On June 15, 1940, New York Giants catcher Harry Danning hit for the cycle in a game against Pittsburgh. His home run was an inside-the-park home run that landed 460 feet on the fly in front of the Giants’ clubhouse, wedged behind the Eddie Grant memorial at the Polo Grounds. Pittsburgh center fielder Vince DiMaggio was not able to free it in time to catch Danning rounding the bases.
Poking around at some Library of Congress photos, I encountered the photograph below. In it, we see Vince DiMaggio sliding into home as George Stovall signals “safe.” The picture was taken in February 1943, during the off-season when DiMaggio had worked in the California Shipbuilding Corporation shipyards since the previous fall. George Stovall was a former Cleveland Indians manager and had been working in the shipyards as a checker for over a year at the time of this photo. I’m curious as to where the rest of the playing field is, in relation to the action in this picture — it’s difficult to discern. Nevertheless, I do enjoy what this photo represents: a culture in which a love for baseball runs so deep that these men take advantage of every moment they can to indulge in a quick pick-up game.
