Archive for the ‘Pensacola Dons’ Category
Several More Pitchers For The Dons …
As usual, I do not have a name for this player, but I am just impressed with the intensity that this pitcher is throwing with for a photographer to take a picture. Also, notice how sharp the fence in the backfield is the photograph. You can read all of the business names very easily … Hill-Kelly Dodge, National Laundry, Fisher-Brown Insurance, W.B. Wood Appliances, etc. I have one other pitcher that I have cleaned-up a little to post …
This guy is throwing with some power, also. I hope that they looked this intense in a real game as they did when my father was taking their photographs. I mentioned in an earlier post that I am interested in seeing if anyone out there might a color photo of the team showing their uniforms and if anyone happened to have shot some footage with a movie camera at any of their games. If anyone ever runs across any of the two, please contact me through this blog. Thanks for looking and if anyone out there recognizes either of these two players, please let me know and if you have any comments let mu hear them … Frank
A Few More From The Dons File …
These two images are ones that I found in my files from the Dons, but neither one have anything to do with the baseball team. The photo above is the secretary / office manager / business manager … I guess she was the one that kept the wheels on the truck for the Dons. Notice the bare concrete block walls in the office. I do not believe that sheet rock was used in the construction industry until the late 1960’s or even the 1970’s. I know that most houses built in the late 1950’s used a type of plaster over plywood on room walls. If anyone is familiar with the construction industry in the 1950’s and 1960’s could tell us about the plaster walls and tell us when sheet rock started being used. The photo envelopes in the right hand corner was the type of photo mailers used back in the 50’s. I have one or two of these laying around, but I know I have not seen one used in thirty five years or so. The photo below is one that was from the body building contest photos that I forgot to include. I do not know who these guys are, but they look vaguely familiar … I am sure some one out there will recognize one of these guys.
One more thing, if anyone out there has a color photograph showing a player or the team, I would be interested in seeing the photo. All of the photos that I have of the team are all black and whites. I am interested in seeing what color the Dons team logo is on the player’s uniforms. Also, if anyone ever runs across a home movie made at one the Dons games, please let me hear from you. It is funny that there can not be any film shot during a Dons game that is lying around in someone’s file cabinet On the other hand, I do not think that the home movie business started until the 60’s. You had color transparency film back in the 1950’s and a little in the 1940’s, however it was used mostly by the military and the magazine photographers. Color film for the general consumer was not available until the 1960’s and I wanted to say mid-1960’s before it became common place.
Well, that is all I have for this post. Let me hear from hear if you come across any color movie film or color photographs on the Dons. I hope everyone has a safe Fourth of July. It is hard to believe that 2014 is half over and that Christmas is just around the corner. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Pensacola Dons with Bo Belinsky …
This is a group photo of the pitching staff of the Pensacola Dons from 1959. I am not 100% on the year, but I am pretty sure that was the year. Belinsky in the the back row on the far right side. I do not have a clue who any of the other pitchers are at this point … I will have to do some checking and see if I can find some names. I ran across a folder that I have scanned, but I have not cleaned any of the photos up and gotten ready to post. There might be 40 or so negatives that I have scanned in this folder. Some negatives are of a group of male body builders in their bathing suites and some girls giving them their awards. I have posted a photo of a beauty queen receiving a trophy from a ball player, but I have not done anything with the guys. I guess management figured if they did something for the men in the stands that they had better do something for the women so that they would not have a riot on their hands. I will work them up in the next few weeks and post them. Maybe the Blue Wahoos could learn a thing or two from the Dons, however the way that they pack that new stadium every game, they are certainly doing something right because it sure ain’t the way that they are playing!! Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
One more thing, here is a link to Bo Belinsky’s Wikipedia page. He was really an interesting guy, so just google him and read about him ….
Mrs. Babe Ruth in Pensacola …
Back in the late 1950’s, a Babe Ruth baseball team from Pensacola won the national Babe Ruth Baseball Championship. It was a real honor for a small town baseball team to beat out all of the other teams from all of the fifty states. Mrs. Babe Ruth came to Pensacola to present the winning team a trophy and while she was here, she took in a Dons’ baseball game. My father made a photo of her with the team. I also recently ran across a news clipping in the local paper about her coming to Pensacola and I also found a nice looking drawing of the “Babe” that I am including.
If any one was in attendance at any of the festivities, please let us hear from you. The drawing of Babe Ruth and the news clipping are courtesy of my good friend, Rusty Bizzell. His uncle , who is in the newspaper clipping, was the coach of the Babe Ruth team that won. Thanks for looking and please check back … Frank
Pensacola Dons Player ” Youngdahl ” …
This Dons player’s name was ” Youngdahl “. I do not know anything about what what position he played or any of his stats. The thing that is funny to me is the guy way in the back behind the fence … I do not know what he is doing or if he even knew that he was in the photograph, but I guess people have always been people in the background trying to make fools of themselves. Here is the same photo below that was worked on with the Lucis Art Filter …
The filter really accentuates the details in a b&w photo … the guy in the background and the ads on the back wall, along with the dirt in the outfield, all have a distinct and different look from just a straight b&w scan / print. Thanks for looking and commenting … I have been busy with other things and have not spent much time on this blog lately. I have found a stack of negatives that I found years ago, but put somewhere so that I would not lose them and ended up miss-placing them until a week ago. I have not scanned any of the negative s and I plan to do so in the next few weeks, please check back. Thanks again for looking … Frank
Pensacola Dons Players …
I have a few of the Don’s here that I have worked up … this player was named Robbins and that is all I know. I think that it is good action photo and I enjoy looking at all of the business’ signs on the back fence.
This player’s name is Moore … they sure did not spare the resin on the bag. I cannot remember ever seeing this much resin on a bag. Maybe they just over did it for the photo, but this is a nice photo of the guy stretching out waiting for a ground ball.
This player’s name was Whitehead and they did not spare the resin on this bag, either. That is all of Don’s that I have worked up. I hope this brings back some fond memories and just think, spring training is just around the corner … sort of. Thanks for looking and let me know if you recognize or remember any of these players … Frank
WSRE’s ” History of Baseball in Pensacola ” …
This is an ad that I clipped from the WSRE site advertising the airing of the next “Baseball in Pensacola”. I saw the first airing on November 8 and it was Part 1 of the history. Part 2 is interviews with baseball players from Pensacola that went on to play in the majors and I missed that one. So, I am not sure what the Friday November 23 show will be, but it will be a repeat of one of the two episodes or it might be both. You will just have to tune in and see, but if you are a fan of baseball or a history buff of Pensacola, you will enjoy what you see. Some of my father’s photos of the Pensacola Dons was used, as were some of his views of Pensacola from the 40′, 50’s and 60’s are scattered through the first episode. I know that they will show it again and if you missed it now, I am sure that it will be re-broadcast in the future. Plus, I am sure that copies of it will be for sale … just go to WSRE’s site here. Thanks again for WSRE for thinking of me / my father. Please check back later and thanks for looking … Frank
Baseball at Admiral Mason Park …
This is one that I just ran across the other day … I do not have a clue who the ball – player is, but it is a good photo of the Admiral Mason Ball Park. How about that press-box up top? It sort of makes you wonder if you need to spend over 50 million dollars to play a game of baseball? Let’s see, with interest that $50,000,00 turns into $80,000,00 + . What a deal!!! The new Community Ball – Park starts looking like a steel every time you run the numbers … All I can say is ” Play Ball and More Ball and More Ball … ” Thanks for looking …
Pensacola Baseball Players 1958 …
This is a group photo that my father made back in 1958. The old Admiral Mason Ball Park sure had nothing on the new Blue Wahoos stadium … and how about this infield grass? I doubt that this infield had any sub-surface, drainage run-off system. And you know, if Jerry Pate had put this grass down, his days in the turf business would be numbered! Don’t forget these bleachers … my dad did the photography back then for the Dons as a trade-out for one of their so-called ” boxes “. I can remember going to the games and sitting in the box and then running around with all the other kids at the game … something a kid never forgets – a real high point! One thing that this ball park and the new CMP ball park have in common is that they were both built across the street from a sewage plant. How many of you can remember that sewage plant that was down at the end of 9th Avenue? Please share any memories that you have of the old Admiral Mason Ball Park … I, for one, would be interested in hearing them! Thanks for looking …
Update: After looking at this photo for a while, I believe this is a group of different ball team players from the past and not a group shot of the Dons. Notice how the players seem to be wearing several different uniforms fro past Pensacola Ball Clubs … Senators, Dons, etc. Also, these guys look a little too old to be playing everyday. This could have been a player reunion promotion put on by the Dons, since they were always doing something to fill the stands. What do you think?
Ballpark Beauty Contest …
This is something that the Blue Wahoos might to consider … A Beauty Contest … Miss Blue Wahoo. Sort of has a nice ring to it. My father made this photo down at the old Admiral Mason Ball Park when the Pensacola Dons were playing. They must have had a beauty contest and this pretty young lady was the winner. You can see all of the other contestants in the background. I also ran across a men’s body building contest, but it is in bad shape and have not wanted to bother taking the time to clean it up. I had posted this photo up on my old blog and someone told me who the radio announcer is, but I cannot find his name anywhere. I am sure someone out there knows … also, if anyone recognizes the ball player or young lady, please let us know. I would guess that this was around 1957 or 58. Thanks for looking …
UPDATE: The man with the microphone is Don Griffith. Someone had emailed me that information a while back when I had the other blog and I could not find where I had put his name. Back on Saturday, April 7, 2012, Earl Bowden had written an article in the Pensacola News Journal on the ” Opinion Page ” about the history of Pensacola Baseball through the years. He mentioned the ” melodius WCOA broadcaster Don Meredith ” in his article and when I read that I remembered the announcer’s name. If you can find the article ( I do not know if you can go on-line and access past articles from the PNJ … if you cannot, maybe contact them and ask how you can locate the article ) it is very interesting and entertaining … as are all the articles that Mr. Bowden writes for the Pensacola News Journal. The only thing that I do not like is that Mr. Bowden is limited to only one column – they should give him several, since everything he writes is so interesting! As usual, all comments are appreciated …
Frank Hardy Made My Photographs Two 
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