Boys and Their Balls - Part 19a

Baseball (Vintage)

Baseball is the all-American game, and it has been for a long time.  Here's a GIF of a pitcher made from Eadweard Muybridge's stop-action photographs in his book Animal Locomotion, 1887.

Here's a batter, also from Muybridge's 1887 book.

Behind the batter crouches the catcher.  I think he's missing a piece of protective equipment.

The baseball itself has a rubber or cork center and is covered in white leather.

Physique photographer Dave Martin liked to photograph Stanford University students.  This is Stanford athlete Cliff Harris with a baseball bat in 1968.

I have a number of photos of professional baseball players.  This is the legendary Mel Ott (left) with an unidentified teammate.  Ott played for the New York Giants from 1926 to 1947.  In those days the New York Giants were a baseball team, not football, before they became the San Francisco Giants.

Joe DiMaggio, considered one of the greatest baseball players of all time, with another unidentified player.  DiMaggio played for the New York Yankees from 1936 to 1951.  He was briefly married to Marilyn Monroe, and even after they divorced he was devoted to her.  After her death he had red roses put on her grave every week for 20 years.

Stan Musial, another baseball great, played for the St. Louis Cardinals from 1941 to 1963.  He's not naked in this 1952 photo by LIFE photographer Francis Miller, but the VPL (visible penis line) in his underwear doesn't leave much to the imagination.

Del Crandall, at center, was a catcher for the Milwaukee Braves from 1953 to 1963.

Hal Newhouser played for the Cleveland Indians in 1954-1955.  Earlier, playing for the Detroit Tigers, he was the dominating pitcher of the WWII era.

Mickey Mantle was the star hitter of the New York Yankees in the 1950s and early 1960s.

We end with this letter from Mickey in 1973 (click to see a larger copy).  Yankees management sent him a form letter asking what was his outstanding experience at Yankee Stadium.  Mickey responded:

I got a blow job under the right field bleachers by the Yankee bull pen.  It was about the third or fourth inning.  I had a pulled groin and couldn't fuck at the time.  She was a very nice girl and asked me what to do with the cum after I came in her mouth.  I said don't ask me, I'm no cock sucker.

Signed, Mickey Mantle, the All-American Boy

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Tomorrow we'll look at some more recent baseball players.