Snapshots

A number of years ago, Mary Frances Veeck and I got to talking about heaven.  For her, it involved time enough to read all the books she had ever wanted to.  For me, it was the chance to visit all the ballparks, the real ones.  I mean, who wouldn’t want to take in a game at the Polo Grounds with that centerfield over 500 feet deep and a left field just 280 feet down the line, and 258 in right? Talk about a horseshoe design for maximum effect.

Until the pearly gates swing open for yours truly (assuming they do) , I keep an eye out for old stuff, like that newsreel of the 1919 World Series that was found buried in the Yukon; now I know what Redland (not yet Crosley) Field looked like from the cockpit of a biplane flying overhead.  And next time you watch an episode of Homerun Derby, just remember they filmed it at the other Wrigley Field, in south Los Angeles.  Vines grew on the outfield wall there, too.

Ebay is another good place to catch glimpses of the past.  A few months ago someone put up pictures of Luke Easter and Minnie Minoso in front of Comiskey Park, 1952, and now there’s a photo of Sam Mele standing in the outfield at Griffith Stadium in D.C., same year; a light tower in the right field bleachers looks to be growing out of Mele’s left shoulder.  And that big, double-decked grandstand in left—they don’t build them like that anymore.

At an opening bid of ninety-nine cents, how can I pass this up?