstand was erected. Any idea when that occurred?

[Brownie31]

Brilliant, Brownie.
They probably put up the fence when the left field grandstand was erected. Any idea when that occurred?

I'll see what I can find out.

Brownie31

[chashale]

It looks to me that there was a major renovation done in 1932, which included extending the grandstand around the field. That makes sense since the photos of the twenties show no wall and no grandstand.

[Brownie31]

It looks to me that there was a major renovation done in 1932, which included extending the grandstand around the field. That makes sense since the photos of the twenties show no wall and no grandstand.

Indeed. I found that the work was done in 1931-32-interesting since that was the worst part of the Great Depression!

Brownie31

[chashale]

Yes, and there were some there other notable buildings completed during the Depression, across the river from Brooklyn in Manhattan. Most notably the Empire State Bldg. in 1931. Yes, it is interesting, isn't it, that these two giants of NYC history were completed during the Depression.

[SNAP]

Strat-O-Matic...........the greatest game on the planet........I have 3 great paintings of Ebbets that I use as backdrops for thee game.

Thanks to both of you for the warm welcome.

Although I am not old enough to have been to Ebbets field, being born only a few years after the Dodgers left Brooklyn:( , I grew up hearing my father, my uncles and my grandfather talking about and telling stories about the Brooklyn Dodgers and Ebbets field. Their stories were so real that I grew up feeling as though I experienced Ebbets field and the Dodgers first hand.

Whenever the L.A. Dodgers were in town to play the Mets, we would always go to the game.

So even though I never experienced the team or the stadium first hand, I grew up learing and hearing about 'Dem Bums' all of my life.

I am a New York Mets fan, but I have a lot of Autographed Brooklyn Dodger memorabilia along with an extensive Baseball Card Collection of original Brooklyn Dodger player cards.

I don't know if anyone here has ever played or heard of Strat - O - Matic Baseball, but I play it with my kids and currently am trying to replay the 1955 Dodgers season.

I just love the whole awe of anything Brooklyn Dodgers/Ebbets field. Campy, The Duke, Pee Wee, Oisk, etc.

I wish that I could have seen these gus play at Ebbets field.



Dem Bums :cool:

[simarc]

Can you post those photos you use as backdrops ? I play a similar game called ActionPC Baseball. I play lots of retro games and would love to have those pics.

Also does anyone have the link to Talese's article, so I can read it in it's entirity.

It's 2007 and I'm still a Dodger Fan. I see them play when they are at Shea, Philly and make the road trip to D.C.

I grew up in the Canarsie section of Brooklyn and moved to Staten Island almost a decade ago.

[Gotham]

Strat-O-Matic...........the greatest game on the planet........I have 3 great paintings of Ebbets that I use as backdrops for thee game.

If you had ever played APBA you would know how wrong you are. Strat-O is a distant second.

[D6+]

If you had ever played APBA you would know how wrong you are. Strat-O is a distant second.


Gotham, I definitely agree with your opinion about APBA Baseball. I've been in an APBA league the last 19 seasons. I started playing the game when I was 14. Except during the years I went to College and Grad School, I've been an active APBA player. The combo of the strategy of the game and it being user friendly lead to countless hours of enjoyment. As well as frustration when the dice didn't turn out the way I hoped. :laugh


One of many benefits of these simulation baseball games is it's a way to help keep the memories of the history of baseball, including the Brooklyn Dodgers, alive.

[DODGER DEB]

Gotham, I definitely agree with your opinion about APBA Baseball. I've been in an APBA league the last 19 seasons. I started playing the game when I was 14. Except during the years I went to College and Grad School, I've been an active APBA player. The combo of the strategy of the game and it being user friendly lead to countless hours of enjoyment. As well as frustration when the dice didn't turn out the way I hoped. :laugh


One of many benefits of these simulation baseball games is it's a way to help keep the memories of the history of baseball, including the Brooklyn Dodgers, alive.


While this discussion is interesting, I must ask that you confine your remarks to the topic of this thread OUR EBBETS FIELD HISTORY.

Thank you.

c.

[Dazzy]

I was just 10 years old when the Dodgers were taken from Brooklyn. I remember Marvin Kratter, who Bought Ebbets Field and built The Ebbets Field apartments saying many times, there would always be a baseball field on the grounds. At the time I figured he was talking about a little league field.However I don't recall at any time that there was ever a baseball field on the site. Does anyone have any recollection of that. I am glad I came across this site, and hope I can contribute from time to time.

[DODGER DEB]

I was just 10 years old when the Dodgers were taken from Brooklyn. I remember Marvin Kratter, who Bought Ebbets Field and built The Ebbets Field apartments saying many times, there would always be a baseball field on the grounds. At the time I figured he was talking about a little league field.However I don't recall at any time that there was ever a baseball field on the site. Does anyone have any recollection of that. I am glad I came across this site, and hope I can contribute from time to time.

First, Dazzy, let me welcome you to OUR little corner (and the best) of BBF. It is still a wonder that WE continue to attract new BROOKLYN DODGER FANS.

As to your question, the only promise that Kratter kept was to build those big ugly apartment houses that have been falling apart for years. You may, or may not know, that there is a sign on the wall of one of the buildings that states NO BALL PLAYING HERE! Imagine that! Quite an insult to OUR hallowed ground.

Please visit US at your leisure, Dazzy. Join in the discussions and share your own personal memories with US.

c.

[MEMOMAN]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Joe-DiMaggio-Mickey-Mantle-Yankees-8x10-Photo-2_W0QQitemZ220084316586QQihZ012QQcategoryZ37608QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohostin gHere is a picture I found of DiMaggio and Mantle that seems to clearly be from 1951 (American League Golden Anniversary Patch on their sleeves) but the backdrop is Ebbetts Field as indicated by the Press box in upper left corner of pic but when did the Yankee’s play in Ebbetts in 1951, DiMaggio didn’t play in 1952 when there was a Dodgers Yankees WS and the Yankee’s played the Giants in 1951 in the WS at the Polo Grounds so I’m stumped as I find no reference to any inter-league play , could some one please help out thanks..memoman

[SNAP]

Actually, I've never played it. I've been playing strat since 1975 and I love it.
Have you ever played Diamond Mind Baseball??.......I think it used to be called Pursue the Pennant.

SNAP

If you had ever played APBA you would know how wrong you are. Strat-O is a distant second.

[SNAP]

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s25/SNAP1957/Bp046d.jpg

[SNAP]

All these pics are used as a backdrop in the Strat-O-Matic game.

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s25/SNAP1957/EbbetsField.jpg

http://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s25/SNAP1957/

[SNAP]

ttp://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s25/SNAP1957/LINEUPSCREEN.jpg

[SNAP]

ttp://i148.photobucket.com/albums/s25/SNAP1957/LINEUPSCREEN.jpg

[Dazzy]

http://cgi.ebay.com/Joe-DiMaggio-Mickey-Mantle-Yankees-8x10-Photo-2_W0QQitemZ220084316586QQihZ012QQcategoryZ37608QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohostin gHere is a picture I found of DiMaggio and Mantle that seems to clearly be from 1951 (American League Golden Anniversary Patch on their sleeves) but the backdrop is Ebbetts Field as indicated by the Press box in upper left corner of pic but when did the Yankee’s play in Ebbetts in 1951, DiMaggio didn’t play in 1952 when there was a Dodgers Yankees WS and the Yankee’s played the Giants in 1951 in the WS at the Polo Grounds so I’m stumped as I find no reference to any inter-league play , could some one please help out thanks..memoman
The Yankees and Dodgers used to play a three game series of exhibition games, just before the regular season started, at Ebbets Field and Yankee Stadium. Hope this helps.

[R Ryan823]

Does anyone remember what went on at Ebbets between the end of the '57 season and before the demolition in 1960? I heard one story that there was auto racing for a brief time. Anyone else recall that?

[VIBaseball]

R Ryan -- just back up to post #118 on this thread, I believe it's on page 5. This is my pet topic concerning Ebbets and I explore it in full there.

[tonypug]

VIBaseball wrote a great article on what happened to Ebbets Field after the Dodgers left. It was published in one of SABR's publications, which both VI and I are members. It was an excellent article.

[R Ryan823]

R Ryan -- just back up to post #118 on this thread, I believe it's on page 5. This is my pet topic concerning Ebbets and I explore it in full there.

Excellent article! I don't know how I missed that.

[MEMOMAN]

MEMOMAN http://cgi.ebay.com/Joe-DiMaggio-Mickey-Mantle-Yankees-8x10-Photo-2_W0QQitemZ220084316586QQihZ012QQcategoryZ37608QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohostin gHere is a picture I found of DiMaggio and Mantle that seems to clearly be from 1951 (American League Golden Anniversary Patch on their sleeves) but the backdrop is Ebbetts Field as indicated by the Press box in upper left corner of pic but when did the Yankee’s play in Ebbetts in 1951, DiMaggio didn’t play in 1952 when there was a Dodgers Yankees WS and the Yankee’s played the Giants in 1951 in the WS at the Polo Grounds so I’m stumped as I find no reference to any inter-league play , could some one please help out thanks..memoman

thanks for the response to my question about the picture and now I begin my search for the date in April that was between the yankees last game in their west coast swing and then back to new york

[MEMOMAN]

MEMOMAN http://cgi.ebay.com/Joe-DiMaggio-Mickey-Mantle-Yankees-8x10-Photo-2_W0QQitemZ220084316586QQihZ012QQcategoryZ37608QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem#ebayphotohostin gHere is a picture I found of DiMaggio and Mantle that seems to clearly be from 1951 (American League Golden Anniversary Patch on their sleeves) but the backdrop is Ebbetts Field as indicated by the Press box in upper left corner of pic but when did the Yankee’s play in Ebbetts in 1951, DiMaggio didn’t play in 1952 when there was a Dodgers Yankees WS and the Yankee’s played the Giants in 1951 in the WS at the Polo Grounds so I’m stumped as I find no reference to any inter-league play , could some one please help out thanks..memoman

thanks for the response to my question about the ppicture and now I begin my search for the date in April that was between the yankees last game in their west coast swing and then back to new york

[Brownie31]

Tuesday, April 12, 1932 Ebbets Field Brooklyn: As Baves Manager Bill McKechnie and Dodgers Manager Max Carey look on, John McCooey, Brooklyn political figure, prepares to through out the first pitch of the new season. Carey's Dodgers would lose the opener 8-3 to the Braves in route to an 81-73third place finish.

Brownie31

[VIBaseball]

This is another event that took place in the "twilight era" at Ebbets Field, after the Dodgers left. It's from The Sporting News of July 22, 1959. I'd have included it in my article if I'd known about paperofrecord.com, a great site which allows free searches of TSN.

Note the involvement of Tommy Holmes.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Hello all. here is a photo i came across showing ebbets field from 4-16-1942.

[POLO GROUNDS 1957]

Here is a great photo of ebbets field from 1942 showing centerfield and the scoreboard.

[DODGER DEB]

Great shots of OUR Ebbets Field, PG1957.

Thanks for posting them.

One note, iwas before my time, but I don't ever remember seeing OUR lower centerfield bleacher seats blocked off the way they are in these photos on Opening Day, April 16, 1942.

Can anyone shed some light on this question? :confused: :hp

c.

[Paulmcall]

Here are the bleachers in the 1952 World Series.

[R Ryan823]

Sweet Picture Paulmcall! I actually drove by the Ebbets Field Appartments last Friday. I came up Bedford Ave Which is where the right field wall once stood. The neighborhood is in complete shambles. Driving up Bedford Ave. you can see the old townhouses and brown stone buildings left from the time when that area was a beautiful pace to live. Unfortunatley I didn't have a camera with me.
On the corner of Bedford and Sullivan there is a service station with an art-deco style canopy. Does anyone know/remember if that was there when Ebbets was there?

[EbtsFldGuy]

Sweet Picture Paulmcall! I actually drove by the Ebbets Field Appartments last Friday. I came up Bedford Ave Which is where the right field wall once stood. The neighborhood is in complete shambles. Driving up Bedford Ave. you can see the old townhouses and brown stone buildings left from the time when that area was a beautiful pace to live. Unfortunatley I didn't have a camera with me.
On the corner of Bedford and Sullivan there is a service station with an art-deco style canopy. Does anyone know/remember if that was there when Ebbets was there?

R Ryan, you are a brave man to go there.

I've done it 5 times, and never will go again - although I still want to visit the McDonald's across the street since it has or had photos of EF, and I want to photo the EF mural that is on a building on Flatbush Avenue, but will resist those urges for now.

My reactions were identical to yours. The upward slope on Bedford Avenue outside the right field wall brought back instant fond memories of a half century and more ago. As did the gas station. It was an Esso station then, I think, but it has changed in structure. The present station may even be a few feet away from the original one. The old one also parked cars, I think.

Much of the surrounding housing stock on the streets perpendicular to Bedford Avenue seems solid on the outside and facially attractive.

BUT, as we know from the many postings on the board, this is NOT the EF neighborhood we all knew in the Dodger era.

Still, gentrification is going on in many parts of Brooklyn. So, maybe there is future hope for our baseball holy ground.

[Bruno2]

At the excellent suggestion of Former, zman, I am adding a thread on OUR Ebbets Field History, which I will sticky.

Please feel free to add photos of OUR Ebbets Field to the collection, dating back to Opening Day in 1913.

Please remember to add the source of your photos, or articles.


http://images.auctionworks.com/hi/56/55554/ebbetsfield001.jpg


From an eBay listing.

c.

Don't shoot me.. I'm an old Yankee fan.

I confess, though, that I might be an old Brooklyn Dodger fan now, though. The teams you had from '49 thru '56 were loaded with great players, and what a great ballpark you had!

I remember the Happy Felton show before the games... great for the kids.

I guess my favorite Dodger would have been Gil Hodges.. a real gentleman.

It's terrible, in my opinion, that the Dodgers and Giants left NY. That was the beginning of the end of real baseball.

It was a great time to be a kid growing up.... I loved it, and miss it.

[DODGER DEB]

Don't shoot me.. I'm an old Yankee fan.

I confess, though, that I might be an old Brooklyn Dodger fan now, though. The teams you had from '49 thru '56 were loaded with great players, and what a great ballpark you had!

I remember the Happy Felton show before the games... great for the kids.

I guess my favorite Dodger would have been Gil Hodges.. a real gentleman.

It's terrible, in my opinion, that the Dodgers and Giants left NY. That was the beginning of the end of real baseball.

It was a great time to be a kid growing up.... I loved it, and miss it.


No, Bruno2, WE don't shoot old pinstriper fans (though that may have been a temptation long ago). WE are just glad that you have seen "the error of your ways". I agree....WE loved it, and miss it, too!

Welcome to OUR corner (the best) of BBF. I always enjoy seeing new members come visit OUR forum and join in the discussion.

Have fun here; WE always do!

c.

[EbtsFldGuy]

There is something else that is a shame: neither MLB nor NYC is doing anything to commemorate the horrid loss of the Dodgers and Giantss.

The recent Cyclones ceremony is welcome, but minimal.

[Paulmcall]

I think they just hope everyone will forget ... just like the steroids.:lookitup
They don't deal with ugly truths.

[D6+]

There is something else that is a shame: neither MLB nor NYC is doing anything to commemorate the horrid loss of the Dodgers and Giantss.

The recent Cyclones ceremony is welcome, but minimal.


Other than the Cyclones ceremony, the closest thing to a commemoration is the " Glory Days New York Baseball 1947-1957" exhibits and programs at the City of New York Museum.

[Coal Cracker]

I think they just hope everyone will forget ... just like the steroids.:lookitup
They don't deal with ugly truths.

Sad, really. I don't think enough people realize what it meant to Brooklyn and the Dodger fans to lose the Dodgers.

My grandma was a Dodgers fan growing up in PA in the '40s and '50s. A long time ago she told me she disowned baseball after they were stolen. For a long time I never really understood why she did it. Why completely let go? But after reading The Last Good Season and this forum, amongst other material, it all makes perfect sense now. Despite being a Yankee fan I have a soft spot for the Brooklyn Dodgers. If they were still playing at Flatbush today I would probably be a fan. Sometimes it really saddens me that I was never afforded that opportunity.

[D6+]

Sad, really. I don't think enough people realize what it meant to Brooklyn and the Dodger fans to lose the Dodgers.

My grandma was a Dodgers fan growing up in PA in the '40s and '50s. A long time ago she told me she disowned baseball after they were stolen. For a long time I never really understood why she did it. Why completely let go? But after reading The Last Good Season and this forum, amongst other material, it all makes perfect sense now. Despite being a Yankee fan I have a soft spot for the Brooklyn Dodgers. If they were still playing at Flatbush today I would probably be a fan. Sometimes it really saddens me that I was never afforded that opportunity.


Well said, Coal Cracker.

It took me until I became an adult to understand the loss of the Brooklyn Dodgers meant to people who were fans of the team during the days the real Dodgers fielded a team. Now, I consider myself a Brooklyn Dodgers fan. There are other MLB teams that I want to see do well, especially the Tigers. Yet, my only MLB team passion is the Brooklyn Dodgers.

[EbtsFldGuy]

Does any of you feel like I do at this minute:

i.e. as much fun as it is to see old shots of EF, sometimes it is JUST TOO SAD to see them, and realize that what we had 50 years ago is gone forever!

[D6+]

Does any of you feel like I do at this minute:

i.e. as much fun as it is to see old shots of EF, sometimes it is JUST TOO SAD to see them, and realize that what we had 50 years ago is gone forever!


It's safe to assume that there will never again be in Pro Sports the combo of the Brooklyn Dodgers team, the Dodgers fan base, Ebbets Field and it's atmosphere, the rivalry with the Giants, and the Subway Series' vs. the Yankees. It's not even remotely close.

IMO, in today's MLB, St. Louis, Boston, and Chicago ( NL ) provide the best baseball has to offer in terms of fans, ballpark atmosphere, and tradition. The intensity of the Yankees- Red Sox rivalry and the Yankees- Mets rivalry is very good in it's own right. Yet w/o question, what so many of you witnessed first hand at Ebbets Field, especially between 1947 and 1956, was the greatest decade in baseball history that one fan base ever experienced. Even though it took until 1955 for the Dodgers finally to become World Champions for the first time in the 20th Century. Part of what makes the Brooklyn Dodgers so special was the fortitude that the team and fan base had during this period.

[penncentralpete]

way back when i was just a little boy living on essex street in the east new york section of brooklyn, my dad would have his brothers and my mom's brothers all gathered in our apartment to drink beer, smoke cigars, and discuss the brooklyn dodgers. those uncles of mine all lived on the same block, and two, in the same apt. house (a 4 family)as we did. listening to the men talk, i learned a lot about the dodgers and their national league rivals. the smoke was blue and thick, the beers flowed freely, and my mom always admonished the men re: their language (which by today's standards was tame). in that kitchen i learned things like durocher's penchant for gambling, clothes, and movie stars. i learned that furillo's arm was the best in baseball, and that gil hodges had huge hands. my dad was a college professor, but the rest of the fellas were all blue-collar men. some drove trucks, others tended bar, and one was a sanitation worker. these guys lived and died with the dodgers. i sure wish someone like ken burns was there all those times with his camera crew, filming it all. what a show they put on! the arguements were whether reese or cox was the better fielder, or if campy had as much power as the duke. boy oh boy, those were really great times. when thomson hit the homer off branca in '51 they drank all night. my mother's meatloaf went uneaten, but my uncle charlie made an extra beer run, and brought back a bottle of scotch, too, as my mom told the story many years later. the funniest thing i can remember was when sal maglie became a dodger! oh, how they yelled and screamed about that! (until the barber spun a no-no in '56). regards to all, pete

[penncentralpete]

the final game at ebbets field was a night game vs. pittsburgh, which
the dodgers won, behind danny mcdevitt, 2-0. only 6,702 fans
attended. why to this day, i can't figure it out, wasn't the place
packed? were the brooklyn fans so disgusted with o'malley, that they
thought staying home would send some type of message? i cannot
remember why i didn't attend myself (probably because i had just
turned 11 yrs. old, plus, i did NOT believe they would actually
move). looking back, i now wish an overflow crowd would have been
there that sad night. maybe a standing room only throng of over
34,000 would have sent a stinging message to ol' walter. just a
thought. regards, pete p.s. if i had been a bit older, say 15 or
older, i would have gone to ebbets on my own! and, i might add, taken
a few souvenirs!!
regards, pete

[D6+]

the final game at ebbets field was a night game vs. pittsburgh, which
the dodgers won, behind danny mcdevitt, 2-0. only 6,702 fans
attended. why to this day, i can't figure it out, wasn't the place
packed? were the brooklyn fans so disgusted with o'malley, that they
thought staying home would send some type of message? i cannot
remember why i didn't attend myself (probably because i had just
turned 11 yrs. old, plus, i did NOT believe they would actually
move). looking back, i now wish an overflow crowd would have been
there that sad night. maybe a standing room only throng of over
34,000 would have sent a stinging message to ol' walter. just a
thought. regards, pete p.s. if i had been a bit older, say 15 or
older, i would have gone to ebbets on my own! and, i might add, taken
a few souvenirs!!
regards, pete


Pete, I can see both sides of the coin on whether to have attended what was almost going to certainly be Dodgers final home game.

Personally, I don't blame anyone from staying away. The facts that Walter O' Malley was even seriously thinking of moving the Dodgers 3000 miles away, in addition to him playing several home games in Jersey City in 1956 and 1957, was more than enough reasons not to give O' Malley another penny.

On the other side of the coin, attending Dodgers home games in 1957, including the final game, gave people some final memories of the team in action and being at Ebbets Field. These memories are priceless. This is coming from someone who was born in 1962. I only wish I experienced even one game at Ebbets Field.


The other reason why I probably would have urged everyone to attend Dodgers home games if I was around back then is IMO, it would have increased the chances of Brooklyn getting another MLB team. Even to this day, there are many people who feel O' Malley's move to Los Angeles was justified because of the declining attendance figures at Ebbets Field. Those people clearly don't understand the reality of what the situation was, including the Dodgers being the most profitable MLB team in the combined period from 1952-1956. Yet, negative perceptions can damage a cause. I believe this happened.

[penncentralpete]

simply the greatest baseball venue of all time! IMHO. pete

[2Chance]

From eBay (content has been edited):

"This is an EXTREMELY rare GLOSSY Laser print of the ONLY color photo taken of Ebbets field in Brooklyn NY. NOT COLORIZED, but a real glossy copy of a COLOR PHOTO. The Photographer, signed by: Bernard Peselow the photo was taken the day after color photos were introduced and the day before the field was torn down. This was very rare and the original photo made from the negative. The original photo hangs in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.
....
It is said that this is the only piece of memorabilia that has a dedication sign on it. The photographers wife, Julia . . . was a big Brooklyn Dodgers fan. Please note: Actual picture looks brighter and clearer."


I won't vouch for the accuracy of his statements, but it's still a great picture.

[2Chance]

Team Photo From eBay:

[Alan_Rosenberg]

From eBay (content has been edited):

"This is an EXTREMELY rare GLOSSY Laser print of the ONLY color photo taken of Ebbets field in Brooklyn NY. NOT COLORIZED, but a real glossy copy of a COLOR PHOTO. The Photographer, signed by: Bernard Peselow the photo was taken the day after color photos were introduced and the day before the field was torn down. This was very rare and the original photo made from the negative. The original photo hangs in the Cooperstown Hall of Fame.
....
It is said that this is the only piece of memorabilia that has a dedication sign on it. The photographers wife, Julia . . . was a big Brooklyn Dodgers fan. Please note: Actual picture looks brighter and clearer."


I won't vouch for the accuracy of his statements, but it's still a great picture.


FYI,

I am the holder of the original color slide for this Hall of Fame capture.
I inherited it before his passing.

A.R.

[Paulmcall]

Sorry to burst your balloon but there have been many color photos of Ebbets Field taken before that. For example...

[DODGER DEB]

PaulMcall is absolutely right!

I myself have several color photos that I personally took of OUR Ebbets Field in my huge collection of personally taken photographs of both OUR Players and OUR Ebbets Field.

The photo that Paul attached is a great photo of OUR Ebbets Field which is on the cover of his terrific book.

c.

[Gary Dunaier]

This photo (originally posted in message #19 of this thread)...

http://i.a.cnn.net/si/multimedia/photo_gallery/2005/08/03/dodgers.1955/dodgers8.jpg

...is just so awesome, I can't begin to tell you!

I really love how it shows the Young Motors directly across the street, and the people on the corner, and the apartments nearby.

It must have been something to live in one of those apartments. It's nice to know that (as indicated in a later post) they're still standing.

I love ballparks and their environs, and boy, what I could have done had Digital photography been around back then (and if I was alive back then :D )... I'd have loved to get some shots looking towards Bedford Avenue, with those (single-family?) houses on Stoddard Place in the foreground and Ebbets Field in the back, that would have made some view, I'd like to think.

[LeoD]

Frenchy Bordagary and Tom Warren showing off their Satin Uniforms. 5/23/44

[penncentralpete]

here is the man that saved his money and built the greatest ballpark in history!

[penncentralpete]

way back when...........with edward mckeever on opening day, 1913

[DODGER DEB]

Great shots, pete!

One thing...I guess no one who took that group of photos knew how to spell EBBETS....and it drives me nuts when anyone misspells EBBETS! :rant:

c.

[penncentralpete]

Great shots, pete!

One thing...I guess no one who took that group of photos knew how to spell EBBETS....and it drives me nuts when anyone misspells EBBETS! :rant:

c.

this was opening day. of course, we all have read this: they FORGOT the american flag!!

[DODGER DEB]

this was opening day. of course, we all have read this: they FORGOT the american flag!!

...which was so BROOKLYN!

They also realized that they forgot to include a Press Box!

Only in BROOKLYN, folks, only in BROOKLYN!

But, that was part of what made them so lovable!

c.

[penncentralpete]

the ol' redhead

[penncentralpete]

sittin' in the catbird's seat

[penncentralpete]

retired.....at home......

[penncentralpete]

pee wee, burt, and red........

[penncentralpete]

Red BarberWalter Lanier "Red" Barber (February 17, 1908, Columbus, Mississippi – October 22, 1992) was an American sportscaster.

Barber, nicknamed "The Ol' Redhead", was primarily identified with radio broadcasts of Major League Baseball, calling play-by-play across four decades with the Cincinnati Reds (1934-3, Brooklyn Dodgers (1939-1953), and New York Yankees (1954-1966). Like his fellow sports pioneer Mel Allen, Barber also gained a niche calling college and professional football in his primary market of New York City.



Early years
Barber grew up in Mississippi, and was a distant relative of poet Sidney Lanier and writer Thomas Lanier Williams. He got his start in broadcasting in the 1920s while studying English education at the University of Florida. He filled in for an absent reporter on WRUF, the university's radio station, and read a scholarly paper on the air. After those few moments in front of a microphone, Barber decided to switch careers. The radio station hired him as a full-time employee in 1930, and during his tenure he announced Florida football games. Barber promptly dropped out of school to focus on his radio work. He held his position at WRUF for the next four years, eventually landing a job with the Reds.

On Opening Day in 1934, Barber broadcast his first play-by-play for a major league game, as the Reds lost to the Chicago Cubs 6-0. It was also the first major league game Barber had ever seen in person. He called games from the stands of Cincinnati's newly-named Crosley Field for the next four seasons.


Red Barber at Ebbets Field
Brooklyn Dodgers
Barber had been hired by Larry MacPhail, then president of the Reds. When MacPhail moved on to become President of the Dodgers in 1938, he took Barber with him.

At Brooklyn, Barber became an institution, widely admired for his folksy style of play-by-play. He was also well respected among people concerned about Brooklyn's reputation as a land of "dees" and "dems."

Barber was well known for his signature catchphrases, which included:

"They're tearin' up the pea patch" -- used for a team on a winning streak.
"The bases are F.O.B. (full of Brooklyns)" -- indicating the Dodgers had loaded the bases.
"Can of corn" -- describing a softly hit, easily caught fly ball.
"Rhubarb" -- any kind of heated on-field dispute or altercation.
"(Sittin' in) the catbird seat" -- used when a player or team was performing exceptionally well. This expression was the title of a well-known story by James Thurber. According to a character in Thurber's story, the expression came from Red Barber. But according to Barber's daughter, her father did not begin using the expression until after he had read the story.
"(Walkin' in) the tall cotton" -- also used to describe success.
To further his "Southern gentleman" image, Barber would often identify players as "Mister," "Big Fella" or "Old" (regardless of the player's age):

"Now, Mister Reiser steps to the plate, batting at .344."
"Big fella Hatten pitches, it's in there for strike one."
"Old number 13, Ralph Branca, coming in to pitch."
A number of play-by-play announcers, including Chris Berman, picked up on his use of "back, back, back" to describe a long fly ball with potential to be a home run. Oddly, those other announcers are describing the flight of the ball, whereas Barber was describing the outfielder, in this famous call from the 1947 World Series with Joe DiMaggio at bat:

"Here's the pitch, swung on, belted... it's a long one... back goes Gionfriddo, back, back, back, back, back, back... heeee makes a one-handed catch against the bullpen! Oh, Doctor!"
The "Oh, Doctor" phrase was also picked up by some latter-day sportscasters, most notably Jerry Coleman, who was a New York Yankees infielder during the 1940s and 50s and later worked alongside Barber in the Yankees radio and TV booths.

In 1939, Barber broadcast the first major-league game on television. He later added to his Brooklyn duties a job as sports director of the CBS Radio Network, succeeding Ted Husing, and called college football and other events. For most of his run with the Dodgers, the team was broadcast over radio station WHN at 1050 on the AM dial. From the start of regular television broadcasts until their move to Los Angeles, the Dodgers were on WOR-TV, New York's Channel 9. Barber's most frequent broadcasting partner in Brooklyn was Connie Desmond.

In 1948, Barber developed a severe bleeding ulcer and had to take a leave of absence from broadcasting. Dodgers president Branch Rickey arranged for Ernie Harwell, the announcer for the minor-league Atlanta Crackers, to be sent to Brooklyn as Barber's substitute in exchange for catcher Cliff Dapper.

While running CBS Sports, he became the mentor of another redheaded announcer -- a young Vin Scully -- recruiting the Fordham University graduate for CBS's football coverage, and eventually inviting him into the Dodgers' broadcast booth to succeed Harwell in 1950 (after the latter's departure for the crosstown New York Giants).

Barber was the first person, outside of the team's board of directors, to be told by Branch Rickey that the Dodgers had begun the process of racial desegregation in baseball, a process that led to the signing of Jackie Robinson as the first black player in major league baseball since the 1880s. As a Southerner, living with segregation as a fact of life written into law, Barber told Rickey that he wasn't sure he could broadcast the games, but said he would try. Observing Robinson's skill on the field and the way Robinson held up to the vicious abuse from opposing fans, Barber became an ardent supporter of Robinson and the black players who followed him, including Dodger stars Roy Campanella and Don Newcombe. (This story is told in Barber's 1982 book 1947: When All Hell Broke Loose in Baseball.)


New York Yankees
Barber was determined to be a fair broadcaster, and not a "homer" who would seem to be cheering for his employer. By the end of the 1953 season, with Walter O'Malley having a controlling interest in Dodger ownership, Barber was pressured to become more of a homer. According to the baseball-broadcasting historian Curt Smith, however, Barber resigned from the Dodgers because O'Malley refused to back Barber in his demand that the Gillette Company pay him a higher fee for telecasting the 1953 World Series (which Gillette was sponsoring). Barber declined Gillette's fee and was replaced on the series telecasts by Vin Scully, who partnered with Mel Allen. Soon afterward, Barber was hired by the crosstown Yankees. Just before the start of the 1954 season, surgery resulted in permanent deafness in one ear.

With the Yankees, Barber increasingly strove to adopt a strictly neutral, dispassionately reportorial broadcast style, avoiding not only partisanship but also any emotional surges that would match the excitement of the fans. Some fans and critics found this later, more restrained Barber to be dull, especially incontrast to the more dramatic, emotive delivery of his famous Yankee colleague, Mel Allen. Nevertheless, both he and the occasionally partisan Allen both eschewed the rank homerism of former Yankee shortstop Phil Rizzuto, who joined the Yankee broadcast team in 1957.

Barber described one of the central differences between himself and Allen as how they described potential home runs. Allen would watch the ball, resulting in his signature call of "That ball is going, going, it is GONE!" sometimes turning into, "It is going . . . to be caught!" or "It is going . . . foul!" Barber would watch the outfielder, his movements and his eyes, and would thus have a better idea of whether the ball would be caught. This is evident in his famous call of the Gionfriddo catch. Many announcers say "back, back, back" describing the ball's flight. It is clear from the Gionfriddo call that Barber is describing the action of the outfielder, not the ball. Curt Smith, author of Voices of Summer, summarized the difference between Barber and Allen in these words: "Barber was white wine, crepes suzette, and bluegrass music. Allen was hot dogs, beer, and the U.S. Marine Corps Band. Like Millay, Barber was a poet. Like Sinatra, Allen was a balladeer. Detached, Red reported. Involved, Mel roared."

On September 22, 1966, in a season in which the Yankees finished in tenth and last place under the ownership of CBS Corporation, their first time at the bottom of the standings since 1912 and after more than 40 years of dominating the American League, a paid attendance of 413 was announced at the 65,000-seat Yankee Stadium. [1]Barber asked the TV cameras to pan the empty stands as he commented on the low attendance. Although denied the camera shots on orders from the Yankees' head of media relations, he said, "I don't know what the paid attendance is today, but whatever it is, it is the smallest crowd in the history of Yankee Stadium, and this crowd is the story, not the game."

By a horrible stroke of luck, that game was the first for CBS executive Mike Burke as team president. A week later, Barber was invited to breakfast, where Burke told him that his contract wouldn't be renewed.


Later life

Red at his Tallahassee home.After his dismissal by the Yankees in 1966, Barber retired from baseball broadcasting. He wrote several books, including his autobiography, Rhubarb in the Catbird Seat; contributed to occasional sports documentary programs on radio and television; and from 1981 until his death made weekly contributions to National Public Radio's Morning Edition program. He would talk to host Bob Edwards about sports or other topics, including the flora at Barber's home in Tallahassee, Florida. Barber would call Edwards "Colonel Bob", referring to Edwards' Kentucky Colonel award from his native state. Red Barber died in 1992 in Tallahassee, Florida. In 1993, Edwards' book Fridays with Red: A Radio Friendship (ISBN 0-671-87013-0) was published, based on his Morning Edition segments with Red Barber.


Honors
In 1978, Barber joined former colleague Mel Allen to become the first broadcasters to receive the Ford C. Frick Award from the Baseball Hall of Fame. In 1979, he was recognized with a Distinguished Alumni Award from the University of Florida, given a Gold Award by the Florida Association of Broadcasters, and inducted into the Florida Sports Hall of Fame. He was inducted into the Radio Hall of Fame in 1995.

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[penncentralpete]

here is the man that saved his money and built the greatest ballpark in history!
here's more on mr. charlie ebbets..........................
Hardworking and ambitious, Charles Ebbets worked for the Brooklyn baseball club for 42 years, serving at various times as ticket seller, clerk, bookkeeper, scorecard salesman, business manager, president, field manager, part owner, and eventually owner. Though often criticized for his miserliness, the good-natured owner was generally popular with the fans, and deservedly so; he incurred huge personal debt to purchase the team and keep it in Brooklyn when a move to Baltimore threatened, and he did it again a decade later to give the fans a state-of-the-art ballpark in an era when public financing of such a facility was unthinkable. Today Ebbets is best remembered for Ebbets Field, which opened in 1913 and was razed in 1960, three years after the Dodgers moved to Los Angeles. His name lives on in the 21st century primarily because of the current trend towards retro-style ballparks-every city wants its new stadium to be an "Ebbets Field-style" ballpark.

Charles Hercules Ebbets was born in New York City on October 29, 1859, and attended the city's public schools. Baseball was his favorite sport even though he was a much better bowler than baseball player. Initially pursuing a career in architecture, Charlie was a draughtsman on several prominent projects, including the Metropolitan Hotel and Niblo's Garden, a famed New York amusement center. He also tried his hand at publishing, printing cheap editions of novels and textbooks and selling them from door to door himself. Active in local politics, Ebbets served four years on the Board of Aldermen and one in the New York Assembly before an unsuccessful campaign for the New York Senate convinced him to devote his considerable talents to the business of baseball.

Charlie was 23 years old when he started working for the Brooklyn baseball club as clerk, bookkeeper, and scorecard salesman during its inaugural season in the Interstate League in 1883, and his ascent in the Dodgers organization dovetailed with the history of the borough. He joined the club two weeks before the opening of the Brooklyn Bridge, the engineering feat of its day but also the death knell for Brooklyn as an independent city. Charlie remained with the team as it moved to the American Association in 1884 and the National League in 1890, ascending to its presidency when his predecessor in that office, Charles Byrne, died three days after Brooklyn was incorporated into New York City in 1898. Later that season Ebbets even tried his hand as field manager, sitting on the bench in the club president's traditional top hat and compiling a 38-68 record. Ned Hanlon replaced him as manager the following season.

Having acquired his first shares of stock in the team from George Chauncey some 12 years earlier, Ebbets invested his life's savings in 1902 to buy out Ferdinand Abell, one of the club's original owners. Shortly thereafter the majority owner, Harry von der Horst, put his entire Brooklyn stock interest up for sale, and Hanlon expressed his desire to buy the team and move it to Baltimore. Tapped out but desperate to keep the team in Brooklyn, Ebbets obtained a loan from his friend Henry W. Medicus, a Brooklyn furniture dealer, and purchased the outstanding shares. Now in control of virtually all of the club's stock-he bought the remnants from Hanlon several years later-Charlie re-elected himself as president (with a raise in salary from $7,500 to $10,000) and elected Medicus and his son Charles H. Ebbets, Jr., as treasurer and secretary, respectively.

With his background in architecture, Ebbets dreamed of constructing a magnificent concrete-and-steel baseball palace to replace outmoded Washington Park. After considering several potential sites, he finally settled on a 4.5-acre plot that was being used mostly as a garbage dump on the edge of a disreputable neighborhood called Pigtown. Located between the Bedford and Flatbush sections of Brooklyn, the land had two primary benefits: it was affordable and adjacent to the tracks of nine separate trolley lines. Without revealing his intentions, which would have driven up the price significantly, Ebbets set about acquiring the land parcel by parcel, making his first purchase in September 1908. Operating his club frugally and borrowing heavily from the bank, he eventually bought the final parcel on December 29, 1911.

At the groundbreaking ceremony on March 4, 1912, when asked what he would name the new ballpark, Ebbets' initial reaction was to continue the name Washington Park. "Washington Park, hell," said Len Wooster of the Brooklyn Times. "That name wouldn't mean anything out here. Why don't you call it Ebbets Field? It was your idea and nobody else's, and you've put yourself in hock to build it. It's going to be your monument, whether you like to think about it that way or not." With its proper name decided, construction on Ebbets Field continued throughout the 1912 season, and Charlie Ebbets wielded the trowel at the ceremonial laying of the cornerstone on July 6. That August Ebbets solved his financial problems by taking on the builders, his old friends the McKeever brothers, as half partners in the club.

With a seating capacity of 25,000 and a final price tag of $750,000, Brooklyn's gorgeous new ballpark officially opened on April 9, 1913. The exterior featured a curved brick façade at the corner of Sullivan and Cedar streets highlighted by classical arched windows. Inside the main entrance was an ornate lobby with a domed ceiling that stood 27 feet high at its center. The terrazzo floor was tiled like the stitches of a baseball, and a chandelier with 12 baseball-bat arms holding 12 baseball-shaped globes hung from the ceiling. The double-tiered stands ran along the foul lines from the right-field corner to a bit beyond third base, where a single double-deck bleacher section extended to the left-field corner. At the time the park's dimensions were 419 feet to left field, 476 to dead center, 500 to right center, but, because of Bedford Avenue, only 301 feet to right field. Ebbets installed two long benches at the back of the lower tier of the grandstand, one for himself and his friends and the other for the McKeevers and their friends. After Brooklyn victories the owners smilingly received the congratulations of their customers; after losses Ebbets and Steve McKeever, the older and more outgoing of the brothers, often engaged the fans in good-natured debates, loudly defending themselves and their players.

Over the years Ebbets received credit for several baseball innovations, including the rain check and the idea that teams should draft in inverse order to their final standings in the annual minor-league draft. He was also an early proponent of uniform numbers. During an exhibition game in Memphis on March 28, 1917, the previous year's World Series combatants, Brooklyn and the Boston Red Sox, wore numbers on their sleeves because Ebbets thought that fans in non-major league cities would be unfamiliar with the players. He proposed that all teams be required to put numbers on players' sleeves or caps at the NL meeting on December 13, 1922, but the league voted to leave it to the discretion of the individual teams. The practice of putting numbers on uniforms didn't catch on until after the New York Yankees wore large numbers on their backs in 1929.

Ebbets purchased a home in Clearwater during the Florida land boom. In 1923 he moved the Dodgers' training camp to that small town on Florida's west coast, and over the next several years so many Brooklyn fans attended spring training that the tiny Clearwater ballpark took on many of the sights and sounds of Ebbets Field. Late in the 1923 season Ebbets began to suffer heart difficulties. On the advice of his doctor he returned to Clearwater and contemplated selling his stock in the Brooklyn team. In the spring of 1925, shortly after coming north from spring training, Ebbets fell ill again and his doctor ordered him to the suite at the Waldorf-Astoria where he lived during the season. Early on the morning of April 18, 1925, 66-year-old Charles Ebbets died with his sister, his son, two daughters, and his second wife at his bedside. He left behind an estate valued at nearly $1.28 million.

The Dodgers were scheduled to open a three-game series against the Giants at Ebbets Field later that day. "Charlie wouldn't want anybody to miss a Giant-Brooklyn series just because he died," said Wilbert Robinson. The game went on, with the crowd standing for a moment of silence beforehand and both teams' players wearing black mourning bands on the left sleeves of their uniforms. NL president John Heydler ordered all NL games postponed on the day of the funeral, which was attended by most of the league's magnates. A penetrating wind swept the gravesite at Greenwood Cemetery, and Ed McKeever, Brooklyn's acting president, contracted pneumonia. He too died within a week of the funeral.

[oldschoolyankee]

Hi All,

While puttering around the Internet, I ran across the name of Ebbets Field's owner, Kratter Corporation, and became curious about this company and the man behind it.

Although I'm a Yankees fan, I know very well how many of you (and me included) despise Walter O'Malley. But, I've never seen or heard any opinions on Marvin Kratter, the man who demolished a veritable baseball shrine, a historical landmark, and in conjunction with O'Malley, denied a future generation of fans Brooklyn-style big league baseball:mad::( !

In case it hasn't been posted here before, this is Marvin Kratter's obituary as published in the New York Times back in 1999:

Marvin Kratter, 84; Once Owned Ebbets Field

By NICK RAVO

Published: December 9, 1999

Marvin Kratter, the New York real estate investor whose holdings once included Ebbets Field (which he eventually replaced with an apartment complex), died on Oct. 24 at a hospital in Encinitas, Calif. He was 84.

The cause was pancreatitis, said his son, Leslie M. Kratter, of Hillsborough, Calif.

Mr. Kratter's wide-ranging business interests also included ownership or part ownership of the Boston Celtics basketball team, a brewery and a pharmaceutical company. In 1956, he bought the legendary Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, from Walter O'Malley, the team's owner.

He leased Ebbets Field back to Mr. O'Malley. But after Mr. O'Malley moved the team to Los Angeles after the 1957 season, Ebbets Field was demolished, and became the site for a development called Ebbets Field Apartments. It was built under the Mitchell-Lama subsidy program, which gave developers tax breaks and low-interest mortgages as incentives to build middle-class housing.

The 1,327-apartment complex, which stands on the block bounded by Bedford Avenue, Montgomery Street, McKeever Place and Sullivan Place in Crown Heights, was completed in 1962. It was later sold to a Minneapolis company.

Mr. Kratter headed a variety of companies, including the Kratter Corporation, National Equities and Countrywide Realty. He was also known for building, in 1961, the Bridge Apartments above the Manhattan entrance to the George Washington Bridge. The four 32-story buildings were among the world's first aluminum-sheathed high-rise structures.

The bridge project was considered an imaginative use of air rights over a public facility. Air rights were transferred by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to the city, which sold them at auction to the Kratter Corporation.

Mr. Kratter also developed the St. Tropez, at 340 East 64th Street, one of the first condominium apartment buildings in the city. For a while, he also owned the St. Regis Hotel.

Mr. Kratter also bought the Knickerbocker Brewery, and his ownership of the Boston Celtics was an effort to promote the beer in New England. He owned the team from 1965 to 1968.

He then moved to Rancho La Costa, Calif., befriended the singer Steve Lawrence, and recorded a solo album, ''What I Did for Love,'' on the RCA label, using the stage name Mark Matthews.

He moved to Las Vegas for several years, serving as president of Rom-American Pharmaceuticals. He retired to Del Mar, Calif., where he lived at the time of his death.

Mr. Kratter was born on Nov. 9, 1915, in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School. He was also a certified public accountant and worked as an accountant at the start of his career.

He moved to Tucson in the late 1930's, and, in 1945, he started a dude ranch, Rancho del Rio Estates, that went bankrupt in 1949. He also filed for personal bankruptcy in 1953 but quickly recovered financially, moved back to New York and became one of the early practitioners of real estate syndication. He became a millionaire a few years later.

Mr. Kratter's wife, Lillian, died in 1994. Besides his son Leslie he is survived by a second son, David E. Kratter of Bellevue, Wash.; a daughter, Sherry Santa Cruz of San Diego; a half-brother, Arnold Kratter of Manhattan, and six grandchildren.

[DODGER DEB]

Hi All,

While puttering around the Internet, I ran across the name of Ebbets Field's owner, Kratter Corporation, and became curious about this company and the man behind it.

Although I'm a Yankees fan, I know very well how many of you (and me included) despise Walter O'Malley. But, I've never seen or heard any opinions on Marvin Kratter, the man who demolished a veritable baseball shrine, a historical landmark, and in conjunction with O'Malley, denied a future generation of fans Brooklyn-style big league baseball:mad::( !

In case it hasn't been posted here before, this is Marvin Kratter's obituary as published in the New York Times back in 1999:

Marvin Kratter, 84; Once Owned Ebbets Field

By NICK RAVO

Published: December 9, 1999

Marvin Kratter, the New York real estate investor whose holdings once included Ebbets Field (which he eventually replaced with an apartment complex), died on Oct. 24 at a hospital in Encinitas, Calif. He was 84.

The cause was pancreatitis, said his son, Leslie M. Kratter, of Hillsborough, Calif.

Mr. Kratter's wide-ranging business interests also included ownership or part ownership of the Boston Celtics basketball team, a brewery and a pharmaceutical company. In 1956, he bought the legendary Ebbets Field, home of the Brooklyn Dodgers, from Walter O'Malley, the team's owner.

He leased Ebbets Field back to Mr. O'Malley. But after Mr. O'Malley moved the team to Los Angeles after the 1957 season, Ebbets Field was demolished, and became the site for a development called Ebbets Field Apartments. It was built under the Mitchell-Lama subsidy program, which gave developers tax breaks and low-interest mortgages as incentives to build middle-class housing.

The 1,327-apartment complex, which stands on the block bounded by Bedford Avenue, Montgomery Street, McKeever Place and Sullivan Place in Crown Heights, was completed in 1962. It was later sold to a Minneapolis company.

Mr. Kratter headed a variety of companies, including the Kratter Corporation, National Equities and Countrywide Realty. He was also known for building, in 1961, the Bridge Apartments above the Manhattan entrance to the George Washington Bridge. The four 32-story buildings were among the world's first aluminum-sheathed high-rise structures.

The bridge project was considered an imaginative use of air rights over a public facility. Air rights were transferred by the Port Authority of New York and New Jersey to the city, which sold them at auction to the Kratter Corporation.

Mr. Kratter also developed the St. Tropez, at 340 East 64th Street, one of the first condominium apartment buildings in the city. For a while, he also owned the St. Regis Hotel.

Mr. Kratter also bought the Knickerbocker Brewery, and his ownership of the Boston Celtics was an effort to promote the beer in New England. He owned the team from 1965 to 1968.

He then moved to Rancho La Costa, Calif., befriended the singer Steve Lawrence, and recorded a solo album, ''What I Did for Love,'' on the RCA label, using the stage name Mark Matthews.

He moved to Las Vegas for several years, serving as president of Rom-American Pharmaceuticals. He retired to Del Mar, Calif., where he lived at the time of his death.

Mr. Kratter was born on Nov. 9, 1915, in Brooklyn and graduated from Brooklyn College and Brooklyn Law School. He was also a certified public accountant and worked as an accountant at the start of his career.

He moved to Tucson in the late 1930's, and, in 1945, he started a dude ranch, Rancho del Rio Estates, that went bankrupt in 1949. He also filed for personal bankruptcy in 1953 but quickly recovered financially, moved back to New York and became one of the early practitioners of real estate syndication. He became a millionaire a few years later.

Mr. Kratter's wife, Lillian, died in 1994. Besides his son Leslie he is survived by a second son, David E. Kratter of Bellevue, Wash.; a daughter, Sherry Santa Cruz of San Diego; a half-brother, Arnold Kratter of Manhattan, and six grandchildren.

Thank you, oldschoolyankee! I don't beleive anyone here has ever even discussed Marvin Kratter as a person, other than that dispicible act he oversaw starting on February 23, 1960, which I saw in person, and will never forget the heart-wrenching pain it caused. :mad:

It does make an interesting read. Seems like he and the "Big O" were of like minds. They both could do what they did so effortlessly, not caring for one minute how many people they were truly hurting.:cry:

c.

[oldschoolyankee]

Hi Dodger Deb,

Here's something further attesting to the O'Malley-Kratter conspiracy (aided and abetted by Phil Wrigley of the Cubs). If one reads the entire chain of events leading to the kidnapping and exile of the Brooklyn Dodgers to the left coast, it starts to sound very much like Watergate:mad::(!

From the "official Walter O'Malley" website (http://www.walteromalley.com/57-58_timeline.php):

February 21, 1957
The Dodgers exchange their Fort Worth team in the Texas League for Wrigley Field in Los Angeles, the Pacific Coast League L.A. Angels and territorial rights in Los Angeles with Chicago Cubs’ owner Philip K. Wrigley. As a proponent of Major League Baseball expansion to the West Coast, Wrigley realized that his team in the PCL would be worth much less if a team relocated to Los Angeles, thus he made the important swap. Walter O’Malley further announces that Marvin Kratter, real estate investor, has purchased La Grave Field in Ft. Worth and that the Cubs, in operating the franchise there, would lease the La Grave Field facilities.

Also found on the same site, an interesting proposal for the Dodgers to buy the Polo Grounds, representing the entire city as the "New York Dodgers":eek::

October 9, 1957
Alfred J. Bailey of the Brown, Harris, Stevens, Inc. Real Estate firm writes a letter to Walter O’Malley stating, “After reading the newspaper today I suppose this letter would have little interest to you, however, being a native of Brooklyn, I would like to see the Dodgers remain in New York City and represent the entire City, possibly being known as the New York Dodgers. We are offering for sale the Polo Grounds which has a seating capacity of 56,000 which I believe is about 20,000 more seats than most of the other baseball stadiums. It is only exceeded by the Yankee Stadium with 67,000 seats. The New York Giants have a lease to March 1962 at a rental of $74,000 net per year which is a low rental. As the Giants, according to reports, are scheduled to go to San Francisco, I believe they will surrender their lease. The property involved is the Polo Grounds and the parking lot which accommodates about 1800 cars...If it is not too late to discuss the matter, I would like to arrange an appointment to discuss the proposition with you.”

[Alan_Rosenberg]

Sorry to burst your balloon but there have been many color photos of Ebbets Field taken before that. For example...

Hi all,

so are you saying that the original color slide that I inherited and still hold has NO value at all being the source of the publication posted in the Hall of Fame, Cooperstown NY?

Alan

[nymdan]

Here's a picture from today's NY Times of Red Barber calling a game at Ebbets Field
http://img508.imageshack.us/img508/247/13vecsey2650hp8.jpg

[penncentralpete]

48 years ago today (Feb. 23,1960) demolition began on our Ebbets Field.

[DODGER DEB]

48 years ago today (Feb. 23,1960) demolition began on our Ebbets Field.

You don't have to remind me, pete. Sadly, I, and my sister DEBS, were there and saw it all. It pierced my heart like a dagger...and that pain is still there. :cry:

c.

[Ralph Zig Tyko]

Never should have either of our respective teams been taken from us. It was simply wrong.

[SilentKiller]

R Ryan, you are a brave man to go there.

I've done it 5 times, and never will go again - although I still want to visit the McDonald's across the street since it has or had photos of EF, and I want to photo the EF mural that is on a building on Flatbush Avenue, but will resist those urges for now.

My reactions were identical to yours. The upward slope on Bedford Avenue outside the right field wall brought back instant fond memories of a half century and more ago. As did the gas station. It was an Esso station then, I think, but it has changed in structure. The present station may even be a few feet away from the original one. The old one also parked cars, I think.

Much of the surrounding housing stock on the streets perpendicular to Bedford Avenue seems solid on the outside and facially attractive.

BUT, as we know from the many postings on the board, this is NOT the EF neighborhood we all knew in the Dodger era.

Still, gentrification is going on in many parts of Brooklyn. So, maybe there is future hope for our baseball holy ground.

Speaking as someone who has been in the Ebbets Field neighborhood a lot in the past couple of years I honestly don't feel it's that dangerous of a neighborhood as there are 2 police precincts in the immediate area and that McDonald's you mentioned is a great McDonalds. I disagree with you about gentrification as I feel gentrification has been terrible for many minority neighborhoods and I hope that doesn't happen to the Crown Heights/Flatbush neighborhood that I grew up in.

[Yankeebiscuitfan]

When you read about the sale of Ebbets Field to Kratter, it is quite obvious that O'Smelley was working on a move.

When it was announced that Ebbets Field was sold, didn't it become clear to you that a move was at hand?

[VIBaseball]

The three-year leaseback that was part of the Kratter deal (October 1956) was certainly a major sign of living on borrowed time.

[Ralph Zig Tyko]

Speaking as someone who has been in the Ebbets Field neighborhood a lot in the past couple of years I honestly don't feel it's that dangerous of a neighborhood as there are 2 police precincts in the immediate area and that McDonald's you mentioned is a great McDonalds. I disagree with you about gentrification as I feel gentrification has been terrible for many minority neighborhoods and I hope that doesn't happen to the Crown Heights/Flatbush neighborhood that I grew up in.
So you don't think one is endangered by McDonalds? :-)

[DODGER DEB]

When you read about the sale of Ebbets Field to Kratter, it is quite obvious that O'Smelley was working on a move.

When it was announced that Ebbets Field was sold, didn't it become clear to you that a move was at hand?

"....that a move was at hand'? Absolutely, not, YBF!

What it did say to US was that WE perhaps needed a new ballpark, something that was being talked about prior to the sale of OUR Ebbets Field to Kratter.

NEVER in OUR wildest dreams did WE equate that sale with the possibility that anyone could actually be serious about taking OUR Dodgers away from US, and out of BROOKLYN, or that NYC would ever allow that to happen.

To OUR way of thinking, and, I might add, to all sensible people both in and out of baseball, no one in their right mind would EVER entertain that thought....NO ONE! It simply made NO sense!

c.

[Ralph Zig Tyko]

So many of us are still in mourning about the lose of our respective teams. I constantly remind myself that it is better to have loved and lost, than... We'll always have "Paris."

[alpineinc]

Nice Ebbets pic thread started in the Ballparks section - maybe they should be merged?

Ebbets Field Pictures (http://www.baseball-fever.com/showthread.php?t=73408)