It’s the all-star break for Major League Baseball. “The mid-season classic,” or whatever they call it. I haven’t watched one in years, and I hear they’ve changed it to the point that is almost unwatchable, so I guess I’m ahead of the curve.
I did photograph one once. The 1990 game at Wrigley Field when I was a staffer for The National Sports Daily. Wrigley installed lights in 1988 and was rewarded the All-Star game two years later.
Though I’ve never been a fan of baseball (it’s like watching paint dry until the playoffs, then it’s the best game on the planet), the All-Star game was a big deal. Barry Jarvinen, my supervisor and co-worker, and I were assigned to cover all aspects of it including the old-timers game July 9th.
The guys on the old-timers roster were the players I remembered as a kid, with a few before before my time, so for me there was more interest in working that game than the actual game.
There I sat, in the first base photo box, along with dozens of other shooters from around the country. I’m thinking they had to extend the boxes to accommodate everyone. I’ll tag my friend Steve Green, the long time Cubs photographer, to see if he recalls the same.
Anyway… The old-timers were to be introduced and run form on the first and third baselines. One name really stood out, Joe DiMaggio. There was a lot of buzz going on as to whether he’d play, let alone appear. Based on what we had been hearing, it didn’t look like it was going to happen until…
It did! As his name was called he walked from the dugout, onto the field, and joined his teammates. Impeccable and handsome in his suit, THERE was Joe DiMaggio, one of the most famous names to ever play the game of baseball. Once we picked our jaws up off the ground we all started making pictures.
My best frame of the moment has him shaking hands with Bert Campaneris. DiMaggio is looking into Campy’s eyes while he (Campeaneris) looks to DiMaggio’s hands. I have interpreted this as Bert thinking that if he looks at the hands, he isn’t dreaming, it must be true.
I believe it is Gaylord Perry, also looking down, to take in the moment. The frame would have been perfect if it weren’t for the one Oakland A’s player who is looking the opposite direction, I couldn’t control that, this was THE moment.
Backlighting helped this one, and the pink commemorative all-star caps add splashes of color. I was razor sharp on this one, using a Nikkor 400mm 3.5 telephoto lens and Fujicolor negative film.
That’s It. Joe DiMaggio, ladies and gentlemen.
