For Mickey Mantle fans....flashback to 60-year old event at USC

[tedzan]

Check out this story in today's LA Times on Mantle's tremendous hitting performance 60 years ago in an exhibition game at USC's ballpark
just prior to the start of the 1951 Major League season.

http://www.latimes.com/sports/la-sp-...726,full.story


Do enjoy.

TED Z

[GoldenAge50s]

Great story Ted---Thanks for posting! I think you know how much I revered the Mick from Day 1!

[ls7plus]

The Mick truly was a monster. I remember him hitting one well over the right field roof at old Sportsman's Park in St. Louis in the '64 World Series, which wouldn't really have been all that special, except that it was hit while he was batting right-handed, thus to the opposite field! Also one that he hit against the Tigers, circa 1965 or 1966, batting left-handed, that cleared the 457-foot
marker in deepest left center in old Yankee Stadium on one short hop! In today's muscle parlance, they would say he had an amazing number of fast-twitch muscle fibers, especially in light of his awsome running speed before all the leg injuries (timed at 3.1 seconds to first base from the left side by stop-watch).

Long live the legend!

Larry

[shaunsteig]

Thanks for sharing Ted. As a Yankees fan growing up in the 80s, I'm simply in awe of the Yankees legends and envious of those who got to watch them play. Stories like this are very appreciated.

[GoldenAge50s]

As a kid who grew up watching baseball in the late '40's & fortunate enough to have seen Mantle, Williams, Mays, Aaron, Jackie Robinson, etc play in person, I have said before that only 1 player ever made the hairs on my neck tingle when he came to the plate and it was #7!

[scmavl]

Great read Ted, thanks!

[Kawika]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

As a kid who grew up watching baseball in the late '40's & fortunate enough to have seen Mantle, Williams, Mays, Aaron, Jackie Robinson, etc play in person, I have said before that only 1 player ever made the hairs on my neck tingle when he came to the plate and it was #7!

Old age sucketh mightily but at least we got a front row seat on some great history.

[GoldenAge50s]

I hear 'ya on that David!

[tedzan]

Hey guys....I'm somewhat older than you. For me, it all started in the Summer of 1947 when my sister and I were getting these BB cards
out of the Bond Bread packages. We did not have a TV, so I listened intently to the New York teams' games on my old vacum tube radio.
The '47 World Series was the most exciting and thrilling ever in my lifetime. And, with the exception of 1948, I have seen all of the Series
since then.

Yes, I was a Yankees fan, after all, Phil Rizzuto lived nearby us (2 blocks away) in Hillside, NJ. I was very fortunate to see most of Mickey
Mantle's tremendous HR's. And, I saw his very last HR at Yankee Stadium. I took my family to see the Oldtimer's game in the Summer of '73.
Mickey wowed the crowd of 67,000+ by hitting one deep into the seats.



<

TED Z

[tedzan]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

As a kid who grew up watching baseball in the late '40's & fortunate enough to have seen Mantle, Williams, Mays, Aaron, Jackie Robinson, etc play in person, I have said before that only 1 player ever made the hairs on my neck tingle when he came to the plate and it was #7!

I guess you're older than I thought. You must be catching up to me

Seeing super-stars like Joe DiMaggio, Ted Williams, Stan Musial, Mickey Mantle, Duke Snider, Willie Mays, Yogi Berra, Roy Campanella, and Jackie Robinson was great.

Also, players like Johnny Mize, Richie Ashburn, Phil Rizzuto, Pee Wee Reese, Tommy Henrich, Gil Hodges, Larry Doby, Nellie Fox, Billy Martin added to the excitement.

And pitchers like Satchell Paige, Allie Reynolds, Bob Feller, Don Larsen, Don Newcombe, Whitey Ford, Robin Roberts, Bobby Shantz, and my most favorite....Joe Page.
There will never be a combination middle relief/closer like Joe Page was in 1947 and 1949....he was absolutely tremendous. Bucky Harris or Casey Stengel would bring
"Fireman Joe" into the game in the 6th inning and Joe would shut down the opposition for 4 innings (not allowing a baserunner and striking out as many as 8 batters).
Jim Konstanty was another great reliever of that era.

Gee, I can go on naming many, many more.

Best regards ole friend, we were certainly fortunate to be born at the right time.

TED Z

[GoldenAge50s]

Jim Konstanty was another great reliever of that era. Best regards ole friend, we were certainly fortunate to be born at the right time.Ted--

I wouldn't trade growing up right after the war for anything! Times were getting great, people were working & having fun, the economy was booming, baseball cards began appearing in stores and our boys were back home!

My Dad played some Semi-Pro & Town team ball in WNY in the late '30's--early '40's w/ Jim Konstanty. He was from Strykersville NY (outside of Buffalo).

Quick story:

In 1953 I went by train from WNY to Ebbets Field to see Dodgers-Phillies game. My Dad gave me a note of introduction in case I could get near Konstanty. From the centerfield bleachers Jim was running in the oufield during pregame and I leaned over the wall & yelled to him & threw the note down to the field. He looked up, kept going & my note fell harmlessly to the field & was never picked up. The players left the field, the game began and my note probably blew away w/ the wind!

[Rickyy]

Great memories guys! I would love to have seen games at the Polo Grounds, Old Yankee Stadium and Ebbets Field back in those days with those players!

[Kawika]

Originally Posted by Rickyy

Great memories guys! I would love to have seen games at the Polo Grounds, Old Yankee Stadium and Ebbets Field back in those days with those players!

Here's a glimpse of Ozzie and Harriet's America for you, Ricky.

[GoldenAge50s]

GREAT stuff David! You did a super job putting that all together!

I have a box w/ 15-20 REELS of family 16mm from about 1950 thru '55. I'm afraid to look at it as I fear it's so brittle.

Can anything be done w/ it like you did?

[Kawika]

Originally Posted by GoldenAge50s

GREAT stuff David! You did a super job putting that all together!

I have a box w/ 15-20 REELS of family 16mm from about 1950 thru '55. I'm afraid to look at it as I fear it's so brittle.

Can anything be done w/ it like you did?

Fred: We had the film transferred to video tape about 15 years ago and even that started to degrade to the point it was quivering and jumpy and virtually unwatchable. I took the original reels of 16mm film to a tech guy in Honolulu who was able to examine it and determine that it was transferrable to a digital format. He sent the reels to a lab in San Francisco which used a high-speed, frame-by-frame scanning technique to make a digital file. That cost a bit over a thousand bucks but worth every penny to me and perhaps to McDonalds yet to be born. I was very fortunate that the film hadn't gone to vinegar - my family's precious footage would have been toast. If your film is brittle it might still be scannable. Since you have quite a bit more film than I did you might want to triage out what is most important and give it a shot, keeping in mind that the clock is ticking on the film's lifespan.

Edited to add: the budding Benny Goodman in the first frame makes 60 today. Happy Birthday, little brother Dan!

[barrysloate]

Great stuff David. Have you ever seen the homemade movie "Disneyland Dream Vacation?" It's a classic and you can watch it on youtube. It's the first thing I thought of when I saw this.

[GoldenAge50s]

Thanks alot for explaining what you did. I think I better get busy & just see what condition this old film is REALLY in.

None of my family that's in these reels are alive except the childhood shots of my sister & me.

[Rickyy]

Thanks David! Those pictures are just wonderful stuff!

Btw...I was named after Ricky Nelson.