Great Photo of Jackie Robinson and Larry Doby!

 

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HodgePodge Photo Gallery of  “Jackie Robinson Family Life” plus  “Memphis Red Sox”
Click on any image below to start Photo Gallery:

 

Check this one out!

That’s Larry Doby and Jackie Robinson from 1953. Who’s sitting on the dugout steps??

Here’s a real neat photo sent to me by my good friend Bob Galliani. That’s Larry Doby on the left and of course Jackie Robinson on the right. But here’s a real surprise…Who do you think is the player on the far left, sitting on the dugout steps?? Take a guess before looking at the answer below. Hint: it’s from 1953.

Thanks to our crack baseball researcher Don Stokes for adding a little more information about this great photo. It was taken during an exhibition game played at Martin Park in Memphis, Tennessee, not too long before the demise of the Negro Leagues in 1954. The man in the middle is Matty Brescia, the long-time public director for the Memphis Red Sox. Not sure who the young lad on the right is. Possibly it’s Jackie Robinson, Jr., who would have been seven in 1953, but we’re not sure. The occasion may have been a Negro League exhibition game which included black ball players who made it to the majors. (I seem to remember something about this along these lines). If anyone can add any more information about the photo, please feel free to add in the comments section below.

Check out the photo gallery above to see a hodge-podge of some of the best photos I could find of Jackie’s family life, along with a few of the Memphis Red Sox, and a couple other surprises. Hope you enjoy it!

 Also, here’s a little information about the Memphis Red Sox (from Wikipedia):

“The Memphis Red Sox formed the western anchor of Southern black baseball from the 1920s through the demise of the Negro Leagues. For the greater part of the 1920s the club played in the Negro National League. At times the team played independently or in the Negro Southern League, but in 1937 the Red Sox became charter members of the new Negro American League. Despite solid lineups, the Red Sox never seemed to live up to their potential during the 1940s, consistently finishing in the league’s middle or lower division. For the greater part of its history the team was owned by J.B. Martin and B.B. Martin of Memphis who built Martin Park on Crump Boulevard for their club, making the Red Sox one the few clubs in the Negro Leagues with their own ballpark.”

Answer to the ball player sitting on the left: It’s none other than a young Ernie Banks! Ernie made his debut with the Cubs on September 17, 1953, so this one was probably taken sometime in 1953 before his call-up to the Cubs. Looks like he’s got on a Kansas City monarchs uniform.

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: The great featured photo was sent by Bob Galliani. It’s from the Collection of the Smithsonian, Museum of African-American History and Culture. The photographer is Ernest C. Withers. All others found on Google search.

Information: Excerpts edited from the Memphis Red Sox Wikipedia page.

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