"The Amazin' Willie Mays" - was the title of an article by Ed Fitzgerald in the November, 1951 issue of SPORT Magazine. "Excitement trails this Giant rookie sensation as surely as thunder follows lightning. He's armed with all the skills of a real superstar" (page 35) | |
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IN THIS ISSUE -
A Willie Mays Special!
Scroll down for more info:
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Dear Rare Sportsfilms Subscriber,
We here at Rare Sportsfilms as well as the entire Baseball World this week are mourning the passing of one of our favorite baseball stars of the past, Willie Howard Mays. Words cannot truly express our grief just as they can hardly measure the greatness of his play during his 26-year professional baseball career. We're saddened especially as he was to be honored this very week by old friends and baseball officials at Rickwood Field, the oldest standing professional baseball park still in use today, and one where he used to play while still in high school. Say Hey Willie, Rest In Peace. We all loved ya!
Doak Ewing, President
RARE SPORTSFILMS,INC.
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September, 1966
Thanks to Rare Sportsfilms, this long-lost TV documentary is now available on DVD! Willie Mays fans will especially enjoy this beautiful COLOR feature on Mays created almost 60 years ago! Not only is it an in-depth look at the Giants superstar, it concentrates on Mays during the final two weeks of the down-to-the-wire '66 N.L. pennant race between the Dodgers, Giants and Pittsburgh Pirates! This DVD includes all of the original TV commercials and Mays himself speaks often in this film, commenting on facing Sandy Koufax, knockdown pitches, baseball superstitions, playing momentum, thoughts on his boyhood and why the Giants came on strong at the end of the 1966 season. But the real story of 1966 is the climax of the pennant race, with actual scenes of games showing the Mets, Braves, Pirates, Dodgers and Phillies in the great old ballparks such as Forbes Field and Connie Mack Stadium! Particularly outstanding are beautiful color shots of Juan Marichal, Gaylord Perry, Koufax, Don Drysdale, Richie Allen and Roberto Clemente!
1 Hour, Color
$29.95 + $4.20 S & H
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Narrated by Charlie Einstein, the B & W TV special "Man Named Mays" is a candid, inside look at one of the greatest ballplayers of our time, and his career with the New York and
San Francisco Giants up through the 1963 season. Not just a look at Willie's overall career (to that point), it's also a behind-the-scenes peek at "modern day" 1963 Willie Mays. After being a hero for the 1954 World Champion Giants, Mays had to prove himself all over again to the fans in the Bay Area when the club moved west in 1958. Mays talks about his early years in San Francisco and during the historical segment on his early life, Mays is shown as a boy in Birmingham and a brief shot catches him batting in the minors. Leo Durocher comments on Willie's first days in the majors in 1951. Reference to the famous Dodger-Giant pennant playoff is made and Mays is on deck when Thomson hits "the shot heard around the world". Mays talks about 'the catch" in 1954 and mention is also made of the similarity to game three of the 1962 pennant playoff to the third game in '51, exactly 11 years earlier to the day!
Many highlights of Mays' career are shown in this DVD. Included is his big night in Milwaukee when he hit four home runs in one game. There's Willie Mays night at the Polo Grounds, the signing of his $105,000 contract for 1963, his play in the 1963 All-Star Game, his 400th home run vs Cardinals and his 2,000th hit five days later.
Included are comments from baseball personalities who each give their opinions on Mays based on their own experience: Alvin Dark, Mets manager Casey Stengel, Braves manager Bobby Bragan and Stan Musial. You'll go behind the scenes into the Giants clubhouse and visit Willie's Forest Hills home overlooking San Francisco and you'll hear Mays himself talk about several topics, such as the weather at Candlestick Park and why he would rather play games at night, the day Dark asked him to play shortstop and why he did not like playing in games with his father as a young boy. As the '63 pennant race reaches its climax, ride along to the game with Willie in his car as he discusses how he plays against the Dodgers, how he feels about getting hit by pitches, the story of his much publicized collapse at home plate during a game, and plans for his son Michael and for his own future after his playing days are over.
B & W, 51 Minutes
$29.95 + $4.20 shipping & handling
Note: Only $25 when ordering with "Portrait of Willie Mays"
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1933-1957
THE ALL-STAR GAME-
"From Ruth to Mays"
(See Special Offer Below):
This DVD covers the very first All-Star Game in 1933 and all the rest through 1957, except 1940 and 1943. Early scenes are from rare newsreels through 1954, before Major League Baseball made its first All-Star Game film covering the 1955 classic at County Stadium, Milwaukee. All film through 1955 is B & W, however the 1956 and 1957 games are in beautiful COLOR! There is "All-Star Preview" bonus footage from 1955 and 1957 and a special menu, so you can select any one of the eight films that make up this entire program! Watch all the great baseball stars of the 1930's through the 1950's in action: Babe Ruth, Carl Hubbell, Lou Gehrig, Jimmy Foxx, Joe Cronin, Al Simmons, Lefty Gomez, the DiMaggio brothers, the Cooper brothers, Dizzy Dean, Lefty Grove, Johnny Vander Meer, Luke Appling, Arky Vaughan, Rip Sewell, Ted Williams, Bob Feller, Satchell Paige, Rudy York, Lou Boudreau, Roy Campanella, Jackie Robinson, Bobby Shantz, Curt Simmons, Hank Sauer, Ralph Kiner, John Mize, Enos Slaughter, Johnny Sain, Richie Ashburn, Mickey Vernon, Tommy Henrich, Red Schoendienst, Stan Musial, Eddie Mathews, Hank Aaron, Gene Conley Ted Kluszewski, Al Rosen, Mickey Mantle, Robin Roberts, Roy McMillan, Frank Robinson, Duke Snider, Gil Hodges, Minnie Minoso, Yogi Berra, Al Kaline, Whitey Ford, Herb Score, Jim Bunning, Nellie Fox, Harvey Kuenn, Ernie Banks, Billy Pierce, Bob Friend, Warren Spahn, Willie Mays and many, many more!
1 Hour, 50 minutes, B & W and Color
$29.95 + $4.20 shipping & handling
NOTE: Only $5 when also ordering "Portrait of Willie Mays" & "Man Named Mays"!
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Special LIMITED TIME OFFER on our three Mays DVDs:
$AVE $34.00! Get our 3 Mays DVDs - "Man Named Mays", "Portrait of Willie Mays" and "The All-Star Game, From Ruth to Mays" - (over 3 1/2 hours of viewing) for only $64 PPD!!
(Illinois residents must add $4.20 state sales tax)
OR:
Any 10 DVDs for only $230.00 PPD !!
IE: Get our three Mays DVDs and any 7 of our other
DVDs for only $230.00 PPD !
(Select from the list on our website here)
Call us at 630-527-8890 to order by credit card. We accept
Mastercard and Visa. To order by mail, send your check or
Money order payable to Rare Sportsfilms, Inc. to:
Rare Sportsfilms News
1126 Tennyson Lane
Naperville, IL 60540
If you would like to know more about other sports films now available on high-quality DVD, call us at:
630-527-8890
or visit our website at
www.raresportsfilms.com.
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TRADE SHOW SCHEDULE FOR 2024
The trade shows that Rare Sportsfilms participates in throughout the year are excellent venues at which to meet other collectors with similar interests and visit in person with Rare Sportsfilms. We are always offering specials at our booth where you can also ask to see any DVD you may be interested in! Normally we will have an inventory of 150-250 different DVDs available at any show.
Here is our Schedule for 2024:
July 24-28, 2024 - "The National Sports Collector's Convention", The IX Convention Center, Cleveland. This is the BIG one - the greatest sports collectors show in the world! Click here for more info at www.NSCCShow.com
November 22-24, 2024 - "The Chicago Sports Spectacular" annual Thanksgiving sports memorabilia show, Stephens Convention Center, Rosemont, Illinois.
Click the links or call Doak Ewing at 630-527-8890 for more information about any of these shows.
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MLBB’s All-Star Game Film History
(Part 1)
Note: Part 2 will be in our July issue!
By
Doak Ewing
The first All-Star Game was played in 1933 at Comiskey Park in Chicago, however it was not until 1955 that Baseball produced an official highlight film of a Major League All-Star Game! It was a 14-minute B & W film, much in the tradition of the World Series films that had been produced since 1943. Narrated by Lew Fonseca (the director of the original “Major League Film Bureau” located in Chicago), the film captured the pre-game excitement and activity including team pictures of both A.L. and N.L. All-Star squads and opposing managers Al Lopez and Leo Durocher shaking hands before the game, etc. At the time, All-Star game highlights were also available from Tel Ra Productions of Philadelphia and other sources. In fact, when Rare Sportsfilms, Inc. restored the original 1955 film in 1987 we also added extra footage from these other sources! But although these extra clips were short in duration, finally in 1955, thanks to MLBB (and the Film Bureau), an official All-Star Game film had finally been made!
The following year the Film Bureau captured the 1956 game at Griffith Stadium, Washington on film but outdid themselves this time by presenting the game in COLOR! This was in fact, the first baseball film ever made in color by MLBB, as even the first color film of the World Series would not appear until 1958! The ’56 film was four minutes longer at 18 minutes and once again was narrated by Fonseca.
Lew continued doing the narration the next two years and the films were always in color from then on. The length increased by a minute per year through 1958 and when we restored the 1957 St. Louis game film, we once again added a B & W All-Star preview from Tel Ra Productions to Fonseca’s original work.
However, after four years of official All-Star Game films from 1955 through 1958, production was halted. Beginning in 1959, the Major Leagues staged two All-Star Games per year for a four-year period (1959-1962) to raise money for the new Players Pension Fund. Apparently, Baseball felt that filming both games each year would be overkill as well as an estimated expenditure of over $20,000 that could be used to more quickly establish the Pension Fund, so no All-Star games were filmed at all. Starting in 1959 and through 1961, Baseball even farmed out the production of the popular World Series films to Dick Borden Productions of Boston. Borden also did outstanding work on the World Series films, 1959-1961 and for the first time, the announcer of the winning team was chosen to do the narration (Vin Scully, Bob Prince and Mel Allen respectively).
During this time, Lew Fonseca remained as director of the Film Bureau, producing baseball instructional films using major league stars, such as “Batter Up!” and “Strike Three”. By 1962 Lew was once again directing the official World Series films, but no more All-Star Game highlight films were made - until 1965!
The first All-Star Game highlight film since 1958 was finally produced in 1965 on the game at Metropolitan Stadium, Minneapolis. Run time was 17 minutes and it was narrated by Jack Brickhouse, announcer for the Chicago Cubs. The 1966 film of the game at brand new Busch Memorial Stadium in downtown St. Louis for the first time was shorter (by 1 minute). The 2-1 affair was played in 105-degree heat, with Tim McCarver scoring the winning run in the 10th inning on a single by Maury Wills.
No one probably realized it at the time but the 1967 game would be the last All-Star Game filmed under the direction of Fonseca and by the Chicago Film Bureau. The game was the longest by innings (Tony Perez’s homer in the 15th inning was the winning run) and it was also the longest All-Star Game film made by the Film Bureau, running 27 minutes, a full 7 minutes longer than any previous All-Star Game film! For the third year in a row, Jack Brickhouse narrated the film.
It would be another three years before Baseball would again sanction production of another All-Star Game highlight film. Big changes were ahead for baseball, Lew Fonseca and the old Chicago Film Bureau. The MLBB All-Star game highlight films would eventually be back, but with a new style, with new producers, new narrators and even in a new city! But that’s a story for another time!
NOTE:
You can watch the highlights of nearly every All-Star Game played, 1933-1967 on our two All-Star Game DVD’s, “The All-Star Game From Ruth to Mays” and “1958-1967 - The All-Star Games”.
Call Rare Sportsfilms at 630-527-8890 for more info!
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