Thursday, December 17, 2009

From the Big Apple to the Big Leagues: Bob Giallombardo recalls his time with the Dodgers

Lafayette High School's most famous alum might be Hall of Famer Sandy Koufax, but look on the 1958 Los Angeles Dodgers roster, and you will find another lefty pitcher from Brooklyn, Bob Giallombardo. He attended the famed Lafayette alongside Koufax; however, Giallombardo explained why they never played together.

"I tried out for them [Lafayette], in fact, I didn't make it," Giallombardo said during a 2009 phone interview from his North Carolina home. "I thought I did well. I pitched an exhibition game against Brooklyn Academy, where I struck out 14 or 15 guys. I thought I had the job. The coach said, 'You're not quite ready.' I was laughing at him. They classified Koufax as too wild and that he'd never make it as a pitcher. Meanwhile, he set all kinds of records."


Giallombardo enjoyed a strong connection with the Dodgers from young age. He cited an appearance on Happy Felton's Knothole Gang that put him on the same field with his future teammates.

"I was 13 years old and I was on Happy Felton's Knothole Gang," he said. "I went on as an outfielder and I won. I was basically a pitcher and first baseman. They asked me who I wanted to talk to. I asked to speak to Gil Hodges. After I was interviewed, he said, 'Maybe we'll see you in the Dodger clubhouse.' You know, the usual statements. I was there five years later."

The Dodgers scouts kept an eye on Giallombardo throughout his teenage years in Brooklyn. Despite a move to Long Island to finish his high school career, that didn't stop the Dodgers from signing him after he graduated.

"I was being weaned on this since I was like 14, 15 years old," he said. "They followed me since I was a young kid. I lived in Brooklyn and then Long Island. When my class graduated in 1955, I signed with them for the 1956 season. When I signed, they asked me to come down to throw batting practice in spring training with the major league team. That's how it started; it was a good experience."

After posting a 21-7 record with Class C Reno in 1957, he was moved one step away from the majors to Triple-A Montreal in 1958. He recalled how quickly he took off after his promotion.

"In the first month at Montreal, I had seven wins with five shutouts," he said. "The chief Dodger scout Andy High was there, and he had me replace a left-handed pitcher by the name of Danny McDevitt. They sent him down and brought me up. It was exciting for me."

While the rush of playing in the major league was an exhilarating experience for the 21-year-old, an even greater high was his first major league victory. In his fourth start, Giallombardo ran through the Cincinnati Reds lineup, limiting them to two runs in eight-and-a-third innings. Looking back fifty years later, the closing of his first major league victory was a bittersweet event.

"I went eight-and-a-third innings and then Clem Labine came in," he recalled. "They hit into a double play and that ended it. As far as I was concerned, they should have never sent me down."

Giallombardo was just starting to come into his own, reducing his ERA from 7.15 to 3.76 over his last 15 innings for the Dodgers. Being that he was only 21, one would have assumed a return to the Dodgers; however, that winter an injury derailed a promising big-league career.

"They sent me back to Montreal in 1958 and then to winter ball in the Dominican Republic," he said. "That is where I hurt my arm. They operated on me right away at the end of the season in 1958. It wasn't the same after that. I had a fastball that used to jump. Once they cut me [open], it wasn't the same. It didn't hurt anymore, but I didn't have it. I was still young, and I didn't have enough experience to learn how to pitch with what I had. I used to get by overpowering guys, but when you are in your senior years in baseball, you learn how to pitch differently, but I didn't have that experience."

After his surgery, he played three seasons in the Pacific Coast League with Spokane; however, he never regained the form that propelled his meteoric rise to the major leagues. When the Mets started their franchise in 1962, they wanted to sign the lefty local, but he passed when the offer was well below what he made out West.

"In 1962, they tried to send me to Tidewater and give me a big cut in salary," he said. "I had a wife and two children, so that's when I packed it in. I went back home to Brooklyn and knowing Hodges, he opened up a bowling alley, and I became his night manager there for four to five years. Then I went into insurance and construction. I joined the New York City Housing Authority. I retired as a supervisor of roofing."

Upon his retirement, he moved to Waxhaw, North Carolina, to escape the rigors of city life. While it is an unusual place for a Brooklynite, the change of pace has eased the transition for the New York native.

"My daughter, her husband, and my grandchildren were down there," he said. "New York wasn't 'New York' anymore so I made a decision to come down here. I've been down here since 1999. It's a big difference from Brooklyn. I was just telling my wife how serene it is here and how easy things are. The hustle and bustle got to be too much; you couldn't go anywhere without having big lines."



A Fan Weaves a Tale of Fighting and Forgiveness

Bruce Weber wrote a poignant review in the New York Times of Roger Guenveur Smith's one-man show, “Juan and John,” that is being presenting at the Public Theater in Manhattan through December 20th. Weber details an emotional reunion of Juan Marichal and Morgan Fouch Roseboro, the daughter of John Roseboro. Continue reading the story here.

Monday, December 14, 2009

From Rapper to Baseball Collector, the Wild Tale of Peter Nash (aka Pete Nice of 3rd Bass)

Benjamin Wallace of Sports Illustrated wrote an excellent piece on the fluctuations of 1/2 of the 1990's hip hop duo 3rd Bass, "From Rapper To Baseball Collector, The Wild Tale of Peter Nash."


As a tremendous hip hop aficionado, the article on Peter Nash (aka Pete Nice) sparked my interest. I knew he he had a memorabilia museum and shop in Cooperstown, but I did not anticipate the twist in his story.

3rd Annual GNSYAA Lou DeMartino Memorial Christmas Baseball Clinic Dec 26, 2009 at John Jay College

Even though there is snow outside, Spring Training is only two months away. New York City upstarts have a chance to sharpen their skills at the 3rd Annual Greater New York Sandlot Athletic Alliance's Lou Demartino Memorial Christmas Baseball Clinic at John Jay College on December 26th, 2009 from 9am-1pm.
Instructors will include New York City homegrown talent including former Major League pitcher John Halama and prospects Pedro Beato, Matt Rizzotti and James Jones.
The clinic will serve area youngsters ages 11-18. Admission is free, but registration is limited. To register for the clinic, contact tsylvester@ymcanyc.org

Monday, December 7, 2009

Whitey Herzog and Doug Harvey Elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame

Former St. Louis Cardinals Manager Whitey Herzog and Umpire Doug Harvey were elected to the Baseball Hall of Fame by the Veterans Committee on Monday.

Herzog won the 1982 World Series and three NL pennants with the St. Louis Cardinals and three division titles with Kansas City.

Harvey umpired in the National League for 31 seasons before retiring in 1992. He worked five World Series and six All-Star games, and handled more than 4,600 games overall.

The 79-year-old Harvey was picked on 15 of 16 ballots this time, becoming the ninth umpire in the Hall.

The two will be enshrined into the Hall of Fame on July 25.

Wednesday, December 2, 2009

The Brooklyn Dodger who didn't make it - Hampton Coleman's journey with the Dodgers of the 1950s

The future Brooklyn Dodgers of 1952? Look hard in the bottom left-hand corner and you'll see Solomon "Hampton" Coleman. The righty "curveball artist" is the only player pictured that didn't make the major leagues.



His close cut with the Brooklyn Dodgers involved a meteoric rise from the low minors to Triple-A early in his career that crossed paths with some of the finest players in baseball's history.

The 81-year-old Coleman, explained via telephone from his Florida residence in July 2008, how he came so close to becoming a Brooklyn Dodger.

He was first signed by the Boston Red Sox in 1947 and was sent to Roanoke of the Class B Piedmont League. After posting a record of 13-5 with a 3.17 ERA, he was given an invite to major league spring training. What a jump for the young rookie from Red Springs, N.C., to go from the bushes to the big leagues in two years!

The 1948 spring training season allowed Coleman rub elbows with baseball's elite.

"I was in spring training with the Red Sox when I was 20 with Ted Williams, Johnny Pesky, Bobby Doerr, and Dom DiMaggio. I threw batting practice to Williams," Coleman said.

One of his highlights was facing Joe DiMaggio. The Hall of Famer proved to be a tall task for the rookie.

"I pitched against Joe DiMaggio," he said. "There were a few men on base and he hit a home run off of me to win it. The Red Sox had a pitcher Boo Ferriss, and he said, 'Don't worry about it, he's hit home runs off of better pitchers than you!' That picked me up a little bit."

DiMaggio's home run off of Coleman was chronicled in the March 15, 1948 edition of the Prescott Evening Courier.

In only his second professional season, Coleman wasn't flustered by his encounter with DiMaggio. He was sent to Triple-A to play with Louisville of the American Association. After playing the 1948-1950 seasons with Louisville (with a short loan to Seattle of the PCL in 1949), Coleman's next break came courtesy of the Brooklyn Dodgers.

"I was playing in Louisville, and St. Paul was the Dodger team in the American Association," he said. "When Boston was on the verge of winning the pennant that year (1950), they were looking for a pitcher by the name of Harry Taylor to buy. They purchased him from the Dodgers, and the Red Sox gave them any choice of a Triple-A pitcher in their system, so they selected me. That's how I got to the Dodgers. I played with Montreal for a couple of years. Walter Alston was the manager, and when he went to Brooklyn, he took four of us to the Dodgers."

Hampton Coleman 1953 Canadian Exhibit / Author's Collection

Alston was hired as the Dodgers manager in 1954 and it was the break that Coleman needed. During the winter, Coleman chose to go to Cuba to sharpen his skills in preparation for his big break.

He pitched the 1951-52 winter season with Almendares and 1952-53 winter season with Marianao in Cuba. Many veterans reached out to help, including pitching tips from a future Hall of Famer.

"Do you remember Hoyt Wilhelm?" he asked. "He was down there. I was trying to get another pitch, and he was helping me with a knuckleball to use as an out pitch. He helped me a lot."

Discussing Cuba evoked the memories of some of his legendary teammates. Another Hall of Fame teammate he prominently recalled was Ray Dandridge,

"I played with him in the Cuban winter leagues," Coleman recalled. "The first time I saw him was with Louisville against Minneapolis in the American Association. He was a great third baseman; he was like a vacuum cleaner, anything that came his way, he scooped up. He was a terrific fielder and good hitter. I absolutely thought he should have been a major league player. He was a tough man to get out."

The Dodgers sent many of their prospects including a left-hander who later became the club's greatest ambassador. Coleman explained how Tommy Lasorda displayed the makings of a future manager while he was an active player.

"The years I was in Cuba, I played with him, as well as two-and-a-half years in Montreal," he said. "Lasorda was managing the whole time he was playing. He was a motivator from day one. He didn't like to see anybody loafing. He'd get on your case if you were losing. Nobody loses more than a player that is loafing. I spent a lot of time with Tommy."

Despite the legendary connections he made, a car accident towards the end of the 1953-54 winter season in Cuba derailed his chances of making the Dodgers club.

"I had my wreck at the end of the season on my way to Cuba for the third year down there," he said. "I had a car accident and almost got killed. I fell out of the car on my shoulder. I was a right-handed pitcher and I could never gain any momentum again. The doctors said I would never pitch again. Later on, when technology improved, they said they could have fixed my shoulder in two hours!"

The doctors were wrong about Coleman pitching again. He returned in time for spring training, and Alston held to his word, giving Coleman a shot in February 1954. Unfortunately, Coleman knew he was at the end of the line.

"It was pretty much the end of my career. I had nothing left on the ball."

He was there long enough to be included in the Dodgers 1954 spring training team photo but lasted only 10 games at Montreal. His final season came in 1955 with Double-A Fort Worth and Mobile, where he posted a combined record of 4-11 in 20 appearances.

Tuesday, December 1, 2009

Tommy Henrich, 96, "Old Reliable" Last Memeber of the 1938 Yankees 1913-2009

According to a report published by the Associated Press former New York Yankee outfielder Tommy Henrich died on Tuesday December 1, 2009 at the age of 96. He was nicknamed "Old Reliable" after a train which ran from Ohio to Alabama by Yankees broadcaster Mel Allen for his knack of getting a hit just when it was needed. Henrich was the last link to the 1938 World Series Team, as well as the last living teammate of Lou Gehrig. Henrich reportedly admitted taking three years off of his age to compensate for having played softball instead of baseball growing up. If this is the case, Henrich was between the ages of 96-99 at the time of his passing.