Picture of the day..Friday September 20, 2013...... Memories of a terrible trade

[mchenrycards]

Todays picture is one I had in my collection until recently as I had picked it up when I worked for the Chicago Cubs as it was being tossed in the trash. This photo was taken by Cubs official photographer Barney Sterling around 1962 and features a youthful former Cub, Lou Brock making a leaping attempt at a fly ball up against the Wrigley Field wall. Notice the fact that there is no basket on the wall and also notice that Brock is wearing a Cubs uniform and not the Cardinals as he was known for wearing. This photo always brings up "what if" thoughts in Cubs fans mind and one has to wonder what kind of career would Brock have had if he remained a Cub.

So please enjoy todays photo of former Cub and Cardinal Hall of Famer Lou Brock.

Today is also Friday which is the day I try to feature photos that were taken by FCB members. Well, since nobody sent me any to feature I will use a photo I had found that was taken from the box seats and features Joe DiMaggio at Sportsmans Park in St. Louis in an afternoon game against the St. Louis Browns. For those who never heard of the Browns, they used to be the doormat of the American league until they moved to Baltimore in 1954 and became the Baltimore Orioles.

The intersting thing about this photo is that it was taken on June 7, 1941 which would put that smack in the middle of DiMaggio's 56 game hitting streak .

If anyone has photos they have taken that they would like to be featured on Fridays please forward them to me and I will make sure they get posted.

 

[RStadlerASU22]

As always great stories behind the pics. If Brock would have stayed a Cub, that's probably how he would have played his whole career, since well it's the Cubs.

Ryan

 

[dbacksfan4life]

Thanks for posting a picture a day! It seems like each day it gets better and better!

 

[bmc398]

Hey, nobody went to baseball games then either!

 

[James52411]

Awesome picture. I've really enjoyed this one and the Weeghman Park photo you posted.

 

[mchenrycards]

Hey, nobody went to St. Louis Browns games then either!

Fixed it for you!!

The St. Louis Browns were one of the worst teams in the league and for decades they never drew over 600K fans per year and this includes the only year they went to the World Series in 1944. It wasnt until 1946 when the Browns actually cracked the million mark in fan attendance when many other teams hit that mark years earlier. This lack of fan attendance is why then owner Bill Veeck used gimmicks such as letting fans be the manager for the day (By holding up cue cards to the on field manager telling him what to do) and using a midget (not my word...the word of the time) named Eddie Gaedel to hit in a major league ball game. The Cardinals and Browns shared Sportsman's Park for years until the Browns left for greener pastures in Baltimore.

 

[mchenrycards]

Awesome picture. I've really enjoyed this one and the Weeghman Park photo you posted.

Thanks for the kind words. This has actually been fun to dig out my scans and look over all these pictures, trying to decide which one's everyone will like. I will keep posting as long as people keep looking.

 

[dano7]

I remember Brock as a Cub. As for the lack of attendance, you must remember that games were primarily in the afternoons in 1941. Anyway, who wants to get dressed up and put on a fancy hat to go to a ballgame.
DANNY

 

[200lbhockeyplayer]

The collegiate debut of UNC freshman right-hander Matt Harvey. February 26, 2008.

The catcher...Tim Federowicz. The first-baseman...Dustin Ackley. The right-fielder...Tim Fedroff. The second-baseman...Kyle Seager.

 

[Super Mario]

I thought this was going to be about Dan Haren and Mark Mulder.

 

[ASTROBURN]

Still lovin the pics!

 

[rsmath]

This photo always brings up "what if" thoughts in Cubs fans mind and one has to wonder what kind of career would Brock have had if he remained a Cub.

one thing is for sure, he wouldn't have two rings on his fingers had he remained a Cub!