Bring Back the Old Names… Sports Stadiums Losing Their Charm…

January 15, 2024 by · Leave a Comment 

Guaranteed Rate Field, M&T Stadium, Oracle Park… do any of these names ring a bell for you? Perhaps if they are housing “your team” they seem familiar however, for the rest of us (or maybe just me) they seem boring and generic.

Let’s try again with their classic names… Cominskey Park, Camden Yards, Candlestick. Ahhh, now that feels right. The other day I was talking with some friends and mourning the loss of the classic names for sports stadiums.  As I am sure you are aware, these days the name is offered to the highest bidder.  How long, we wondered, till Yankee Stadium, Wrigley Field, Dodger Stadium, Fenway Park are no more? Thankfully, we have record of these gems in Newspapers: THE NEW YORK TIMES, Sept. 14, 1920 … The top of page 13 has a column headed: “Terms Agreed Upon For Yankees’ Park”

Once again, history is preserved in newspapers of the day. Ok, so it may not be as critical to humanity as the founding of our nation but, to a baseball fan, it is still pretty sweet!

If they would only have built it sooner… (Shoeless) Joe Jackson…

October 27, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 

Even if you are not a fan of baseball, in case you haven’t done so already, the movie “Field of Dreams” is winner. The themes of perseverance, worthwhile priorities, and personal sacrifice are masterfully woven together to create one of the more inspiring movies of the 1980-1990’s. Steering clear of spoilers for those who have yet to see it, I’ll just restate that which is already included in the movie’s trailer: “If you build it, they will come!” Without being overly sappy… honestly, you really need to see it.

So, how does this relate to Rare & Early Newspapers? A few days ago one of our staff found an article from 1913 featuring one of the three main characters – “Shoeless” Joe Jackson (of Black Sox scandal fame), who was given a “2nd chance” at playing baseball – the assumption being he would have jumped at the chance to reengage at the professional level had he been given the opportunity to do so. Without saying more, I’ll let the heading and the 1st few paragraphs of the article do the talking (see below). Oh, and for the record, post-baseball, Joe and his wife (who were a team of their own until his death) eventually moved on from baseball, opened a BBQ restaurant, then “Joe Jackson’s Liquor Store”, and along the way co-raised two of his nephews. For better or worse, even if someone would have built it, I’m not sure he really would have come.

I hope you enjoy a portion of the article:

Snapshot 1982… A “Feel Good” Story to Kick-Off the New Year…

January 6, 2023 by · Leave a Comment 

As we all know, bad news sells. The medium (social media, television, newspapers, etc.) doesn’t matter, if something tragic happens, everyone grabs their camera (phone) and lawn chair and heads to the scene. However, an ongoing diet of bad news (and negativity in general) is not good for the soul. With this reality in mind, one of my New Year’s resolutions is to spend more time focusing on the good – and thankfully, while perusing newspapers within our archives, I came across a “feel good” story which I thought was worth sharing. I’ll let the article I unearthed in a South Bend Tribune (August 8, 1982) do the talking (see below).

For the record, upon visiting the young boy in the hospital, future Hall of Famer Jim Rice recognized the family was of modest means, so on his way out of the hospital he stopped by the Business Office and requested the bills be sent to him. What a true hero!

You can also read additional details here: Jim Rice Saves Young Boy’s Life

The Sounds of Summer and the Crack of the Bat…

October 28, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

What makes summer feel like summer? Hazy evenings where light still lingers until after 9… Fireflies flitting across the grass… Children laughing as they romp in the neighborhood yards or… the crack of a bat at the local little league field? We at RareNewspapers have a particular fondness for baseball – not only because our Phillies made it to the World Series… or that our founder (Tim Hughes) has served for decades on the board of Little League International… or that the Little League World Series is played each year within a few blocks of our archives in PA, but also because baseball captures the essence of summer, America and apple-pie (with vanilla ice-cream), and we each have a fondness for all three.
To join our baseball enthusiasm a bit, take a look at some of our best baseball issues including one from the current catalog … a CHICAGO DAILY TRIBUNE, Sept. 29, 1920 covering the Black Sox Scandal. Even America’s pastime has a skeleton or two in its closet.

“Take Me Out to the Ball Game” – Historic Baseball Coverage…

August 12, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

One of the popular subsets of the Rare & Early Newspapers hobby is the collecting of historic baseball reports (as well as detailed coverage of favorite teams and players from the past). As of the writing of this post, more than 1,000 such issues were available for browsing and/or collecting at:

Baseball Reports and Headlines

One of our staff recently gathered a few issues together and created a one-minute video which we hope you will enjoy:

YouTube player

Snapshot 1932 – Babe Ruth’s famous “called shot”…

June 17, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

Whether it’s a famous battle, a noteworthy feat, a tragedy, etc., in nearly every instance a report from the location in which a notable event occurred is significantly more desirable (therefore, more valuable) than a similar report within newspapers from other locations. One such case involves the report of Babe Ruth’s famous “called shot” during the 1932 World Series found in the October 2nd issue of the Chicago Sunday Tribune. In nearly 50 years we have only held one in our hands, and for those of us who respond enthusiastically to such a tactile experience, it truly is a great item. Some might wonder why a New York Times wouldn’t be more collectible, after all, Ruth played for the Yankees. However, the game was against the Chicago Cubs, and the historic moment transpired at Wriggley Field, Chicago. A photo of a portion of the front page is shown below, but if you are unfamiliar with his called shot, you may find the story quite interesting: Babe Ruth’s Called Shot (Wikipedia)

 

From Dream to Dream…

May 14, 2021 by · Leave a Comment 

I can’t speak for anyone else but, at this moment… I’m over with bad news. I long for news stories that make me smile … that bring to mind sweeter times. Today, in the subtlest of news stories, my wish came true and a huge smile spread over my face. On June 30, 1905, the Springfield Republican published their issue for the day. I am sure no one in the editor’s office had a clue that on the sports page there was one line in the box score that would, 80+ years later, inspire one of my favorite movie moments of all time. Allow me to borrow a paragraph from our RareNewspapers website’s description for this Springfield issue…

“Spoiler alert: Anyone who has viewed the *movie-classic, “Field of Dreams,” starring Kevin Costner, has been touched by Archie “Moonlight” Graham (played by Burt Lancaster). The poor fellow simply cannot catch a break. When this doctor, who had given up baseball after only 1 professional appearance in order to care for people via his physician training, was given (in the movie) a 2nd chance to get on the magical “field of dreams,” he was almost immediately faced with the choice between either leaving the field (never to return) in order to save an injured young fan from near-certain death, or stay on the field and enjoy the game he had always loved.”

Although Field of Dreams mixes fantasy and reality, this peek into a “real life person” made me dig a bit deeper. Wikipedia sums him up as follows: “”Doc” Graham, as he became known after his career as a ballplayer, served the people of Chisholm (MN) for fifty years. From 1909 to 1959, Graham was the doctor for the Chisholm schools. For many years, “Doc” Graham made arrangements to have used eyeglasses sent to his Chisholm office. On Saturdays, he would have the children of the Iron Range (Minnesota) miners, from Grand Rapids to Virginia, come to his office, have their eyes checked and then fit them with the proper set of glasses, all free of charge.”
Wrapped up in this good news from the past is also a reminder that sometimes, when one dream ends, a better one begins.

Snapshot 1969… Gaylord Perry and The Man on the Moon…

August 13, 2020 by · Leave a Comment 

Every collector has seen this famous headline from 1969, or one of the thousands like it which appeared on every newspaper at the time: “MEN WALK ON THE MOON” (see DAILY NEWS, New York City, July 21, 1969). But an interesting quirk in coincidental history is inconspicuously buried inside, perhaps only of interest to baseball fans–and every collector of historic newspapers.
The story is best told by Major League Baseball in their piece titled: “The Story of Gaylord Perry, the Moon Landing, and a Most Unlikely Home Run”.
An excerpt reads: “…One day during the ’64 season, Dark [manager of the S. F. Giants] and San Francisco Examiner reporter Harry Jupiter looked on as Perry smacked some home runs during batting practice. Jupiter told Dark that Perry looked pretty good with a bat in his hands and remarked that the pitcher might even hit a home run one of these days. Dark’s response set in motion one of the weirdest coincidences in baseball history: “Mark my words,” he said, “a man will land on the moon before Gaylord Perry hits a home run.”
Jump ahead five years to July 20, 1969. Perry, now 30 and clearly established as one of the best arms in the game, was scheduled to start against the rival Dodgers. But there was something else happening that afternoon: Neil Armstrong and Buzz Aldrin were about to become the first men to set foot on the moon. You can probably see where this is going.
At 1:17 p.m. PT, Apollo 11 landed. Some 238,900 miles away at Candlestick Park, Perry stepped to the plate in the top of the third inning — and, wouldn’t you know it, he hit the first home run of his Major League career. As the righty told MLB.com back in 2009:
“Well, about the top of the third, over the loudspeaker, they were telling everybody to stand and give a moment of silent thanks for the astronauts who landed on the moon. And I’d say 30 minutes later, Claude Osteen grooved me a fastball, and I hit it out of the park.”
Alas, by 1969 Dark had moved on to managing the Cleveland Indians, denying him the chance to say, “Hey, technically speaking, we did put a man on the moon before you hit a home run.”

A fascinating piece of history, verified with both reports in this issue of the Daily News.

They Put It In Print (1941)… World Series – Cardinals vs. Yankees…

October 7, 2019 by · Leave a Comment 

Typically, the day after a MLB team is defeated in the World Series, an acknowledgement along with a few humble, congratulatory remarks are the focus of the losing team’s hometown newspaper. However, after the New York Yankees eliminated the St. Louis Cardinals in the 1941 World Series, the St.Louis Post-Dispatch decided to ignore decorum and instead, predicted that the following year, the Cards would return to defeat the Yankees in the 1942 World Series? How do we know they made such a bold prediction? They put it in print – and, Nostradamus would  have been proud. The following year both teams returned to the World Series, and the Cards defeated the Yankees in only five games.

 

 

World Series bound… Before the “Curse of the Bambino”… The Traveler…

September 3, 2018 by · Leave a Comment 

Today I journeyed to New York City by way of The New York Times dated September 1, 1918, where I found that the Boston Red Sox had won the American League Pennant. “The Two Rival Managers & Their Shock Troops Primed for the World’ Series Clash This Week.” “Boston clinched the American League pennant by winning the first game of today’s double header from Philadelphia, 6 to 1, with Ruth holding the visitors to three hits… (Babe) Ruth’s all around play, including his terrific double to deep centre field, which just missed entering the bleachers, was the feature of the first game.”

Babe Ruth would end up being traded to the New York Yankees in December, 1919, in a very controversial trade. This would also be the last World’s Series that the Red Sox would win until 2004, sometimes dubbed “The Curse of the Bambino.”

~The Traveler

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