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:

Summer Blockbuster Movie Ads at Their Best – “Top Gun: Maverick” Edition…

July 15, 2022 by · Leave a Comment 

It’s okay, but as usual, it’s not as good as the original, is a commonly heard phrase among movie goers.  Sequels are rarely as good as their predecessors, and most certainly never better … or so we thought.  On May 9, 1986, the Los Angeles Times had a full-page ad for the soon to be released movie, Top Gun, starring Tom Cruise.  One can only guess if the paper realized what an iconic movie they were promoting the week before it’s premier.  Flash forward approximately a quarter of a century to the summer of 2022 when Tom Cruise reprised his roll as Maverik and once again rocked theater box offices for weeks.  Perhaps, “not as good as the original” has finally been put to rest.

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.

The “experts” don’t always get it right…

March 28, 2011 by · 2 Comments 

We recently unearthed two different newspapers which scream the reality “the experts are often wrong”.  The first report was an early review of “Gone With The Wind” which was not favorable (issue #580564).  The 2nd was a statement concerning Babe Ruth which occurred soon after he was traded to The New York Yankees which questioned whether he would be an impact player (issue #581104).  Interestingly enough, the opinion was given by Billy Evans, one of the most famous umpires (and member of the Hall of Fame) of all time.  Feel free to comment on similar finding of your own.  In the meantime, enjoy the reports:

Gone With The Wind…

Babe Ruth…


The Traveler… who really invented “the talkies”?

August 26, 2010 by · Leave a Comment 

Today’s journey, through The Christian Science Monitor dated August 26, 1910, took me on the train ride with Colonel Roosevelt as he was traveling across the states on his campaign tour. I found a segment a bit amusing… “At Erie the Colonel spoke to fully 5000 people. At Dunkirk a crowd nearly as large surrounded the train, and some one shouted, ‘Hello, Teddy!’ ‘I used to think it lowered my dignity to have them call me Teddy,’ the colonel said to his party in an undertone, ‘but do you know I am getting to like it now.'” A this point in time, one just somewhat “assumes” that he was always called Teddy.

While looking further into the issue, I found a one paragraph article with a headline “Mr. Edison Works On A New Device” and I just had to read it.  “Moving pictures that talk, reproducing not only the action, but the spoken words of actors shown on the canvas, promise to revolutionize the moving picture business and the announcement that a machine that will combine the perfected phonograph with the present motion picture camera is being constructed in the laboratory of Thomas A. Edison in West Orange, has created a stir among inventors.”

This made me wonder just when were “talkies” invented and who invented it? Was this ground-breaking news? I did some researching through google. In the late 1890’s, there were some sound to movies but each person had to wear a listening device — early headsets??  Mr. Edison is mentioned as to be working on creating a special machine to make the “talkies” but the first talk was not to be until 1927 with the release of The Jazz Singer.

~The Traveler