One More Gotham Baseball Article

[Greg NYG-NYM]

The third of a trilogy, this one on how a latter-day fan finds way to follow a defunct team.

http://www.gothambaseball.com/bigmedium/moxie/columns/hiddenabll/so-you-wanna-be.shtml

[Brownie31]

The third of a trilogy, this one on how a latter-day fan finds way to follow a defunct team.

http://www.gothambaseball.com/bigmedium/moxie/columns/hiddenabll/so-you-wanna-be.shtml

Greg NYG-NYM: Excellent column and so true about Noel Hynds' masterpiece, The Giants of the Polo Ground, a true classic. As to the Mets' Ebbetsophilia, perhaps this is due, in some part anyway, to the wonderful New York Giants fans described in the article not making themselves heard in a way that the equally wonderful Brooklyn Dodgers fans do.

Take baseball-fever itself. The New York Giants forum has barely over 2,000 posts while the Brooklyn Dodgers forum has over 16,500! One can feel a true passion and fervor that makes it fun and exciting to visit.

Certainly the Giants fans are no less passionate! Let baseball-fever become aware of that!

As the late Tip O'Neill once said: He who doesn't tooteth his own horn, doesn't get his horn tooteth!

Brownie31

[Shotgun Shuba]

The Dodger board is much more visited. I am afraid that the added fervor of the Brooklyn board has padded the numbers, however. There have been many ongoing fights(I have contibuted mightily) that have added many non-baseball posts. The staggering number of posts on the board cannot be ignored though and shows that in 1957 a very big mistake was made. If the Dodgers returned to Brooklyn they would lead the league in merchanding 3 to 1 and would draw 4 million on nostalgia alone. The Mets legacy is HALF Giant though and should not be ignored.

[Brownie31]

The Dodger board is much more visited. I am afraid that the added fervor of the Brooklyn board has padded the numbers, however. There have been many ongoing fights(I have contibuted mightily) that have added many non-baseball posts. The staggering number of posts on the board cannot be ignored though and shows that in 1957 a very big mistake was made. If the Dodgers returned to Brooklyn they would lead the league in merchanding 3 to 1 and would draw 4 million on nostalgia alone. The Mets legacy is HALF Giant though and should not be ignored.

Shotgun Shuba: The key phrase in your post is "added fervor"-this
says it all. True, the Mets' Giant legacy should not be ignored. The loyal fans of New York Giants baseball should have their own "added fervor" to see it is not.

Brownie31

[Greg NYG-NYM]

Regarding fervor, this from author Fred Stein:

"My recollection of the typical Yankee fan of that era ['40s-'50s] is of a relatively quiet citizen, watching the game with casual detachment, with comple confidence in a satisfactory outcome regardless of temporary setback. Giant fans were a different, more sophisticated, breed. Not for us were the emotional excesses or theatrics of the Dodger fan or the quiet calm of the Yankee adherents."

[Brownie31]

Regarding fervor, this from author Fred Stein:

"My recollection of the typical Yankee fan of that era ['40s-'50s] is of a relatively quiet citizen, watching the game with casual detachment, with comple confidence in a satisfactory outcome regardless of temporary setback. Giant fans were a different, more sophisticated, breed. Not for us were the emotional excesses or theatrics of the Dodger fan or the quiet calm of the Yankee adherents."

Greg:

As to the sophisticated Giants fan and the boisterous
Dodgers fan, this can be shown by a couple of celebrity
rooters.

Tallulah Bankhead was a Giants fan while Milton Berle was a
Dodgers fan!

Brownie31

[rcl986@aol.com]

Greg:

As to the sophisticated Giants fan and the boisterous
Dodgers fan, this can be shown by a couple of celebrity
rooters.

Tallulah Bankhead was a Giants fan while Milton Berle was a
Dodgers fan!

Brownie31

The pendulum swings both ways however as I've seen photos of the Marx Brothers, notably Harpo, cavorting with the Giants of the 30s (or 40s) and a picture of Martin and Lewis cutting up with the Giants in the 50s. I've also seen a picture of Bogie at Ebbets Field. I'm sure all teams had there celeb fans but New York, especially with the tri-team rivalry for fans, was always something special.

[Brownie31]

The pendulum swings both ways however as I've seen photos of the Marx Brothers, notably Harpo, cavorting with the Giants of the 30s (or 40s) and a picture of Martin and Lewis cutting up with the Giants in the 50s. I've also seen a picture of Bogie at Ebbets Field. I'm sure all teams had there celeb fans but New York, especially with the tri-team rivalry for fans, was always something special.

RCL:

Very true, in fact I bought a photo off eBay of the Marx Brothers
kidding around with Giants in 1932 spring training in Los Angeles.
There is also a well known photo of the Marx Brothers from the
same era with Lou Gehrig.

There are also photos of Frank Sinatra with the Dodgers in
spring training and one with him getting Lou Gehrig's
autograph. (Guess everyone liked Lou!)

Do you know of any other celebrity rooters for the theb
three Gotham teams? Thanks for your help!

Brownie31

[rcl986@aol.com]

[QUOTE=Brownie31]RCL:

Very true, in fact I bought a photo off eBay of the Marx Brothers
kidding around with Giants in 1932 spring training in Los Angeles.
There is also a well known photo of the Marx Brothers from the
same era with Lou Gehrig.

There are also photos of Frank Sinatra with the Dodgers in
spring training and one with him getting Lou Gehrig's
autograph. (Guess everyone liked Lou!)

Do you know of any other celebrity rooters for the theb
three Gotham teams? Thanks for your help!

Brownie31[/QUOT

I seem to recall my Dad, a Giants fan from the McGraw era, telling me that George M. Cohan and Mayor Jimmy Walker were often spotted at the Polo Grounds. I'm sure that all three teams had their famous followers and can even remember a reference to "playing center field for the Giants" in one of the original episodes of Jackie Gleason's Honeymooners.

[Brownie31]

I seem to recall my Dad, a Giants fan from the McGraw era, telling me that George M. Cohan and Mayor Jimmy Walker were often spotted at the Polo Grounds. I'm sure that all three teams had their famous followers and can even remember a reference to "playing center field for the Giants" in one of the original episodes of Jackie Gleason's Honeymooners.

RCL:

Even the literati got involved. When the Dodgers trained
in Cuba, Ernest Hemingway palled around with Durocher
and Company.

Also, James T. Farrell, of Studs Lonigan fame, grew up
a rabid White Sox fan on Chicago's Southside and then
switched allegiances to the Yankees when he moved
to New York in the 1930s.

Brownie31