Wednesday, November 25, 2020

New Antonelli Piece

 What a year, amirite? In some ways it has been a lost year.  But, we are heading into the most wonderful season of the year: no yard work season!  

Well, that isn't entirely true as we had a huge ice storm the last week of October and I lost a lot of branches off my trees.  The cleanup, however, is mostly done.  I am referring, of course, to the holiday season.  Because we have the farm, and live so far from family, we haven't travelled back for the holidays in a fair number of years.  We usually have other local "orphans" over for Thanksgiving and Christmas dinner.  

This year, with COVID obviously, that won't be happening. The situation was further complicated when my 92 year old mother-in-law came down sick and had to spend some time in the hospital.  My wife drove back to Ohio to help her sister care for her mother while she recovered her strength and got back on her feet.  So, she missed my birthday last weekend and will probably be up there for at least another week and a half. So, I'll be spending Thanksgiving alone, as well.  My wife and I have been together for 30 years (married for 28) so it is a bit odd to be a bachelor again.  But, I adapted quickly by reverting to eating poorly, and not cleaning up after myself.  

Anyways, do not mourn for me.  I am very fortunate that I have many blessings in my life.  And, while this holiday will be odd, I am happy that better days are ahead for us all.

Anyways, I recently added a new piece to my Johnny Antonelli player collection; the first since August and, as near as I can tell, only the second so far in 2020.



This is an advertising postcard from 1957 for Knickerbocker Beer showing Antonelli with Giants play by play announcer Russ Hodges.  At 7" by 9", it is larger than a normal post card and it appears to intended to send to retailers and not fans. I haven't found much information on these and have only seen 3 other, different versions with manager Bill Rigney, third base coach Tommy Henrich, and All Star outfielder Willie Mays.  This version is pristine with a surface gloss that belies the fact that it is 63 years old.

So, how did "sure bet" Antonelli do in 1957?  Did he make it to 20 games?  Not exactly. He went 12-18 with a 3.77 ERA for the Giants in their final season in New York.

What I am listening to:  Bum Rush by Body Count

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