DATE: 1969 ORIGINAL or REPRINT: Type 3 - Second or later-generation photo, printed from a duplicate negative or wire photo process, within about 2 years of when it was shot TEAM: Brooklyn Dodgers SUBJECTS: Roy Campanella, Elston Howard, William Eckert ISSUER: Associated Press APPROXIMATE SIZE: 8-5/8"x8-1/8" NUMBER OF PHOTOS: 1 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: Roy Campanella (Campy) was born in 1921 in Philadelphia, PA and died in 1993 in Woodland Hills, CA. He played major league baseball from 1948 to 1957 as catcher for the Brooklyn Dodgers, appeared in the 1947, 1952, 1953, 1955 and 1956 World Series, was selected 8 times as an All-Star, and was inducted into the Baseball Hall of Fame in 1969. He was voted National League MVP 3 times (1951, 1953 and 1955). Campanella learned to speak Spanish rather well thanks to his winter-ball exposure. He would later help Spanish-speaking teammates such as Sandy Amorós. One of the top sluggers of his era, he finished third in the league in homers twice and was fifth once, peaking at 41 long balls. On January 28, 1958, Campanella was involved in a career-ending automobile accident that left him permanently paralyzed. He never played a game in the majors after age 35. He played for the last Brooklyn club and never played for a Los Angeles Dodgers team. Roy Campanella was a surprisingly busy man after he got out of the hospital in late 1958. His health was delicate, but he was still tending to his business ventures (and the misadventures of his wayward stepson David). He attended spring training at Vero Beach and went out to Los Angeles for the big night in his honor at the Los Angeles Coliseum on May 7, 1959. Attendance was 93,103. He appeared at Yonkers Raceway on July 1. In August, he even acted in an episode of the TV show Lassie. Among all these other activities he fit in the formation of a semi-pro ballclub at Ebbets Field called the Brooklyn Stars. Before he died of a heart attack on June 26, 1993, he had continued to serve as an instructor at spring training and as a member of the Dodgers' community-service division in Los Angeles. Elston Gene Howard was born in 1929 in St. Louis, MO and died in 1980 in New York, NY. He played major league baseball from 1955 to 1968 as outfielder for the New York Yankees and the Boston Red Sox, appeared in the 1955, 1956, 1957, 1958, 1960, 1961, 1962, 1963, 1964 and 1967 World Series, and was selected 9 times as an All-Star. Howard was the 1963 American League MVP, and earned Gold Glove Awards in 1963 and 1964. Howard was a trendsetter in many ways. In addition to being the first African-American Yankee, he is also widely credited as the creator of the batting donut. William D. Eckert (Spike) was born in 1909 in Freeport, IL and died in 1971 in Grand Bahama, Bahamas. The little known fourth Commissioner of Baseball, William Eckert is probably the least known of the men who held the office. When Ford Frick announced his retirement, the short list included Joe Cronin, Lee MacPhail, and Gabe Paul but the owners selected General Eckert instead. Eckert was a West Point graduate who later attended Harvard Business School. At the time of his election, he was the ultimate outsider, having not seen a game in person for ten years. In fact one of the oft-repeated quips about him is that someone is supposed to have said, upon hearing of his election "My God, they've just elected the unknown soldier!" Among Eckert's moves in office were voiding Tom Seaver's signing with the Atlanta Braves and overseeing the expansion of 1969. He was asked to resign in 1969, when the owners lost confidence in his leadership. He did so and died two years later while playing tennis in the Bahamas. SKU: XP13184
Item: XP13184
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