Dodger Fandom Made Ebbets Field Special

The Dodgers welcomed their passionate fans into Ebbets Field as the fans welcomed “Dem Bums” into their homes and businesses.

by Rich Watson

Months ago, I outlined the Dodgers’ fandom when the team still lived in Brooklyn. To one not of that time, it’s hard to appreciate the tightness of the ties that bound that team to that place, and their point of convergence: Ebbets Field. 

When I was younger, I dated a girl from Flatbush. She lived only minutes from the former site. At the time, neither of us knew much, if anything, about Dem Bums and what being part of that community meant.

Its like won’t be seen again.

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Hometown Manager Has Eyes For New Owner in “It Happened in Flatbush,” With William Frawley

Lloyd Nolan and Carole Landis star in this vintage baseball romantic comedy, also featuring a future legend of the early TV era.

by Rich Watson

This post is part of what’s known as a blogathon. That’s when a bunch of bloggers gather to write about a given topic. This one is called “The What a Character Blogathon,” devoted to supporting actors from the Golden Age of Hollywood. In my previous blog I took part in it for years, and 2021 marks its tenth anniversary. At the end I’ll tell you where you can read more entries in this event.

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In 1951, William Frawley was sixty-four, a veteran of not only a hundred-plus movies, but vaudeville as well. Rumor had it, though, he was an alcoholic and difficult to work with. It seemed he was approaching the end of his career in entertainment.

Then he heard about an opportunity in the new medium of television: a sitcom about a ditzy housewife and her musician husband. The show was looking for a duo to play their neighbors, an older married couple. Frawley, eager to land the role of the husband in the older couple, called the lead actors and co-creators of the new program: Lucille Ball and Desi Arnaz. 

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