DATE: 1946-58 ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Original - Printed from the original negative in the time period in which it was shot TEAM: St. Louis Cardinals SUBJECTS: Danny Litwhiler, Dizzy Dean APPROXIMATE SIZE: 3-1/8"x7-1/8" and 3-3/4"x6-3/4" NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 2 COMMENTS / CONDITION: This is one of a large accumulation of vintage sports photographs, slides and negatives that we will be listing over the coming months. Wear on these, if any, is mostly confined to minor corner and edge wear, but see scans for further details including condition. We do not deal in stock images or modern reprints, and all scans shown are of the actual vintage photograph, slide or negative being sold. If you have any questions about a particular piece, please ask before the auction ends. BIO: Daniel Webster Litwhiler was born in 1916 in Ringtown, PA and died in 2011 in Clearwater, FL. He went to college at Bloomsburg University of Pennsylvania. He played major league baseball from 1940 to 1951 as outfielder for the Philadelphia Phillies, St. Louis Cardinals, Boston Braves and the Cincinnati Reds, appeared in the 1943 and 1944 World Series, and was selected in 1942 as an All-Star. Litwhiler coached at Michigan State University from 1964 to 1982, and holds the record for most wins by a coach in school history. Jay Hanna Dean was born in Lucas, AR and died in 1974 in Reno, NV. He played major league baseball from 1930 to 1947 as pitcher for the St. Louis Cardinals, Chicago Cubs and the St. Louis Browns, appeared in the 1934 and 1938 World Series, was selected 4 times as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1953. Dean was best known for leading the 1934 "Gashouse Gang" team. He had a 30–7 record with a 2.66 ERA during the regular season. His brother, Paul, was also on the roster, and was nicknamed "Daffy," although this was usually only done for press consumption. Though "Diz" sometimes called his brother "Daf", he typically referred to himself and his brother as "Me an' Paul". Much like later sports legends Joe Namath and Reggie Jackson, Dizzy liked to brag about his prowess and make public predictions. Dizzy predicted, "Me an' Paul are gonna win 45 games." On September 21, Diz pitched no-hit ball for eight innings against the Brooklyn Dodgers, finishing with a three-hit shutout in the first game of a doubleheader, his 27th win of the season. Paul then threw a no-hitter in the nightcap, to win his 18th, to match the 45 that Diz had predicted. "Gee, Paul," Diz was heard to say in the locker room afterward, "if I'd a-known you was gonna throw a no-hitter, I'd a-thrown one too!" He also bet he could strike out Vince DiMaggio four times in one game. He struck him out his first three at bats, but when he hit a popup behind the plate at his fourth, Dean screamed at his catcher, "Drop it!, Drop it!" The catcher did and Dean fanned DiMaggio, winning the bet. Few in the press now doubted Diz's boast, as he was also fond of saying, "It ain't braggin' if you can do it." After retiring as a player, the perennially cash-poor Browns hired the still-popular Dean as a broadcaster to drum up some badly needed publicity. After broadcasting several poor pitching performances in a row, he grew frustrated, saying on the air, "Doggone it, I can pitch better than nine out of the ten guys on this staff!" The wives of the Browns pitchers complained, and management, needing to sell tickets somehow, took him up on his offer and had him pitch the last game of the season. At age 37, Dean pitched four innings, allowing no runs, and rapped a single in his only at-bat. Rounding first base, he pulled his hamstring. Returning to the broadcast booth at the end of the game, he said, "I said I can pitch better than nine of the ten guys on the staff, and I can. But I'm done. Talking's my game now, and I'm just glad that muscle I pulled wasn't in my throat." He became a well-known sportscaster, famous for his wit and often-colorful butchering of the English language. Much like football star-turned-sportscaster Terry Bradshaw years later, he chose to build on, rather than counter, his image as a not-too-bright country boy, as a way of entertaining fans: "The Good Lord was good to me. He gave me a strong right arm, a good body, and a weak mind." He once saw Browns outfielder Al Zarilla slide into a base, and said, "Zarilla slud into third!" "Slud" instead of "slid" became a frequently-used Dean expression. Thanks to baseball fan Charles Schulz, another Dean expression found its way into a Peanuts strip, as Lucy commented on a batter who swung at a pitch outside the strike zone: "He shouldn't hadn't ought-a swang!" An English teacher once wrote to him, complaining that he shouldn't use the word "ain't" on the air, as it was a bad example to children. On the air, Dean said, "A lot of folks who ain't sayin' 'ain't,' ain't eatin'. So, Teach, you learn 'em English, and I'll learn 'em baseball." The Pride of St. Louis, a motion picture based on Dean's career, was released in 1952. Dan Dailey portrayed Dean. Chet Huntley, who would later gain fame as an NBC News anchorman, played an uncredited role in the movie as Dean's radio announcing sidekick. On December 5, 2007, Dean was nominated for the Ford C. Frick Award, which enshrines legendary announcers of the sport into the broadcasters wing of the Baseball Hall of Fame. SKU: XP11864
Item: XP11864
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