Wow David,
Thanks for checking in! That's some terrific detective work and I appreciate you taking the time to add the possible player info.
You are correct that Babe could have fit right in with the disco era. I suspect that the time he spent in FL in the off season probably made this an easy choice to sport the open collared look.
When I first looked at these photos, I was also struck by what a different era it was. Male patrons all wore suits and hats. I particularly was grabbed by the panoramic shots that show the grandstands at Ebbets in all of its grandeur, packed to the hilt with over 38,000 in attendance for the first night game ever in NY. Two of the photos feature the newly installed GE lights. To most of the patrons in attendance this was something completely new, as baseball in NY was always played during the day.
Perhaps many of you know this, but night baseball in the major leagues was the innovation of HOF'er Larry McPhail. Night baseball was already being used very effectively in the minor leagues, and while with the Columbus Red Birds, McPhail saw the dramatic improvement in night game attendance first hand.
As GM of the Cincinnati Reds, McPhail was tasked with increasing annual gate attendance during the Great Depression. He knew that the men of the household mostly worked during the day, so it was a huge challenge to increase day baseball attendance. McPhail reasoned that adding 7 night games a year would increase gate attendance enough that they could afford to add one star player to the roster every year instead of every third year. Seven night games was chosen because it would allow them to play each of the other teams in the NL in a night game. After much resistance, McPhail successfully introduced night baseball in Cincinnati in 1935.
When Larry McPhail came to the Brooklyn Dodgers as GM in 1938, the Dodgers organization was virtually bankrupt. Bringing night baseball to Ebbets was McPhail's first prime initiatives as he knew this would be essential to successfully turn around the franchise.
Here is a photo of Larry McPhail in January, 1938 when he first took over as GM of the Brooklyn Dodgers.
Last edited by Scott Garner; 02-07-2013 at 10:52 AM.
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