THE BROOKLYN DODGERS - PRINTED ART SIGNED CO-SIGNED BY: RANDY "HANDSOME RANSOM" JACKSON, ANDY "HANDY ANDY" PAFKO, TOMMY HOLMES, JOHNNY PODRES, ELMER VALO, DON "NEWK" NEWCOMBE, JOE PIGNATANO, RALPH "HAWK" BRANCA, ROGER CRAIG - HFSID 288285

BROOKLYN DODGERS
Large color poster of Ebbets Field, signed by 10 former members of the much loved team, which left Flatbush more than half a century ago but have never been forgotten
Poster signed: "Johnny Podres", "Andy Pafko", "Elmer Valo", "Tommy Holmes", "Don Newcombe", "Roger Craig", "Joe Pignatano", "Ralph Branca" and "Randy Jackson" and 1 unidentified signature. Color, 22½x16. In all 10 signers. Brooklyn's big league baseball franchise, formed as the Brooklyn Atlantics in 1884, and then known by names such as Bridegrooms, Superbas and Robins, became the Brooklyn Dodgers in 1932. They were the first Major League club to defy the color barrier when Jackie Robinson took the field in 1947. The team brought the first of nine National League pennants to Brooklyn in 1916, but fans there had to wait until 1955 to witness their first and only World Championship, when the cross-town rival New York Yankees finally fell to the team long known affectionately as "the Bums." Sadly, the Dodgers departed for Los Angeles before the 1958 season. Historic Ebbets Field, the team's home from 1913, was demolished in 1960. The signers here were among the dwindling number of men who played in the Brooklyn Dodgers uniform. They represent Dodger rosters between 1944, when Branca arrived on the club. Podres, Newcombe, Valo, Jackson and Pignatano were all members of the last Brooklyn team (1957). Since signing this poster, at least two of these legends (Podres and Valo) have passed away. As of early 2011, only about 60 players survive who wore the Brooklyn uniform. Fine condition