The Bums' Rush

In 1959, the Dodgers and Giants played only their second year in their new hometowns. The Dodgers finished their first year in LA in 7th place (71-83), the Giants 3rd.

The 1959 season would be very different and the Dodgers would forever dump the bums nickname they lovingly adopted years before. But this team would prove to be a diesel train.

The Giants were off to a good start. In first for a few days, never lower than 4th. In first again on July 4th, and except for 1 day staying there until september 19th. The Giants were riding the Pennant train comfortably.

The Dodgers were trailing, sometimes from 5 games back. Then they found their groove and after the first game of a double header on Sptember 19th at San Fransisco they were tied for first and finished the season up 2 on the Braves and 4 on the Giants.

Oh, the Dodgers went on to win their second World Series, the first in LA.

Eddie Germano’s The Bums' Rush
Eddie Germano, the sports cartoonist, found the Bums rise interesting enough to devote a cartoon to it. On it, you see the pennant bound train (pennant special) carrying the Giants. On the balcony, a man* is relaxing, awaiting the train’s arrival at the next stop: the World Series. But he’s a bit surprised. A bum with an LA label on his old hat is quickly gaining on his handcar.

The drawing is a Germano original. I love this addition to my humble collection of Dodgers memorabilia.

*this probably is Horace Stoneham, the Giants owner at that time.

Duke Snider Auto

In 1988 ‘the Duke of Flatbush’ was published. A biography of Duke Snider, Dodgers retired #4. The Duke, born in Los Angeles, played center field for both the Brooklyn and the LA Dodgers. Winning the World Series in 1955 and 1959.

Since I started to branch out my interest from the LA team to the Boys of Summer, Duke was one of my instant favorites, right up there with Campanella.

Loved that guy’s smile. And his signature. It’s straightforward and curly and very recognizable.

So, when I saw an auction for a Snider auto, I decided to go for it. It was one of a lot that came from Mile High Card Company auctions. Fastforward... I got it way too cheap, which made me doubt if the document might be just a xeroxed copy. A few weeks later it arrived.

The document is a typed out first page of ‘the Duke of Flatbush’, signed with the famous Snider autograph. It was not a copy and when I felt the back of the piece of paper there was relief from the pressure of the pen.

I compared the auto to others by Snider. It looks legit! I might send it to PSA to get it authenticated, but for now, it’s going in a frame.