This day in baseball: Youngest home run
Posted: August 20, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, Major League Baseball, MLB, Pittsburgh Pirates, Preacher Roe, sports, Tommy Brown Leave a commentThe youngest player in MLB history to hit a home run was Tommy Brown of the Dodgers, who accomplished the feat on August 20, 1945. Brown was 17 years, eight months, and 14 days old on the day of the blast. The Brooklyn shortstop started his career as a 16-year-old high school student, and his homer proved to be the only run Brooklyn would score that day off the Pirates lefty, Preacher Roe. Roe pitched a complete game in the 11-1 rout of the Dodgers at Ebbets Field.
This day in baseball: Yellow baseballs
Posted: August 2, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Baseball equipment, Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, Frederic H. Rahr, history, Larry MacPhail, Major League Baseball, Mickey Cochrane, MLB, sports, St. Louis Cardinals Leave a commentFor the first game of a doubleheader played on August 2, 1938, Larry MacPhail had official baseballs dyed dandelion yellow, and the balls were used in the matchup between the Dodgers and Cardinals at Ebbets Field. The inspiration for this yellow ball came from a New York color engineer named Frederic H. Rahr, who developed it after Mickey Cochrane was severely beaned at the plate the previous year.
“My primary object is to give the hitter more safety and there’s no question that this will be achieved,” said Rahr. “That’s simply because the batter will be striking at a ball he can see instead of at a white object that blurs with the background.”
The Dodgers won that opening game with the yellow baseballs by a score of 6-2. The Dodgers went on to use up their yellow balls in three more games in 1939, but the yellow balls would not get used again after that season.

National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum
This day in baseball: Slim steals home
Posted: July 22, 2020 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Brooklyn Superbas, Ebbets Field, history, Slim Sallee, sports, St. Louis Cardinals 2 CommentsSlim Sallee became the first pitcher in Cardinal history to steal home on July 22, 1913 in a game against the Brooklyn Superbas. The Redbird lefty performed the feat in the game’s third inning, scoring the first run in St. Louis’s 3-1 victory over Brooklyn at Ebbets Field.

Slim Sallee in 1911 (Library of Congress)
This day in baseball: Consecutive no-nos
Posted: June 15, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Boston Braves, Brooklyn Dodgers, Cincinnati Reds, Crosley Field, Ebbets Field, history, Johnny Vander Meer, Major League Baseball, MLB, sports Leave a commentOn June 15, 1938, Johnny Vander Meer of the Cincinnati Reds became the only pitcher in major league history to pitch two consecutive no-hitters. Four days earlier, the left-handed Vander Meer held the Braves hitless at Crosley Field, leading the Reds to a 3-0 victory. Then, on June 15th, he defeated the Dodgers at Brooklyn’s Ebbets Field, 6-0.

Vander Meer in 1948 (Baseball Digest)
Jackie Robinson, basketball player
Posted: April 15, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century | Tags: Baseball, basketball, Branch Rickey, Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, Football, Harlem Globetrotters, history, Jackie Robinson, Jackie Robinson Day, Kansas City Monarchs, Los Angeles Red Devils, Major League Baseball, MLB, Montreal Royals, National Basketball Association, National Basketball League, NBA, NBL, Negro Leagues, sports, UCLA, World War II 6 CommentsLast year for Jackie Robinson Day, I took a closer look at Robinson’s career as a football player. This year, I decided it would be fun to take a look at his career as a basketball player. In addition to playing professional baseball and semi-professional football, I was impressed to learn that Robinson also played a season of professional basketball.
As many know, Jackie Robinson was, and remains to this day, the only four-sport varsity letterman in the history of UCLA, lettering in football, baseball, basketball, and track. He played forward with the school’s basketball team and was a tremendous leaper, having also set the collegiate broad jump record. In 1940 and 1941, Robinson led the Pacific Coast Conference Southern Division (now Pac-12) in scoring (12.4 average in 12 league games in 1940; 11.1 average in 12 league games in 1941). In addition to his scoring, Robinson was known as a quick player with excellent ball handling skills.
After his basketball career at UCLA had ended in 1941, Robinson abandoned his senior year spring track season and left college to pursue outside athletic interests. After some time playing semi-professional football, Robinson found himself drafted into the Army as the United States entered World War II. Following the war, Robinson joined the Kansas City Monarchs of the Negro Leagues, eventually being signed by the Brooklyn Dodgers organization in 1946 to play for the club’s minor league franchise, the Montreal Royals.
After completing the season with Montreal, Robinson returned home to Pasadena, California. In October 1946, Robinson signed a professional basketball contract with the Los Angeles Red Devils, a racially integrated professional basketball team. The Red Devils only lasted two seasons, but with a lineup that included forwards Jackie Robinson, Indiana Basketball Hall of Fame member George Crowe, and Pasadena City College standout Irv Noren; guards Everett “Ziggy” Marcelle, a former Harlem Globetrotter, and USC All-American Eddie Oram; and Stanford star Art Stoefen at center, the team was a force to be reckoned with.
The Red Devils had been organized seeking to join the National Basketball League (NBL), which, in its merger talks with the NBA, wanted a West Coast franchise. The team played home games at the Olympic Auditorium in downtown Los Angeles. During the 1946-47 season, with Robinson on their roster, they crushed the Sheboygan Redskins of the NBL, on two occasions. They also defeated the New York Renaissance, which had a lineup that included future New York City Basketball Hall of Fame member Clarence “Puggy” Bell and future NBA player Hank DeZonie. Like the Sheboygan team, the Red Devils defeated the Renaissance twice.
Jackie Robinson left the Red Devils abruptly in January 1947. At the time, few people understood why. In retrospect, the reason becomes clear: Robinson parted ways with the Red Devils just after a Branch Rickey visit to Los Angeles. A few months later, on April 15, 1947, Robinson made his Major League Baseball debut with the Brooklyn Dodgers at Ebbetts Field and went on to be named the 1947 Rookie of the Year.
In spite of his success on the baseball diamond, basketball still reached out to Robinson from time to time. Abe Saperstein offered Robinson a pro contract worth $10,000 with bonuses to play for the Harlem Globetrotters. Though this amount was double what Robinson made with the Dodgers, he declined the offer. He also received a pro basketball offer from the Canton Cushites, an all-black team that featured future Football Hall of Fame member Marion Motley and future Baseball Hall of Fame member Larry Doby. Robinson declined that offer, also.
Though the Red Devils ultimately did not last, it does seem Robinson had some fond memories of his time with the team. “There were some exceptionally good basketball players with name value on the squad,” he reminisced. “We had, I think, a really fine team.”

blackfives.org
This day in baseball: Ebbets debut
Posted: April 5, 2019 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Casey Stengel, Ebbets Field, history, Major League Baseball, MLB, New York Yankees, sports 2 CommentsThe Dodgers played their first game at Ebbets Field on April 5, 1913. 25,000 fans watched the exhibition against the Yankees as Brooklyn defeated New York, 3-2. Casey Stengel hit the new ballpark’s first home run, an inside-the-parker.

The first exhibition game at Ebbets Field in 1913 (Wikimedia Commons)
This day in baseball: Hendrick the hero
Posted: July 21, 2018 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Robins, Ebbets Field, Harvey Hendrick, history, Major League Baseball, sports, St. Louis Cardinals 2 CommentsOn July 21, 1930, Harvey Hendrick of the Brooklyn Robins entered the game as a pinch hitter in the ninth inning against the St. Louis Cardinals. He hit a three-run homer to give the Robins a dramatic 9-8 come-from-behind victory at Ebbets Field in the first game of a double-header.

Hendrick (Wikipedia)
Happy Jackie Robinson Day!
Posted: April 15, 2017 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Bill Clinton, Brooklyn Dodgers, Bud Selig, Ebbets Field, history, Jackie Robinson, Jackie Robinson Day, Major League Baseball, Shea Stadium 5 CommentsSeventy years ago today, Jackie Robinson of the Brooklyn Dodgers made his debut at Ebbets Field. This historic moment marked the first time in the twentieth century that an African-American played major league baseball.
Fifty years later, on April 15, 1997, President Bill Clinton paid tribute to Jackie Robinson in Shea Stadium, and Major League Baseball retired his number 42 throughout the league. “No man is bigger than baseball,” commissioner Bud Selig said, “except Jackie Robinson. Jackie Robinson is bigger than baseball.”

New York Daily News
By signing Jackie Robinson, the Dodgers had ended the institutionalized racial segregation in baseball that had existed since the 1880s. Robinson endured the slings and arrows of racial slurs bravely and stoically, proving through his play on the field that blacks were just as capable as whites of playing outstanding baseball. Whether you are a baseball fan or not, there is little doubt that Robinson’s breaking of the color barrier impacted the history of America. As the world continues to face issues of hatred and discrimination today, perhaps Robinson’s example is one we should all keep in mind as we continue to strive forward.
This day in baseball: The sale of Ebbets Field
Posted: October 30, 2015 Filed under: 20th Century, This day in baseball | Tags: Baseball, Brooklyn Dodgers, Ebbets Field, history, Los Angeles Dodgers, Major League Baseball, Marvin Kratter, MLB, sports, Walter O'Malley 3 CommentsOn October 30, 1956, the Dodgers sold Ebbets Field to a real estate developer, Marvin Kratter. The sale of the ballpark was one of the early indications that it was nearing the end of its life, and some speculate that this move served as an early catalyst for the sale of the Dodgers to Los Angeles. As part of the deal for the sale, club owner Walter O’Malley is given a three-year lease, with an option to stay two more years, until 1961.