Lions and Tigers and Bears........OH MY!

As we hit Kansas City for a three day weekend, the discussion seems to turn around the weather in western Missouri and the eastern part of Kansas. Lately, they have had their share of heavy duty thunderstorms and a few severe tornadoes. The most recent caused quite a bit of damage in the area. There is always a reference among the crew to Dorothy and Toto flying by as their home was in the farmland of Kansas.

And so off to OZ we go with some background on the story....

Did you know ---- that original name of the wiz was Oscar Zoroaster Phadrig Isaac Norman Henkle Emmanuel Ambroise Diggs? He shortened his it to OZ and as the author of the page I found this on said, "Would you want your initials to be OZPINHEAD?" There are several more great notes about the story and what it was supposedly about as well as tidbits on the movie itself on this page. And if you are a dog lover, here is a page dedicated to Toto as well.

We are close enough that there has to be a museum there somewhere commemorating this storybook favorite right? Actually, there are several.....here are a few that I found..... Wamego, KS, Chesterton, IN (you can email Auntie Em too!), Topeka, KS (Kansas State Historical Society), Liberal, KS, and the home of the author, Chittenango, NY. Knowing the area somewhat this all made sense to me.... It was cute and certainly played off the theme.....

But it all came to a head when I came across "OZTOBERFEST"..... that's when I turned and ran back up the yellow brick road!

Flat Stanley.....

It's time again for another road trip - this will be the longest of the season as we pass through KC, Texas, and Detroit. Travel is a necessary part of the job here and is made easier with our ability to travel with the team.

On our last trip, we added another member to the crew. His name is Flat Stanley. He is the sort of guy that packs lightly and travels very easily - like in my briefcase! I was asked to take this cutout on the road as part of a class project, and place him in various situations or locations as we traveled. The Flat Stanley Project is international and was started in 1995 in London, Ontario by a 3rd grade teacher. The object was to create a journal using this character that you would create and recount his travels over a period of days. All the pictures can then be shared with the class to see where their "Stanley" has gone.

So here he is....traveling through the Midwest with me and taking some pretty snappy shots. Flat Stanely had to return to the classroom, but it was fun having him with us for the trip and as you can see, he was a help as well!

Summer is here....almost

The weather really broke over the weekend and the blue skies and the warm air was welcomed by all. From our vantage point here overlooking the lake, we have a special view down into the Muny parking lot. It is always a special time when the Browns are in town as the tailgaters hit the area bringing a wide variety of fun and enjoyment to the area.

This past weekend however, there was a concert at Browns Stadium that featured Kenny Chesney. So I took a few snaps from our porch to pass along showing that summer may have gotten started last weekend - at least it looked like it anyway. It is great to see folks downtown for any event and this just starts off the season! Don't forget to check your favorite hangout to see who is coming to town or what is happening in the city!

Forget the snow - time to kick back and enjoy!

324 W. 35th Street, Chicago, Illinois.....

This was the address of the "old" Comiskey Park which gave way to the ballpark now titled U.S. Cellular Field. I remember working in that ballpark that looked somewhat in appearance like the old Tiger Stadium. It had the rich character of a classic old stadium nestled in the neighborhood of the south side of Chicago. Now a parking lot, I was thinking of the older facade and the games that were played there which made me check out some of the history of this franchise.

A thumbnail sketch.......

This team itself actually started in Sioux City and went north to Saint Paul, then ended up in Chicago in 1901. The then owner, Charles Comiskey, wanted to move his team into a bigger facility from the 15,000 seat stadium that they played in on the South Side. There was a landfill for sale down around 35th Street. He purchased the land and proceeded to construct his new ballpark after looking at many types of structural designs.

With the new facility built, 32,000 people filed into the newly constructed Comiskey Park to watch the White Sox play on July 1st, 1910, . There were many improvements along the way including lighting for night play in 1939, as well as extra seating which was added in 1947, taking the capacity up to 44,000. There was actually Astro Turf which was placed in the infield in 1967 to save money on the groundskeeping. But in 1976,, the team was sold and the turf was removed. Natural grass was then restored to the infield. The new Comiskey (U.S. Cellular) opened in 1991, and old Comiskey was demolished.

In all of these stadiums and teams, there is a richness of history, architecture, and sport. As baseball is a real game of statistics, one particularly caught my eye as I looked over some of the material available on Comiskey. It had to do with all the firsts that were listed in the ballpark baseball history. The first person to hit for the cycle there was "Baby Doll" Jacobson on April 17, 1924. "Baby Doll"? I had to look that one up....

William Chester Jacobson grew up in Cable, Illinois. At 6'3" and 215 pounds, he was quite the ballplayer - and actually played in 31 games for Cleveland in 1927. But how did he get that name?

Written in 1911 by composers Nat Ayer and Seymour Brown, Oh You Beautiful Doll quickly became a popular tune. While playing for the Mobile Sea Gulls of the Southern League in 1912, Bill Jacobson hit a home run and a band located in the grandstands played the song. The following day, the Mobile Register printed Jacobson's picture above a caption that read: "That Baby Doll." The name stuck.

Love that baseball lore!!!!!!!!

Look out Chicago....we will be back!

The Magnificent Mile....

One of the fun parts about traveling with the club over the summer is the chance to see what else is happening around the country. One of the staples for us though is in visiting Chicago, we stay right off Michigan Avenue - or as as it has been so named the "Magnificent Mile." It is a shopper's delight with places to eat as well as plenty of shopping. And having been here around Christmas, the entire street and all the stores are lit up for the season!

A little bit of history...Michigan Avenue was actually widened in 1909 from a single lane. The North and South ends were finally joined when the bridge was put in place over the river in 1920. The entire course of Michigan Avenue is filled with history. And if you are looking for somewhere to go to eat, shop, or just have fun in general, I have pleaced that link here.

The Indians head back this way around the first of July....so job #1 is to support the club....but give yourself some time to enjoy the city as well - and bring your walking shoes!

Mr. Red Legs.....

Having just left the Queen City for Chitown, I would be remiss if I did not share the famous Mr. Red Legs incident - where he literally lost his head!!! Now a mascot's job can be quite dangerous at times. In an in depth interview that was done with Slider, the Indians' mascot, he stated, er squeaked, that there were many pitfalls in his business of mascoting.

So take a peek and remember to buckle up!

New York Farewell........

Here are the pics from the recent Yankee series that shows off old Yankee Stadium..... and some of the new..... I am definitely leaving a lot of great memories working in this building - all of the baseball and television variety....

Dim the lights and enjoy the show!

NY Logo.......

Lunch break for the elves seems to be over and the muskrats have been fed, so the Internet wheels begin to turn again...

Here are the 2 pics listed in the last segment as a part of the NY insignia and how it was started. In the next installment, I will finish off with a flurry of shots from the current Yankee Stadium.

More NY History....

There is still a lot to talk about from our last trip into Gotham and what will soon be the torn down Yankee Stadium. Many of the teams have a very rich history that goes back into time, New York being one of the more prominent ones.

The folks at major league baseball have done a great job of setting up histories of teams - so do not forget to look up your favorite team - including the Indians and how they started. You can discover not only player tidbits but also moments in history that affected these clubs as well.

One of the things that I found in monument park was an interesting plaque on the creation of the NY logo that now has become so prevalent on all types of apparel. Here is a piece of an interview that you can read in full about the early Yankees from a Yankee blogger....

In 1909 the team began using what was to become the most highly recognizable symbol in the world when the famous "NY" made it's first appearance on the uniforms. Of every slick, crooked thing "Big Bill" ever did...this has to be at the top of his list of larceny. ...Louis B. Tiffany initially developed the logo in 1877 for a medal that was presented posthumously to Officer John McDowell, the NYPD officer shot in the line of duty. This became the department tradition and was known as the Medal of Valor.

"Big Bill" had to fleece the public one last time before leaving the police department, by misappropriating the very special symbol of bravery that was given to the families of those who died in the line of duty...and never paying a cent for it....It would be interesting to ask Mayor Bloomberg if in fact any royalties have ever been paid to date by George Steinbrenner, or any of the previous team owners, to the great City of New York. What's the world's greatest sports logo actually worth anyway? A few hundred million? More?

I have a couple of pics for this but the little blogger elves went to dinner..... so I will post them as soon as they are done with their break!

Monument-al Park.....

Having the opportunity to wander out to Monument Park in Yankee Stadium makes you feel like you are walking back in time. This park started by the flagpole in center field with a stone monument placed there when Yankee manager Miller Huggins died suddenly in 1932. Then other monuments were added celebrating the baseball lives of Babe Ruth and Lou Gehrig. As more and more legends played there, the team kept adding on to the area until now it is out of play and behind the left center field fence.

Beside the monuments, are the numbers placed with plaques dedicated to each member honored by the team. This time of year, with the flowers in bloom and well tended in the area, it had a very solemn but beautiful effect on the entire presentation. It is a piece of history that will not be repeated.

So I would suggest the following if you are interested in the history of baseball......If you have the chance, head to NY one last time to see these historic stadium. And while you are thinking of that, c'mon down to Progressive Park and visit the Indians historical area - Heritage Park - which has exhibits and plaques dedicated to members of the Cleveland Indians ball club. And stick around - you may even see some history being made with the 2008 edition of the Tribe!

"New" New York....

We certainly hit the ground running here in the Big Apple - it has been non-stop from the time we landed here. And on the baseball front, as previously noted, the new baseball stadium here for the Yankees has created quite the buzz. Lest we forget, around the corner, another stadium is being built....the Mets are also getting a new home and will take occupancy next year as well. In town here, the rivalry continues between teams and now new stadiums.


Here in the Bronx though, the new ballpark here is quite visible from the #4 train heading out of the city and stopping at Yankee Stadium. Due to some track construction, we had to head out of town and then backtrack into the city. It was a minor inconvenience, but it afforded us a great view into the construction site from centerfield. This looks to be quite the construction site - shows you what 1.3 billion dollars can buy these days!


You cannot really move in too close to the construction area, but I offer a view personal views of the new stadium here. I cannot wait to see the finished product and view baseball in it next year!

Tempus Fugit.....

Or time flies - and does it ever!!!....the last blast here had us in KC wading through a rain delay, followed by a hastily scheduled doubleheader by the Royals. And for the traveling party, we arrived at about 4:oo AM or so...One of the few times during the year when I actually meet the morning paper carrier!

And then through the stay at home, our Royals friends brought in some more rain. All I know is the grass is real green right now - and getting higher by the day. Still a great sight to see - the weather warming and feeling at least more like baseball weather anyway.

We had a solid week at home - there seems to be a lot of home stands right now of some length. I think the preference would have been more toward the summer but the schedule makers have to do their thing accordingly I guess.

The big news right now is that we are in the "Big Apple" and anticipating our last few games in old Yankee Stadium. And as everyone passes through, there is that realization of baseball history which will be re-written in the new facility. There are some interesting stats on the new stadium that you may want to check out.

As the games occur over the next few days, I hope to take a lot of pictures and post them here for your perusal. So as we say in the business ...."Don't touch that dial - there is more to come!"