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View Full Version : WW II Baseball Collector's help needed.


bgar3
09-11-2017, 11:52 AM
At my age, I subscribe to the adage, if you have not seen it before, buy it.
So, I bought what a first glacé looks like a typical period scorecard, but is really a program for the 1944 New York chapter of the Baseball Writers 21st annual eating and oratorical contest, 4 pages. (Photos attached, I hope)
The scorecard is filled with references to players, executives and players currently serving. There is also a separate 8 page seating arrangement.
Finally, there is a folded sheet with a song "bless 'em all", a tribute to the players, officials and executives currently serving. The only reference I could find online indicates it was written by Arthur Mann.
I would like to find out more about it. I do not really collect this era and would be happy to send more or better photos to anyone interested.
Thank you
Sorry could only upload one photo, I will keep trying

Butch7999
09-11-2017, 01:00 PM
Bless 'Em All is famous as a patriotic song popularized during WWII, although its origins are much earlier
and rather murky. We hate to refer anyone to horrid Wikipedia for anything, and anything there should be taken
with a trainload of salt, but they have a decent account of the song's history here:
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bless_%27Em_All

A better account of it here: http://www.bowersflybaby.com/stories/songs/01_lillies.html

The song lends itself well to parody and alternate versions of the lyrics (several of them "NSFW"), especially
as a soldier's or aviator's complaint about superior officers (it may have even begun that way), and the version
from the dinner programme has substituted the names of players serving in combat as new lyrics honoring
those guys.

The most popular "standard" version was recorded by the great Vera Lynn and can be heard here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xf4jhb9p2v8
Since the song was hugely popular during the war and everyone knew the melody well, it was clearly
included at the dinner as a sing-along.

bgar3
09-11-2017, 01:08 PM
Thank you. Wish I get the scorecard details up because there were a number of other parodies being performed, even the menu attempted humor.

bgar3
09-11-2017, 07:01 PM
Just got a couple more photos to upload.