Another Edition of “From the Lighter Side!” “Ah…You can’t beat fun at the old ball park!” 

Subscribe to Baseball History Comes Alive! to receive new posts automatically

Weekly Poll Question: Do you think Gil Hodges belongs in the Hall of Fame?

“Women and Baseball from Days Gone By” Photo Gallery
Click on any image below to see photos in full size and to start Photo Gallery:

It’s the middle of winter, we just got two inches of snow, Opening Day is still 75 days away…that means the time is right for another edition of:

“From the Lighter Side!” 

“Ah…You can’t beat fun at the old ball park!”

…As Harry Caray used to say!

Who knows, according to my source, this entertaining little fashion display was put on before a game a Ebbets Field in the late 1940s. If perchance the Dodgers were playing the Cardinals that day, Harry might have even been there! Even if he wasn’t, I’ve got a feeling he would have enjoyed it. Can’t you just hear him say to his partner at the time, Gabby Street: “Ho-o-ly Cow, Gabby! Ah…You can’t beat fun at the old ball park!”

I don’t know about you, but every once in a while I need a break from looking at male ball players in dirty baggy uniforms every day. And after a lot of “heavy writing” the past couple weeks, I decided I could go for something a little bit different, a little more entertaining, a little bit lighter…

So here’s a something to “spice” things up a bit. I’m starting a new category, which we can “broadly” (ahem…pardon the pun!) call “Women in Baseball from Days Gone By,” or something like that…

Shop MLB.com. The Official Online Shop of Major League Baseball.

The great featured photo below is one of my favorites. It’s from a dugout fashion show from the 1940’s at Ebbets Field. As they used to say back then, “There’s some real ‘lookers’ in that there lineup, I’ll tell ya’!” I can’t make out too many faces in the dugout, although I see Carl Furillo on the far right. In the front left are three Brooklyn sportswriters.

Boy…Have times changed or what?? Pretty tame stuff, huh? Can you imagine what something like this would look like today?? Well, as a matter of fact, I can but I really don’t want to think about it…

I wouldn’t be surprised to learn that these gals are wives and girlfriends of the Brooklyn players. If you use your imagination, you can almost hear some of the “non-politically correct” chatter coming from the Brooklyn dugout and club house. Here’s a sample I put together, using a little 1930s-’40s lingo of course!:

“Hey you bums… take a gander at that number two up there…a real knockout, a real hot tamale. Then get an eye-full of number three, she’s a real sugar plum. That fourth tomato’s definitely a looker! I heard that little sea biscuit in the fifth spot is Furillo’s latest squeeze. That kitten could have any creep she wants. What’s a good-lookin’ doll-face like her doin’ with an eye-sore like Furillo anyhow? How’s he rate?”

Haha! Meanwhile, the Dodger players and the sports writers in the dugout are sort of pretending they’re not paying too much attention to the “eye candy” display put on for their benefit…but we know better, don’t we!

Please feel free to add any “snide” remarks in the comments section below. But keep it clean…Remember this is a family operation, ya’ know! 

Don’t forget to check out the photo gallery above to see a few more pics from my “broadly” named category, “Women in Baseball from Days Gone By,” celebrating some of the better known baseball wives, girlfriends, mothers, daughters, and members of the All American Girls Professional Baseball League. It even includes a few of MM herself, Marilyn Monroe!”

-Gary Livacari

Photo Credits: Featured photo form “The Brooklyn Dodgers Photography of Barney Stein”; All others from Google search

Countdown until Opening Day, March 28, 2019:  75 days…and counting!

Voice your opinion on our new weekly blog question. This week: Does Gil Hodges belong in the Hall of fame? 

Check out my two books, both now available on Amazon in e-book and paperback:  “Paul Pryor in His Own Words: The Life and TImes of a 20-Year Major League Umpire”and “Memorable World Series Moments.” All profits go to the Illinois Veterans Foundation

We are a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for us to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites. Click here to view Amazon’s privacy policy