Play Ball! Images of Dodger Blue, 1958-1988

July 12 – November 9, 2008
Central Library – First Floor Galleries

The move of the legendary Brooklyn Dodgers to the West Coast in 1957 and the fame and fortune that followed are captured in the new Los Angeles Public Library photo exhibit, “Play Ball! Images of Dodger Blue, 1958-1988.”

Trailing 4-3 and down to their last out in the bottom of the 9th inning in Game 1 of the 1988 World Series, the Dodgers called on Kirk Gibson to pinch-hit against Oakland A's relief ace Dennis Eckersley. His injured knee heavily wrapped, Gibson limped to home plate, then turned on a 3-2 slider and drove the ball over the right-field wall for a two-run, game-winning, jaw-dropping homer. It was Gibson's only at-bat during the Series, won by the Dodgers in five games. Later, the Los Angeles Sports Council called it the "greatest moment in Los Angeles sports history." 1988 Paul Chinn/Herald Examiner Collection

Most of the exhibit’s images are selected from the Los Angeles Public Library’s archive of photographs from the Los Angeles Herald Examiner, which folded in 1989, and others were taken from the Library’s Security Pacific National Bank collection, which includes the Valley Times newspaper and the Hollywood Citizen News collections. Some of the images have original markings including "crop marks" showing the mechanics of deadline-driven journalism before the age of computers and digital cameras.

Maury Wills' fleet feet and Gold Glove earned him the 1962 Most Valuable Player award, and his 104 stolen bases shattered Ty Cobb's mark of 96. Note that the newspaper has pasted a "second" ball and an arrow onto the photograph. September 26, 1965 Herald Examiner Collection

The Los Angeles Dodgers played their first game in Los Angeles on April 18, 1958, defeating the San Francisco Giants, a former New York rival, 6-5 in front of nearly 79,000 people at the Los Angeles Memorial Coliseum.

After tossing a three-hitter for his 8th consecutive win, Fernando Valenzuela salutes the crowd (broadcaster-translator Jaime Jarrin is visible at far left). May 14, 1981 Rob Brown/Herald Examiner Collection

More Information

• Press Release
• Central Library Information

Sponsored by Farmers Insurance Group. Funding made possible by the Library Foundation of Los Angeles.