baseball has been very, very good to me

 

These are photographs taken with a stereoscopic camera. They were shot at the Polo Grounds and Ebbets Field, I am not really sure which, when. But what I do know is that the Great Willie Mays is playing, Bobby “The Shot Heard Round the World” Thomson is playing and Leo “The Lip” Durocher is managing the New York Giants. This Giants’ roster also included Sal “The Barber” Maglie, famous for throwing “chin music”, hence the legacy, effectual, close shave.

My grandfather is the photographer and my grandmother is the silver-haired lady with the best sunglasses on the planet! They were friends of the Durocher’s and when Leo came to California to coach the Dodgers, I too, got to sit behind home plate and get a close-up view of Don Drysdale go into a complete meltdown. The drama was spectacular!!! And I was hooked.

Willie Mays No. 24, “The Say Hey Kid” and Baseball Hall of Famer – New York Giants vs Brooklyn Dodgers 1951

Willie Mays No. 24, “The Say Hey Kid” and Baseball Hall of Famer – New York Giants vs Brooklyn Dodgers 1951

 
Mixing in Left Field Box Seats – Front and center, Leo Durocher, “Leo the Lip”!

Mixing in Left Field Box Seats – Front and center, Leo Durocher, “Leo the Lip”!

 
Play Ball! Momentous action on the field.

Play Ball! Momentous action on the field.