Brooklyn Dodgers, 1955 World Series Parade

In honor of the opening of Spring Training:

Since the guy in picture doesn’t need to be identified, I’ll explain how I came into these photos.

When I was growing up, my father ran a camera store. This was in the age of the darkroom. He would make enlargements, copy negs, and do some retouching and restoration for customers. Some private investigators would bring their surveillance photos to him to be printed. I spent a lot of time in his darkroom, so much so that even as an adult I actually enjoy the smell of photo chemistry.

The little girl on Jackie Robinson’s lap was (eventually) one of my dad’s customers. When she was the toddler in the photo, her parents were somehow connected to the O’Malley or Ebbets families. The connection got her a prime viewing spot at the 1955 World Series parade–at the Ebbets Field staging grounds. This photo and the three that follow were all taken as the parade was starting.

When she was an adult, she brought the photos to my father for new prints and negatives. He had the foresight to make some copies for himself. He then lost his copies in the shuffle of a family move. They were re-discovered a few weeks ago, and he made some scans and prints (digital, now) for me. There’s no accompanying photo chemistry smell, but it’s much easier to share the pictures.

Also, the guy with his back to the camera is Don Zimmer.

That’s Duke Snider at center, and Walter O’Malley to his left.

According to the woman who gave these photos to my dad, the guy on the left is Gil Hodges. I think it looks more like Frank Kellert, Hodges’s back-up at first base.

On the right is Pee Wee Reese.

This is Charlie “The Brow” DiGiovanna, the bat boy. The Brow was famous for being the actual signator of much of the Dodgers “autographed” memorabilia. There are articles on autograph hound web sites with tips on how to spot The Brow’s forgeries.

When the Dodgers moved to LA, The Brow moved with them. O’Malley bought him a house in Chavez Ravine.