Gambo and T_Wil1 Photopack

[baseball-birthdays.com]

NN185 is Mike Shannon, isn't it?

[Merkle923]

Jackie Moore, Mike Shannon, John Burrows.

[doors11]

Can someone help me in finding info about John Burrows, I'd like to add him to the game .. can't seem to find anything about him. Need to know height weight bats throws pos. etc


Thanks for any help

[rico43]

Originally Posted by doors11

Can someone help me in finding info about John Burrows, I'd like to add him to the game .. can't seem to find anything about him. Need to know height weight bats throws pos. etc


Thanks for any help

John Burrows Minor & Winter Leagues Statistics & History | Baseball-Reference.com

[baseball-birthdays.com]

eBay seller fedxit has listed "Press Photo Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees 1951 First Homer in Majors"... Mantle crossing the plate receiving a handshake from the bat boy in front of another player (Cliff Mapes, I think) who's wearing number 7.

box score

I don't think I ever really knew that Mantle wore any number other than 7. Baseball-Reference lists Mapes, Mantle, and Bob Cerv as wearing number 7 in 1951. Mapes was traded to the Browns on July 31 and Cerv made his big league debut the following day, so I have no idea when Mantle wore 7 that season.

Also, Mantle hit his first-ever homer in the top of the sixth inning... Mapes replaced him in right field in the bottom of the seventh. Why would Mapes be at the plate as Mantle crossed?

[KenRaffensberger16]

Originally Posted by baseball-birthdays.com

eBay seller fedxit has listed "Press Photo Mickey Mantle of the New York Yankees 1951 First Homer in Majors"... Mantle crossing the plate receiving a handshake from the bat boy in front of another player (Cliff Mapes, I think) who's wearing number 7.

box score

I don't think I ever really knew that Mantle wore any number other than 7. Baseball-Reference lists Mapes, Mantle, and Bob Cerv as wearing number 7 in 1951. Mapes was traded to the Browns on July 31 and Cerv made his big league debut the following day, so I have no idea when Mantle wore 7 that season.

Also, Mantle hit his first-ever homer in the top of the sixth inning... Mapes replaced him in right field in the bottom of the seventh. Why would Mapes be at the plate as Mantle crossed?

According to baseball-almanac.com Mickey Mantle, Cliff Mapes, and Bob Cerv all wore #7 during the 1951 season for the NY Yankees.
If Cerv didn't debut in the majors until that August 1 then as odd as it may seem, #7 in the photo must be Mapes, because Mantle wore #6 at the start of his career. Since this is his first major league home run then the date must be May 1, 1951 in Chicago VS. the White Sox.
I looked up the Yanks 1952 roster on the same website , and by that time Mantle was the only player wearing #7, Bob Cerv was wearing #34 and Mapes was no longer with the Yankees.
That game of 5/1/51 also marked the debut of Minnie Minoso with the White Sox, who had just been traded from the Cleveland Indians. Minoso also homered in that game, but he committed an error as a third baseman (his primary Negro Leagues position). Circumstances on the White sox dictated that Minoso convert to the Outfield and he won three Gold Gloves as a leftfielder later in his career.

[Merkle923]

Clearly by process of elimination, unless Mapes was going up to pinch-hit for the next batter (Jerry Coleman) and was called back at the last minute, that can't be Mantle's first homer.

In point of view of fact, in none of Mantle's 1951 road homer games would Mapes (or Cerv) have been the next batter. This in turn raises the possibility that Mantle is being congratulated for having scored on somebody else's home run.

PS: what's the batboy looking at if Mantle's just cleared the bases with a home run? A streaker? There's another Yankee on the basepaths somewhere.

[cheech411]

joe Albanese al cicotte both 1958 Washington anything?? thanks!!

[baseball-birthdays.com]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

PS: what's the batboy looking at if Mantle's just cleared the bases with a home run? A streaker? There's another Yankee on the basepaths somewhere.

ah... that could well explain Mapes' presence, either scoring ahead of Mantle or waiting for his turn at bat.

it's a fun photo, though, seeing a teenaged Mantle crossing the plate in front of an interloper #7...

[Merkle923]

"Interloper"? Not following you here. 13 players wore #7 for the Yankees before Mantle including two Hall of Famers and Tommy Henrich. Plus Mantle's use of #6 is widely enough known today that for years Mitchell & Ness stocked a replica of it matching the image below.

[cheech411]

[Merkle923]

The absence of the 1951 American League 50th Anniversary emblem that is on the Getty shot of Mantle but not on the supposed home run image got me thinking.

How would that have been possible? It's only a theory, but Mantle went through the 1951 exhibition campaign, right up to the annual pre-season series against the Dodgers, on the Kansas City roster. While newspaper shots of game action from Ebbets Field on April 14 and April 15, 1951 show the A.L. Anniversary emblem, it's possible Mantle's had not been sewn on yet.

That possible clue led me to the box score for the Dodger-Yankee exhibition of April 15, in which Mantle homered in the 8th inning and the next Yankee batter would've been Joe DiMaggio's defensive replacement in center...Number 7, Cliff Mapes.

So the photo is of Mantle's first homer in a major league park, but not his first major league homer. The New York Times box score is below and as an aside, that Yankees-Dodgers series was broadcast on television and radio by the Dodgers. So, one of the announcers who covered Mantle's a) first game in a major league stadium, b) first game in New York, c) first home run in a major league stadium, was a second-year Dodger broadcaster named Vin Scully.

[tnfoto]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

The absence of the 1951 American League 50th Anniversary emblem that is on the Getty shot of Mantle but not on the supposed home run image got me thinking.

How would that have been possible? It's only a theory, but Mantle went through the 1951 exhibition campaign, right up to the annual pre-season series against the Dodgers, on the Kansas City roster. While newspaper shots of game action from Ebbets Field on April 14 and April 15, 1951 show the A.L. Anniversary emblem, it's possible Mantle's had not been sewn on yet.

That possible clue led me to the box score for the Dodger-Yankee exhibition of April 15, in which Mantle homered in the 8th inning and the next Yankee batter would've been Joe DiMaggio's defensive replacement in center...Number 7, Cliff Mapes.

So the photo is of Mantle's first homer in a major league park, but not his first major league homer. The New York Times box score is below and as an aside, that Yankees-Dodgers series was broadcast on television and radio by the Dodgers. So, one of the announcers who covered Mantle's a) first game in a major league stadium, b) first game in New York, c) first home run in a major league stadium, was a second-year Dodger broadcaster named Vin Scully.

Great detective work! The absence of the sleeve logo had been bugging me as well. Thanks for putting the question to rest.

[Oriole1952]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

The absence of the 1951 American League 50th Anniversary emblem that is on the Getty shot of Mantle but not on the supposed home run image got me thinking.

How would that have been possible? It's only a theory, but Mantle went through the 1951 exhibition campaign, right up to the annual pre-season series against the Dodgers, on the Kansas City roster. While newspaper shots of game action from Ebbets Field on April 14 and April 15, 1951 show the A.L. Anniversary emblem, it's possible Mantle's had not been sewn on yet.

That possible clue led me to the box score for the Dodger-Yankee exhibition of April 15, in which Mantle homered in the 8th inning and the next Yankee batter would've been Joe DiMaggio's defensive replacement in center...Number 7, Cliff Mapes.

So the photo is of Mantle's first homer in a major league park, but not his first major league homer. The New York Times box score is below and as an aside, that Yankees-Dodgers series was broadcast on television and radio by the Dodgers. So, one of the announcers who covered Mantle's a) first game in a major league stadium, b) first game in New York, c) first home run in a major league stadium, was a second-year Dodger broadcaster named Vin Scully.

This is GREAT! Thanks for a super look back in history. I find it amazing Jackie Jensen and Mickey Mantle, both future MVP's, hit HRs in this game. Both were considered top prospects at this time, rivals for a roster spot. A few years ago I was eating in a Miami pizza place where the walls were full of Yankee pics. I saw one of Jackie Jensen and thought how unique since he was only with the Yanks in his early days. THEN I saw the truth. The person who placed this pic on the wall THOUGHT it was Mantle! (It was with other Mantles.) In those young days of both players they did look a bit alike, given the picture. This one did look a lot like Mantle, but I KNOW it was Jackie Jensen. Strange, very strange..Thanks again for the classic box score!

[rico43]

Not all of the Lexibell folders contain B&W press photos. There are a handful in the OneDrive file prefixed NEG, and all are sharp color, and many appeared on FLEER cards.

Most would seem to be produced between 1992 and 2002, including this nice Mets shot of the "other" Maddux, Mike, who was with the Mets in 1993-94. After a15-year playing career, he has been a pitching coach for 14 seasons, including the Nationals this season.

[FatJack]

Fred "Fuzz" Richards, who enjoyed a brief September cup of coffee with the Cubs in 1951, passed away of natural causes on March 18. He was 88. A first baseman, he hit pretty well in his 10 game trial, getting 8 hits in 27 trips to the plate (.296). In 11 minor league seasons, he hit .268 with 135 home runs. 50 of those home runs came in his two seasons with the L.A. Angels of the PCL--1952 and 1953. No offense to Fred but the old L.A. Wrigley Field was a home run hitter's paradise. At least it got him a 1953 Mother's Cookies card.

bearman14 posted a nice portrait photo of Fuzz here (which I'd love to see in a larger size, if anyone has it). John had posted a couple of good'uns at Baseball-Birthdays.

The first attached photo below was one of John's. The second accompanied Fred's obituary (and, though I chose not to waste the bandwidth, you can find it in humungo-size version here--you gotta click on it a couple of times for the full Fuzz or just hunt it down in a google image search).

[baseball-birthdays.com]

random amusements from Merkle's box score above...

Tommy Byrne walked eleven and hit a batter...

for some reason they chose to apostrophize Campan'lla instead of just leaving in the "e"

just two umpires

[rico43]

I realize that most business pertaining to Baseball-Birthdays died with the website, but the relief associated with solving a mystery outweighs everything.

This photo has been vexing researchers, including myself, for (in some cases) years as it was one of the long-standing unidentified images in a particular thread there. Well, it turns out this good-looking, strangely familiar guy is none other than Talmadge Nunnari, photographed for Fleer use in the 1999 Fleer Tradition "Glossy" set.

Many of the prospects from this and similar Fleer products are in a handful of Lexibell files with the "neg" prefix. FYI: Nunnari is legit for here, playing in 18 games for the 2000 Expos, going 1-for-5.

[Buccos]

Also, the batboy apparently *was* looking at a streaker.

[Dto7]

Originally Posted by Merkle923

The absence of the 1951 American League 50th Anniversary emblem that is on the Getty shot of Mantle but not on the supposed home run image got me thinking.

How would that have been possible? It's only a theory, but Mantle went through the 1951 exhibition campaign, right up to the annual pre-season series against the Dodgers, on the Kansas City roster. While newspaper shots of game action from Ebbets Field on April 14 and April 15, 1951 show the A.L. Anniversary emblem, it's possible Mantle's had not been sewn on yet.

That possible clue led me to the box score for the Dodger-Yankee exhibition of April 15, in which Mantle homered in the 8th inning and the next Yankee batter would've been Joe DiMaggio's defensive replacement in center...Number 7, Cliff Mapes.

So the photo is of Mantle's first homer in a major league park, but not his first major league homer. The New York Times box score is below and as an aside, that Yankees-Dodgers series was broadcast on television and radio by the Dodgers. So, one of the announcers who covered Mantle's a) first game in a major league stadium, b) first game in New York, c) first home run in a major league stadium, was a second-year Dodger broadcaster named Vin Scully.

My American Legion coach from the early 1960's pitched in that game.His name was Max Peterson and was with the club until early May but never played in a regular season game. He quit the game after the 1954 season at the age of 32 and died in 2010 at the Age of 88.

Here he is from training camp 1951.