YANKEES ACE TO SELL MEMORABILIA
Many of us have seen the ads in SCD where Whitey Ford made available to collectors autographed photos of him with Yankee greats which he had the foresight to get years ago. Now, more personal items are being made available to collectors by the Hall of Famer.
Some absolutely knockout pieces will be put for auction by Ford at the All-Star Fanfest in July. Among the prime items: Lou Gehrig’s warmup jacket worn at the end of his iron man streak; the 1928 World Series ring belonging to Tony “Poosh ‘Em Up” Lazzeri; and Ford’s own 1961 World Series MVP award. Ford allowed only 6 hits and zero runs in his Game 1 and Game 4 starts against the Reds. Great stuff on the auction block, for those who can afford these gems.
FUNNY WHAT SHOWS UP ON WIRE PHOTOS
A question: What uniform number did Cardinals pitcher Mort Cooper wear in 1942?
An answer: www.baseball-almanac.com lists him as #13, which is correct. However, don’t forget 14…or 15…or every other number up to and including at least 20. A wire photo on eBay that I bid on (and lost), showed a post-game dugout photo showing the MLB Cooper brothers, including Mort and catcher Walker Cooper, plus a third brother on leave from the military. The military Cooper is pointing at the #20 on Mort’s jersey. The photo was taken after Mort’s 20th win.
According to the news bureau write-up attached to the back of the photo, After his 13th win, Mort began changing his jersey number to reflect the win number he was trying for that start. He wore 14 until he got his 14th victory, then switched to 15 until he notched his 15th “W”, and so on, all the way up to 20. No word on whether he changed again for win numbers 21 and 22.
A DIFFERENT TYPE OF THEME JERSEY
Also seen on the Bay: a different type of theme jersey worn twice in October, 2005 by the minor league Phoenix Roadrunners hockey club. I’ve seen military jerseys, 4th of July, Mothers’ Day, Tie-Dye, NASCAR and plenty of others, but not one like this. The purple sweaters were a tribute to the NBA Phoenix Suns, basically a hockey version of the Suns’ purple unies. I’ve seen minor league baseball teams use theme jerseys modeled after their parent clubs, but never a hockey team showing love to a basketball club.
OBITUARY:
Mike Holovak a 3-year NFL player with the Rams and Bears from 1946-48 (and wouldn’t you LOVE to have one of those gamers), then, later, a Boston Patriots coach and front office official for the Pats, Oilers, and Titans, died January 27th. A fullback out of Boston College, Holovak ran for the 1946 Rams and the ’47-’48 Bears. He coached the AFL Patriots to 50 wins, second on the Pats’ all-time list to some guy I never heard of…his name’s Bellychuck, or Billycheek, or something like that.