JACKIE ROBINSON #42

My intro to Jackie Robinson was from a school library book that I checked out in the 4th grade. I remember waiting for my mom or dad to pick me up because I was stuck in the nurse's office with a high fever. Since the school library was adjacent to the nurse's office, the nurse asked if I'd like a book while I waited. I requested a baseball book and she picked out the biography of Jackie Robinson.

I ended up missing a few days of school, but that was okay because I learned all about #42, the great Jackie Robinson! My favorite team has always been the St. Louis Cardinals, but back then I was quickly becoming a Dodger fan too. Probably because of their appearances in the 1977 & '78 World Series. From the book, I learned that the Dodgers moved from Brooklyn to Los Angeles. I learned that Jackie Robinson was the first African American to play MLB baseball and I learned that people could hate someone simply because of the color of their skin. That last revelation really perplexed my young mind. (It still perplexes my adult mind.) I've never understood how ignorance and fear can eclipse kindness and love in some people.

It was a big thrill for me last year when I visited, for the first time, the National Baseball Hall of Fame in Cooperstown, NY. So many heroes and legends around every corner and included was #42! Jackie was inducted to the hall in 1962 on his first ballot.

Jackie Robinson's Hall of Fame plaque.

Jackie Robinson display at the Hall of Fame.

My original plan was to publish this blog post on Jackie Robinson day but first I wanted to see the new Jackie Robinson movie, 42. I finally saw the movie this past weekend. 

Movies and baseball are two of my favorite things and when they mix together, it's a sure bet that I'll be in the theater waiting for the movie to start. 42 is a winner of a movie that is both entertaining and engaging. The film focuses on just a few years of Jackie's life, the before and after parts when he broke baseball's color barrier. In that short timespan we get a since of Jackie's strong willed character that helps him "turn the other cheek" during rampant racism from teammates, opposing teams and fans in the stands. 

42 is a good film that will probably be an intro for many kids about Jackie Robinson, much like the school library book was for me when I was a kid.

In 2004, Major League Baseball created the very cool Jackie Robinson Day. I've only had the chance to attend one ballgame on this day and it was a great experience that I recommend for anyone, baseball fan or not.

The Jackie Robinson Day game that I attended was in 2010 at Busch stadium and the St. Louis Cardinals hosted the Houston Astros. It was a great day for baseball and the energy in the ballpark was electric. The best part, is the tradition of all players on both teams wearing Jackie's retired number 42.

For more info on Jackie Robinson, be sure to visit the Official Jackie Robinson Site and the Jackie Robinson Foundation.

DESKTOP WALLPAPER: PULP COMICS

Some of my favorite superheroes wear hats! Dress up your computer desktop with one of these wallpapers featuring pulpy characters from comic books. All are 1920 X 1080. Click on the image to go big and save it to your computer. Click on the comic title to visit the comic cover that I used to create the wallpaper. (Btw, it's not my fault if you start wearing a fedora and a mask while sitting at the computer. If this happens, I advise you to change your desktop wallpaper to cutesy kittens.)

 The Shadow from Shadow Comics #61

The Crimson Avenger from Detective Comics #22

The Green Hornet from Four Color #496

The Blonde Phantom from All Select Comics #11

The Sandman from Adventure Comics #60 

The Spirit from The Spirit #10 and #22

BE SURE TO GET YOUR WHITMAN CRAYONS (& SUPERMAN COLORING BOOKS)

The other day I picked up a small stack of 1960s coloring books and on the back cover of an Alvin and the Chipmunks book was this 1965 ad. Holy burnt sienna that's one neato ad! I always go gaga over photos of vintage newsstands, comic racks and various kids store displays, so this one really is a fun find!

Coloring books were so much fun. Give me a coloring book back when I was a kid and I would be lost for hours trying to color between the lines.

Looks like the boy made a good choice picking out the Superman coloring book. Artist Patrick Owsley has a one in his collection. Click here to see it!  

Okay little girl, try to reach a little higher and pick up that Jonny Quest coloring book. You can always buy the crayons later, but that Jonny Quest book is kind of hard to find here in the future.  

BLUE MOON PENCIL TABLET

FLEA MARKET FRIDAYS #81

It has been awhile since I've been snooping in any flea markets or antique stores. Today, I finally had a chance to get out there.  I found some cool stuff, but probably the most unique item is this very cool Blue Moon Pencil Tablet. I love the Man in the Moon graphics! He looks like he could star in a George Melies silent film. My guess this tablet is from the 1920s. 

Here's looking at you! For fun, I made a Man in the Moon gif to go along with today's post.

SORRY SCRAPPY-DOO, BUT I THINK I HATE YOU

This week's assignment for members of the League of Extraordinary Bloggers - "What piece of pop culture did you HATE as a kid? Hmm...I usually stick to the positive side of things here on the blog, but I'll try to give in to the dark side and explore some pop culture hatred from my childhood.  

PUPPY POWER!!! Whenever I hear those two words, a shiver goes up my spine. "Puppy power," was one of Scrappy-Doo's annoying battle cries. This little pipsqueak of a pup, introduced in 1979 on the Scooby-Doo and Scrappy-Doo show, was so annoying he caused my young brain to split!  

TV Guide ad from September 22, 1979

Scrappy was co-created by Joseph Barbera and Mark Evanier. Say what? How could these two amazing talents create such an abomination like Scrappy? Click here to read Mark Evanier's six-part post about Scrappy's creation. Sure, I get the whole "let's keep things fresh with a new character" strategy. But for me, as a nine year old, I wasn't buying Scrappy-Doo one bit!   

Scrappy simply ruined everything that was fun about Scooby and the gang. Instead of new Scooby adventures with Scrappy, I would have been just as content watching the same reruns of Scooby-Doo Where Are You! and The New Scooby-Doo Movies over and over. The hatred of Scrappy was discussed many times around the water fountain back in my elementary school. I didn't know anyone who actually liked the pungent pup. All of us felt sorry for poor Scooby stuck with such an annoying nephew. No wonder Scooby's sister Ruby-Doo didn't want to care for the demon dog. So many cartoons suffer from overtly cutesy sidekicks that come from the planet ForcedHumor. Scrappy was one of the worst and he should have been scrapped a long time ago.  

Scrappy wasn't the first annoying cutesy character to ruin a Saturday morning TV show. There are so many of them they could start a League of Extra-annoying Toons. The roll-call would be Scrappy-Doo, Bat-Mite, The Great Gazoo, Mr. Cool, Orbitty, Baby Plas, 7-Zark-7, Uni, Orko, Brainy Smurf. H.E.R.B.I.E., Snarf, Godzooky and all Snorks.  

Okay, now I need to go watch some old Scooby-Doo Where Are You! episodes to cleanse my eyes of Scrappy-Doo.

Check out some of the hate from other LOEB members.

pop rewind hates cereal mascots who had their cereal revoked 

shezcrafti hates Zoobilee Zoo

adventures of a geeky vixen hates My Little Pony

Toyriffic hates G.I. Joe

ARCHER SPACEMEN FOR TRADE

Unfortunately I missed a couple of weeks of LOEB posts, but this week I jump back on just in time for the League's Trading Post. Members were asked to put up some trade bait and I'm putting up eight 1950s plastic spacemen for a possible trade. This group of spacemen beamed into my collection a few years ago but I'm ready to let these guys go on a new space adventure.

This group was made by Archer back in the mid-50s as part of their second series of spacemen known as Moon Men in soft plastic. I know in the early 90s a set of reproductions were produced from the original molds but I believe these to be authentic from the 1950s. This set was in a box of toys that I picked up and included in the box were other Archer spacemen from their first set along with some other 1950s toys. 

Two figures in this pose.

Two figures in this pose with one figure having a small hole between the rocket pack. 

This guy must be a little drunk because he can't stand too well.

What am I looking to trade these space cadets for? I'll consider most anything neato cool of course. I might consider trading for other space stuff from the 1930s - 1970s or various character premiums. I'm a big fan of kids packaging from the 1960s - 1970s like cereal, candy etc. I might be tempted with 1970s and 80s action figures. No Star Wars, but I'm open to other lines. Only interested in loose figures.

If you have something you want to trade let me know in the comments section.

Check out some of the other League trading posts.
Cool & Collected has some 80s toys for trade.
Fortune and Glory (Days) has a very nice carded Kenner Indy figure.
Retro Toy Safari has a bunch of 1980s-90s G.I. Joe parts.

WITH THIS SUPERMAN CRUSADER RING, I'M A MEMBER OF SUPERMAN'S GANG

Great Scott! The other day, I felt like a 1940s kid when my Superman Crusader ring came in the mail from Hake's Americana and Collectibles!

Way back in the fall of 1946, kids had to mail in a thin dime and one Kellogg's Pep cereal boxtop to get a Superman Crusader ring. In 2013, this big kid didn't need any boxtops, but instead just the winning bid in Hake's auction #208. The good folks over at Hake's made available a $100 shopping spree to two lucky members of the League of Extraordinary Bloggers. (Click here to visit my Hake's LOEB post with updates.) I was one of the lucky winners and used my Hake's credit to pick up this swell ring. 

Instead of waiting for weeks and weeks like some poor kid had to do in 1946, my Superman ring dropped in my mailbox only a few business days after the auction. The original ring from Kellogg's was shipped to kids in a stiff envelope. (View the original mailer in a 2012 Hake's auction.) My ring was protected much better and was shipped safely in a heavy duty box. I've been aware of Hake's for a long time and have enjoyed their price guides, but this was the first time I've ever participated in one of their auctions. It was a breeze dealing with Hake's and their bidding system is smooth and easy. I had my eye on a lot of cool items that ended out of my reach, but it was still fun and exciting to watch. Plus the Superman ring fits in nicely with my small radio/comic character premium collection.  

A fun fact about the Superman Crusader ring is that it was written into the Adventures of Superman radio show. In the episode Counterfeit Money that aired from 10-17-46 to 11-5-46, the Crusader ring is featured prominently in the episode. As a member of Superman's Crusader gang, the ring is a symbol of good citizenship, tolerance and good sportsmanship. The commercial for the Crusader ring offer premiered in episode eight of Counterfeit Money.

One last big thanks to Hake's Americana and Brian from Cool & Collected! Okay, I gotta run because Superman needs my help. Whew! Now that I'm a member of Superman's Crusader gang, I'm so busy fighting off no-gooders. Up up and away!

MINIATURE EVER LIT CANDLES

Happy April Fools' Day! Late last year I found this old box of trick candles and saved them just for today. I like the fine print on the box. Really, these are not edible? Aw man, I was hoping to gnaw on these for an afternoon snack. Darn!