A Piece of History

I have a very strange relationship with Dodgers autographs. If I have to choose between getting an autograph or having my picture taken with a Dodgers celebrity, I choose the latter. I still am bummed I didn’t get a pic with Nomar although I did get his autograph. The best is, of course, getting both. Like I did when I met Orel Hershiser.

Maybe this has to do with the fact that I live in Europe and don’t have a lot of opportunities to get autographs, during spring training or before regular games. A picture is a better memory of a trip, in my opinion, than an autograph.

That being said… there is not much as personal as an autograph and there is a shitload to be found on various auction sites and on Ebay. Some of them are very pricey like those of Sandy Koufax or Jackie Robinson.

There are autographs everywhere. On baseballs, on cards, bats, letters, and so on. And then you have letters. I've looked at letters for years, some with great 'Dodgers' letter heads but most of them are to someone who requested an autograph or some business that had nothing to do with baseball at all. The majority of the letters is typed.

Then, one day, I found this letter that was completely hand written and signed. It was a letter from 1945 by Clem Labine. Now, Clem was no Koufax or Drysdale but he was a very important pitcher for the Dodgers. When the Dodgers played the Giants in the 1951 tiebreaker series, the Dodgers won game 2 behind a shut out by Labine to reach a deciding game 3 in which we all know what happened.

He became a fixture during the 1950's and won two World Series Championships ('55 and '59) with the Dodgers and one with the Pirates. In 1955, the Dodgers would win their first World Series during which Clem would win game 4 (Don Larsen got the loss). In 1956 he won game 6 in the World Series, the one in which Don Larsen pitched a perfect game in game 5. He was an all star in 1956 & 1957.

The Letter
This letter is so awesome because of many reasons. Like mentioned before it’s entirely handwritten. Not typed with just a signature. It’s about baseball. The core business of both sender and receiver. Oh, yeah, the receiver... who is the letter to? Only to a guy who single handedly changed the face of baseball on many levels. With the Dodgers and in St. Louis and Pittsburgh: Branch Rickey. WWII had just ended and Jackie Robinson would be called up to the majors in less than two years, exciting times.

The full text of the letter can be found below.

29 December 1945

Dear Mr. Rickey,
May I send my hearty thanks to
you for the sweet Christmas present.
I feel a little ashamed not having corresponded
with you during my time in the service!
It certainly feels great to know
someone is thinking of you while your
far away from home. Nothing would
please me more than to be back in
your employ by spring.
As you probably know I'm still in
the army, but with some luck I may
be out in time for spring training.
May I again send my thanks to
you and your staff, and wish you all the
luck in the world

Cordially yours,
Sgt. Clement W. Labine

Stamped by the Brooklyn Baseball Club on the date it was received before the letter was handed to Branch Rickey.

The envelope in which the letter arrived.